The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a federation made up of twenty-three states (Spanish: estados), a Capital District (Spanish: Distrito Capital) and the Federal Dependencies (Spanish: Dependencias Federales), which consist of many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea.[1] Venezuela claims the disputed Essequibo territory as one of its states, which it calls Guayana Esequiba, but the territory is controlled by Guyana as part of six of its regions.

States, Federal Dependencies and Capital District
Estados, Dependencias Federales y Distrito Capital (Spanish)
CategoryFederated state
LocationBolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Number
  • 23 states
  • 1 Capital District
  • 1 Federal Dependency
Populations146,480 (Amazonas) – 3,704,404 (Zulia)
Areas1,100 km2 (440 sq mi) (Nueva Esparta) – 240,000 km2 (92,000 sq mi) (Bolívar)
Government
Subdivisions

The states and territories of Venezuela are usually organized into regions (Spanish: regiones), although these regions are mostly geographical entities rather than administrative entities.

Historical states

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Prior to the Federal War (1859–1863), the country was divided into provinces rather than states (see Provinces of Venezuela). The victorious forces were supposed to grant more autonomy to the individual states, but this was not implemented.

From 1863 to the early 1900s there were numerous territorial changes, including the merger and splitting of states, but from then until the 1990s the states were left unchanged. States that existed during this time included Guzmán Blanco State (1873–1889). Originally a renamed Aragua State, in 1881 the states of Miranda, Guárico, Nueva Esparta and the Vargas department of the Federal District were merged into the state. This was part of a territorial reorganisation reducing the number of states from 20 to 9, which was reversed in 1901.

The 1990s saw the creation of three new states: Delta Amacuro (1991), Amazonas (1994), and Vargas (1998).

Proposed states

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On 5 December 2023, following a referendum held two days earlier, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro published a new map showing the claimed region of Guayana Esequiba as part of Venezuela.[2] He urged legislators to create a law which would establish a new state covering the disputed region.[3] The Venezuelan referendum on annexing the area led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Regions

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Venezuela's territory is generally divided into nine geographical regions, which are mostly used for geographical, cultural and planning purposes but do not have active administrative bodies.

Region Spanish States
Andean Andina Mérida, Táchira, Trujillo
Capital Capital Caracas (Capital District), La Guaira (Vargas), Miranda
Central Centro Aragua, Carabobo
Central-Western Centro-Occidente Falcón, Lara, Yaracuy
Guayana Guayana Amazonas, Bolívar, Delta Amacuro
Insular Insular Nueva Esparta, Federal Dependencies
Los Llanos Los Llanos Apure, Barinas, Cojedes, Guárico, Portuguesa
Eastern Oriental Anzoátegui, Monagas, Sucre
Zulian Zulia Zulia

States

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Below is a list of the 23 states of Venezuela. The states are listed along with their correspondent emblems, data and location.

Flag State Capital Largest city Population

(2021)[4]

