Education[edit]

Main article: Education in Venezuela

The total net enrollment ratio in primary education for both sexes increased from 87% in
1999 to 93.9% in 2009.[156] The primary completion rate for both sexes reached 95.1% in
2009, as compared to 80.8% in 1991.[156] The literacy rates of 15- to 24-year-olds in 2007,
for men and women, were 98% and 98.8%, respectively.[156] During the Bolivarian diaspora,
a large percentage of the millions of Venezuelans who left the country were highly
educated, resulting in a brain drain in the country.[157][158]
The free government program, Misión Robinson, since starting in 2003, had taught more
than 2.3 million people to read and write as of 2012. The program also focused much of its
attention on reaching out to geographically isolated and historically excluded members of
the population, including indigenous groups and Afro-descendents.[159][better source needed] In 2008,
Francisco Rodríguez of Wesleyan University in Connecticut and Daniel Ortega
of IESA stated that there was “little evidence” of “statistically distinguishable effect on
Venezuelan illiteracy” during the Chávez administration.[160] The Venezuelan government
claimed that it had taught 1.5 million Venezuelans to read,[161] but the study found that "only
1.1m were illiterate to begin with" and that the illiteracy reduction of less than 100,000 can
be attributed to adults that were elderly and died. [160]
Technology[edit]
In 1990, the number of Internet users was minimal, but by 2010, 35.63% of Venezuelans
were Internet users.[156] In fact, the number of Internet subscribers has increased
sixfold.[167] Programs such as the National Technological Literacy Plan, which provides free
software and computers to schools, have assisted Venezuela in meeting this
goal.[168]However, several experts state that the poor infrastructure in Venezuela had created
a poor quality of Internet in Venezuela, which has one of the slowest Internet speeds in the
world.[169] The lack of US dollars due to the Venezuelan governments currency controls has
also damaged Internet services because technological equipment must be imported into
Venezuela.[169]
The number of fixed telephone lines per 100 inhabitants was 7.56 in 1990. The number
increased to 24.44 in 2010.[156] In 2000, 2,535,966 Venezuelans had landline telephones. By
2009, this had increased to 6,866,626.[150]
The Bolivarian government has also launched an aerospace program in cooperation with
the People's Republic of China who built and launched two satellites that are currently in
orbit—a communications satellite called Simón Bolívar, and a remote sensing satellite
called Miranda. In July 2014 President Maduro announced that a third satellite would be
built by Chinese-Venezuelan bilateral cooperation.[170][171]
Poverty and hunger[edit]
Although poverty initially declined under Chávez, by 2013, Venezuela's poverty rate
increased to 28.35% with extreme poverty rates increasing 44% to 10.3% according to the
Venezuelan government's INE.[154] Estimates of poverty by the United Nations Economic
Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) and Luis Pedro España, a
sociologist at the Universidad Católica Andrés Bello, showed an increase of poverty in
Venezuela.[155] ECLAC showed a 2013 poverty rate of 32% while Pedro España calculated a
2015 rate of 48% with a poverty rate of 70% possible by the end of 2015. [155] According to
Venezuelan NGO PROVEA, by the end of 2015, there would be the same number of
Venezuelans living in poverty as there was in 2000, reversing the advancements against
poverty by Hugo Chávez.[155]
In relation to hunger, under-nutrition, undernourishment and the percentage of children
under the age of five who are moderately or severely underweight decreased earlier in
Chávez's tenure.[156] However, shortages in Venezuela as a result of price control policies
left the majority of Venezuelans without adequate products after his death.

