People

Population: 23,542,649 (July 2000 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 33% (male 3,967,544; female 3,721,658)
15-64 years: 63% (male 7,406,086; female 7,355,923)
65 years and over: 4% (male 499,102; female 592,336) (2000 est.)

Population growth rate: 1.6% (2000 est.)

Birth rate: 21.09 births/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Death rate: 4.94 deaths/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Net migration rate: -0.19 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2000 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.08 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.07 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.84 male(s)/female
total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2000 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 26.17 deaths/1,000 live births (2000 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 73.07 years
male: 70.05 years
female: 76.31 years (2000 est.)

Total fertility rate: 2.51 children born/woman (2000 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Venezuelan(s)
adjective: Venezuelan

Ethnic groups: Spanish, Italian, Portuguese, Arab, German, African, indigenous people

Religions: nominally Roman Catholic 96%, Protestant 2%

Languages: Spanish (official), numerous indigenous dialects