Population
(2011)
Area
(km2)
Density per km2 (2021) Density per km2 (2011) Region Map
  Amazonas Puerto Ayacucho 180,000 146,480 180,145 0.99 0.81 Guayana  
  Anzoátegui Barcelona 1,570,000 1,469,747 43,300 36.26 33.94 Eastern  
  Apure San Fernando de Apure 570,000 459,025 76,500 7.45 6.00 Llanos  
  Aragua Maracay 1,640,000 1,630,308 7,014 233.82 232.44 Central  
  Barinas Barinas 830,000 816,264 35,200 23.58 23.19 Andean  
  Bolívar Ciudad Bolívar Ciudad Guayana 1,730,000 1,410,964 238,000 7.27 5.93 Guayana  
  Carabobo Valencia 2,240,000 2,245,744 4,650 481.72 482.96 Central  
  Cojedes San Carlos 330,000 323,165 14,800 22.29 21.84 Central  
  Delta Amacuro Tucupita 190,000 167,676 40,200 4.72 4.17 Guayana  
  Falcón Coro Punto Fijo 990,000 902,847 24,800 39.92 36.41 Central-Western  
  Guárico San Juan de los Morros Calabozo 830,000 747,739 64,986 12.77 11.51 Llanos  
  La Guaira La Guaira 340,000 352,920 1,496 227.27 235.91 Capital  
  Lara Barquisimeto 1,870,000 1,774,867 19,800 94.44 89.64 Central-Western  
  Mérida Mérida 880,000 828,592 11,300 77.88 73.33 Andean  
  Miranda Los Teques 2,970,000 2,675,165 7,950 373.58 336.50 Capital  
  Monagas Maturín 930,000 905,443 28,930 32.15 31.30 Eastern  
  Nueva Esparta La Asunción Porlamar 570,000 491,610 1,150 495.65 427.90 Insular  
  Portuguesa Guanare 930,000 876,496 15,200 61.18 57.66 Central-Western  
  Sucre Cumaná 990,000 896,291 11,800 83.90 75.96 Eastern  
  Táchira San Cristóbal 1,030,000 1,168,908 11,100 92.79 105.31 Andean  
  Trujillo Trujillo Valera 770,000 686,367 7,400 104.05 92.75 Andean  
  Yaracuy San Felipe 670,000 600,852 7,100 94.37 84.63 Central-Western  
  Zulia Maracaibo 3,830,000 3,704,404 63,100 60.70 58.71 Zulian  
Disputed state whose territory is controlled by Guyana:
Guayana Esequiba Tumeremo
(administrative center)
128,000 125,000 159,542 0.8 0.78 Guayana  

By Human Development Index

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HDI of Venezuelan states in 2017
Rank State HDI (2022)[5]
High human development
1   Capital District 0.743
2   Miranda 0.730
3   Aragua 0.725
4   Carabobo 0.719
5   Vargas
6   Nueva Esparta 0.718
7   Anzoátegui 0.710
8   Bolívar 0.701
Medium human development
  Venezuela 0.699
9   Táchira 0.697
10   Monagas 0.689
11   Falcón
12   Mérida 0.688
13   Zulia 0.684
14   Delta Amacuro 0.683
15   Amazonas 0.679
16   Lara
17   Cojedes 0.676
18   Sucre 0.669
19   Trujillo
20   Yaracuy 0.666
21   Guárico 0.661
22   Portuguesa 0.646
23   Barinas
24   Apure 0.628

Special status areas

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Flag State Capital Population
(2011)
Area
(km2)
Region Map
  Capital District Caracas 1,943,901 433 Capital  
  Federal Dependencies Los Roques 2,155 342 Insular  

State name etymologies

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Several states are named for historical figures:

Several states are named for natural features:

Other naming origins:

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "List of States in Venezuela with Latitude and Longitude - States in Venezuela with Latitude Longitude, Popular Places in Venezuela with Lat Long, List of States in Venezuela with Latitude and Longitude, Latitude and Longitude of State Capitals of Venezuela, State wise Latitude and Longitude of Venezuela States - distancelatlong.com". www.distancelatlong.com. Retrieved 2021-12-14.
  2. ^ Bassant, Mark (6 December 2023). "Maduro releases new map of Venezuela, claiming Essequibo Region". Trinidad Express Newspapers. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  3. ^ Hernández, Osmary; Almánzar, Fernando; Alberti, Mia (6 December 2023). "Venezuela's president orders creation of new state and map including land from Guyana". CNN. Retrieved 7 December 2023.
  4. ^ "Population in Venezuela by state 2021". Statista. Retrieved 2023-01-18.
  5. ^ "Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab". hdi.globaldatalab.org. Retrieved 2021-07-28.
  6. ^ Simón, Pedro (1992). Noticias historiales de Venezuela. Caracas, Venezuela: Biblioteca Ayacucho. p. 128. ISBN 980-276-210-5.

Bibliography

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