Labor[edit]

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Under Chávez, Venezuela has also instituted worker-run "co-management" initiatives in

which workers' councils play a key role in the management of a plant or factory. In
experimental co-managed enterprises, such as the state-owned Alcasa factory, workers
develop budgets and elect both managers and departmental delegates who work together
with company executives on technical issues related to production.[106]
In November 2010, following the expropriation of U.S. bottle-maker Owens-Illinois, workers
spent a week protesting outside factories in Valera and Valencia.[107]
Labor disputes have continued to increase since the financial crisis in 2008. According to
the World Economic Forum, Venezuela is ranked as 134th of the 148 countries for
economic competitiveness. Many in the private sector attribute these findings to
the inflexible labor market.
In recent years, a barrage of pro-worker decrees have been passed. The most significant
could be the 2012 labor laws known as the LOTTT. These laws included the virtual ban on
dismissal, shorter work week, improved holidays, and enhanced maternity benefits. The
LOTTT offers job security to most workers after the first month. Employers have reported an
absenteeism rate of up to 40% which they blame on the leniency of these labor laws. As
expected, employers have been less willing to recruit.[108]
On November 17, 2014, President Maduro issued a decree to increase the minimum salary
for all workers by 15%. The decree became effective on December 1, 2014. [109] On April 28,
2015, as part of the May Day celebrations in honor of workers' day, President Maduro
announced that the minimum wage would increase 30%; 20% in May and 10% in July, with
the newly announced minimum wage for Venezuelans being only about $30 per month at
the widely used black market rate.[110]
By September 2017, the National Union of Workers (UNETE) announced that Venezuela
had lost 3,345,000 jobs since the election of President Maduro. [111]
Environment[edit]
See also: Environmental issues in Venezuela
Venezuela is one of the 10 most biodiverse countries on the planet, yet it is one of the
leaders of deforestation due to economic and political factors. Each year, roughly 287,600
hectares of forest are permanently destroyed and other areas are degraded by mining, oil
extraction, and logging. Between 1990 and 2005, Venezuela officially lost 8.3% of its forest
cover, which is about 4.3 million ha. In response, federal protections for critical habitat were
implemented; for example, 20% to 33% of forested land is protected. [113] The
country's biosphere reserve is part of the World Network of Biosphere Reserves;
five wetlands are registered under the Ramsar Convention.[119] In 2003, 70% of the nation's
land was under conservation management in over 200 protected areas, including 43
national parks.[120] Venezuela's 43 national parks include Canaima National Park, Morrocoy
National Park, and Mochima National Park. In the far south is a reserve for the country's
Yanomami tribes. Covering 32,000 square miles (82,880 square kilometres), the area is off-
limits to farmers, miners, and all non-Yanomami settlers.

Government and politics

Law and crime[edit]
Main articles: Law of Venezuela and Crime in Venezuela

Murder rate (murder per 100,000 citizens) from 1998 to 2015.

Sources: OVV,[159][160] PROVEA,[161][162] UN[161][162][163]
* UN line between 2007 and 2012 is simulated missing data.
Number of kidnappings in Venezuela 1989–2011.
Source: CICPC[164][165][166]
* Express kidnappings may not be included in data

Venezuela was the most murderous place on Earth in 2015.[167] In Venezuela, a person is
murdered every 21 minutes.[168] Violent crimes have been so prevalent in Venezuela that the
government no longer produces the crime data.[169] In 2013, the homicide rate was
approximately 79 per 100,000, one of the world's highest, having quadrupled in the past 15
years with over 200,000 people murdered.[170] By 2015, it had risen to 90 per
100,000.[167] The country's body count of the previous decade mimics that of the Iraq
War and in some instances had more civilian deaths even though the country is
at peacetime.[171] The capital Caracas has one of the greatest homicide rates of any large
city in the world, with 122 homicides per 100,000 residents.[172] In 2008, polls indicated that
crime was the number one concern of voters.[173] Attempts at fighting crime such as
Operation Liberation of the People were implemented to crack down on gang-controlled
areas[174] but, of reported criminal acts, less than 2% are prosecuted.[175] In 2017,
the Financial Times noted that some of the arms procured by the government over the
previous two decades had been diverted to paramilitary civilian groups and criminal
syndicates.[135]
Venezuela is especially dangerous toward foreign travelers and investors who are visiting.
The United States State Department and the Government of Canada have warned foreign
visitors that they may be subjected to robbery, kidnapping for a ransom or sale to terrorist
organizations[176] and murder, and that their own diplomatic travelers are required to travel
in armored vehicles.[177][178] The United Kingdom's Foreign and Commonwealth Office has
advised against all travel to Venezuela.[179] Visitors have been murdered during robberies
and criminals do not discriminate among their victims. Former Miss Venezuela 2004
winner Monica Spear and her ex-husband were murdered and their 5-year-old daughter
was shot while vacationing in Venezuela, and an elderly German tourist was murdered only
a few weeks later.[180][181]
There are approximately 33 prisons holding about 50,000 inmates.[182] They include; El
Rodeo outside of Caracas, Yare Prison in the northern state of Miranda, and several others.
Venezuela's prison system is heavily overcrowded; its facilities have capacity for only
14,000 prisoners.[183]
Corruption[edit]
Main article: Corruption in Venezuela

