The population of Venezuela. Number and standard of living of the population

Venezuela is a large Latin American state. According to the form of government, it is the Bolivarian Republic. It is washed by the Atlantic Ocean and the Caribbean Sea. It shares borders with Colombia, Guyana and Brazil. The Venezuelan nation was formed as a result of the unification of such racial and ethnic groups as the Spaniards, Africans and Indians. Over the past 100 years, the population of the country has increased almost 15 times. The official language is Spanish.

Characteristics of the population

The last large-scale census in the country was conducted in 2001. At that time, the number of local residents hardly exceeded 23 million people. The largest part of the population were Venezuelans. The second largest ethnic group was the Indians. The most densely populated areas of the state are the mountain coast of the Caribbean Sea, as well as the Orinoco delta. The rest of the population is concentrated near Lake Maracaibo, famous for its oil deposits.

At the beginning of the 19th century there were only small settlements on the territory of the country. The number of residents was limited to 800 thousand people. The migration explosion happened immediately after World War II. The Venezuelan authorities began recruiting skilled workers and engineers from Europe for the oil field. In a few years the standard of living began to grow rapidly in the country.

The population of Venezuela (see photo below) is almost 5% composed of illegal migrants. Their number varies between 1.2 million people. In total, more than 51% of Métis live in the country, 43% of Europeans, the rest - Indians, African Americans and other ethnogroups. With regard to religion, Catholicism prevails here, as well as Protestantism.

Urbanization process

The population of Venezuela (most of it, namely 93%) lives in cities. The most numerous is Caracas. It is home to about 3 million people. The second by population density is the city of Maracaibo. The number of its inhabitants is more than 2.1 million people.

A century ago, on the site of the main cities of the country were simple huts on piles. Today Maracaibo and Caracas are modern economically developed centers not only of Venezuela, but of the entire South America. Less populated cities are Barcelona, Maracay, Barquisimeto, Cumana, Petare and others. Interestingly, the southern region of Venezuela is practically uninhabited. In this area, stony plateaus and impassable jungles predominate.

Lifespan

Recently, the authorities of the republic spend big money on creating for their citizens all the comfort conditions. This applies to health and social needs.

Nevertheless, Venezuela, whose standard of living is gradually rising, is far from ideal. First of all, it concerns poorly developed health care. The reason for this is the lack of qualified personnel and expensive medications. And yet the life expectancy here is kept at the level of 70 and 76 years for men and women respectively.

The guarantee of health of local residents is considered nontraditional medicine, based on herbal medicine and shamanic rituals.

Indicators of the number

As early as the early 1960s, the Venezuelan population was just over 7.5 million. The natural increase was practically zero, however, the overall positive dynamics was maintained due to the influx of migrants from Eurasia. By 1970, the population of Venezuela had grown by almost 50%. On average, the annual growth was about 4%.

For the entire modern history of the state, the tendency of the number of its local residents has never been negative. Such results can not boast of any other Latin American country.

In 2006, it was announced that the population of Venezuela is 2.7 x 10 ⁷ people. In other words, the number reached 27 million.

Population in 2014

At the beginning of the year, the population of this country barely reached 30.8 million people. During the reporting period (12 months), the population increased by almost half a million inhabitants. Thus, the growth for the year was about 1.5%. This is not the biggest demographic indicator in the history of the state, however, during the economic crisis many experts did not expect even such results. Thus, last year in a Latin American country called Venezuela, the population was about 31.3 million people.

It is noteworthy that the entire volume of growth is the positive balance of the born and the deceased. The migration flow this year was equated to zero.

Current population numbers

The population of Venezuela in 2015 increased by about 300 thousand people. According to experts, by December a total increase in the number of 0.5 million inhabitants is expected. Thus, the country's population will be 31.8 million people.

The natural increase is announced at the level of 470 thousand citizens. As for the migration indicators, there is no specificity here. Nevertheless, an insignificant influx of settlers is expected (up to 15-20 thousand). An interesting fact: in Venezuela, one of the highest birth rates in South America. More than 1,700 children are born on the day. At the same time, mortality is kept at 450 people per day.

The customs of the locals

Virtually all their free time the Venezuelans spend with their families. Often, men self-sacrifice the main traditional hobbies. In Venezuela, the whole family is going to attend carnival processions and Sunday Masses.

Favorite sports are football, bowling, cockfighting and horse racing.

Local wedding traditions and customs require a separate story. The event includes civil and church weddings. There should be exactly 2 weeks between the ceremonies. After each wedding, the newlyweds are forced to organize grandiose banquets for all comers.