Corruption in Venezuela is high by world standards and was so for much of the 20th
century. The discovery of oil had worsened political corruption,[184] and by the late
1970s, Juan Pablo Pérez Alfonso's description of oil as "the Devil's excrement" had become
a common expression in Venezuela.[185] Venezuela has been ranked one of the most corrupt
countries on the Corruption Perceptions Index since the survey started in 1995. The 2010
ranking placed Venezuela at number 164, out of 178 ranked countries. [186] By 2016, the rank
had increased to 166 out of 178.[187]Similarly, the World Justice Project ranked Venezuela
99th out of 99 countries surveyed in its 2014 Rule of Law Index. [188]
This corruption is shown with Venezuela's significant involvement in drug trafficking,
with Colombian cocaine and other drugs transiting Venezuela towards the United States
and Europe. Venezuela ranks fourth in the world for cocaine seizures, behind Colombia, the
United States, and Panama.[189] In 2006, the government's agency for combating the Illegal
drug trade in Venezuela, ONA, was incorporated into the office of the vice-president of the
country. However, many major government and military officials have been known for their
involvement with drug trafficking; especially with the October 2013 incident of men from the
Venezuelan National Guard placing 1.3 tons of cocaine on a Paris flight knowing they will
not face charges.[190]
Climate
Venezuela is entirely located in the tropics over the Equator to around 12° N. Its climate
varies from humid low-elevation plains, where average annual temperatures range as high
as 35 °C (95.0 °F), to glaciers and highlands (the páramos) with an average yearly
temperature of 8 °C (46.4 °F). Annual rainfall varies from 430 mm (16.9 in) in the semiarid
portions of the northwest to over 1,000 mm (39.4 in) in the Orinoco Delta of the far east and
the Amazonian Jungle in the south. The precipitation level is lower in the period from
November to April and later in the year from August to October. These periods are referred
to as hot-humid and cold-dry seasons. Another characteristic of the climate is this variation
throughout the country by the existence of a mountain range called "Cordillera de la Costa"
which crosses the country from east to west. The majority of the population lives in these
mountains.[104]
The country falls into four horizontal temperature zones based primarily on elevation, having
tropical, dry, temperate with dry winters, and polar (alpine tundra) climates, amongst
others.[105][106][107] In the tropical zone—below 800 m (2,625 ft)—temperatures are hot, with
yearly averages ranging between 26 and 28 °C (78.8 and 82.4 °F). The temperate zone
ranges between 800 and 2,000 m (2,625 and 6,562 ft) with averages from 12 to 25 °C (53.6
to 77.0 °F); many of Venezuela's cities, including the capital, lie in this region. Colder
conditions with temperatures from 9 to 11 °C (48.2 to 51.8 °F) are found in the cool zone
between 2,000 and 3,000 m (6,562 and 9,843 ft), especially in the Venezuelan Andes,
where pastureland and permanent snowfield with yearly averages below 8 °C (46 °F) cover
land above 3,000 meters (9,843 ft) in the páramos.
The highest temperature recorded was 42 °C (108 °F) in Machiques,[108] and the lowest
temperature recorded was −11 °C (12 °F), it has been reported from an uninhabited high
altitude at Páramo de Piedras Blancas (Mérida state),[109] even though no official reports
exist, lower temperatures in the mountains of the Sierra Nevada de Mérida are known.