States of Venezuela explained

States, Federal Dependencies and Capital District
Estados, Dependencias Federales y Distrito Capital (Spanish)
Category:Federated state
Territory:Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela
Population Range:146,480 (Amazonas) – 3,704,404 (Zulia)
Area Range:440abbr=onNaNabbr=on (Nueva Esparta) – 92000abbr=onNaNabbr=on (Bolívar)
Government:State government
Subdivision:Municipality
Island (Federal Dependencies)

The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a federation made up of twenty-three states (Spanish; Castilian: estados), a Capital District (Spanish; Castilian: Distrito Capital) and the Federal Dependencies (Spanish; Castilian: 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.

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

Historical states

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

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

See main article: Regions of Venezuela.

See also: Geography of Venezuela. 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.

RegionSpanishStates
AndeanAndinaMérida, Táchira, Trujillo
CapitalCapitalCaracas (Capital District), La Guaira (Vargas), Miranda
CentralCentroAragua, Carabobo
Central-WesternCentro-OccidenteFalcón, Lara, Yaracuy
GuayanaGuayanaAmazonas, Bolívar, Delta Amacuro
InsularInsularNueva Esparta, Federal Dependencies
Los LlanosLos LlanosApure, Barinas, Cojedes, Guárico, Portuguesa
EasternOrientalAnzoátegui, Monagas, Sucre
ZulianZulia

States

See also: List of Venezuela state legislatures and List of Venezuela state constitutions.

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

FlagStateCapitalLargest cityPopulation (2021)[4] Population
(2011)
Area
(km2)
Density per km2 (2021)Density per km2 (2011)RegionMap
AmazonasPuerto Ayacucho180,000146,480180,1450.990.81Guayana
AnzoáteguiBarcelona1,570,0001,469,74743,30036.2633.94Eastern
ApureSan Fernando de Apure570,000459,02576,5007.456.00Llanos
AraguaMaracay1,640,0001,630,3087,014233.82232.44Central
BarinasBarinas830,000816,26435,20023.5823.19Andean
BolívarCiudad Bolívar1,730,0001,410,964238,0007.275.93Guayana
CaraboboValencia2,240,0002,245,7444,650481.72482.96Central
CojedesSan Carlos330,000323,16514,80022.2921.84Central
Delta AmacuroTucupita190,000167,67640,2004.724.17Guayana
FalcónCoroPunto Fijo990,000902,84724,80039.9236.41Central-Western
GuáricoSan Juan de los MorrosCalabozo830,000747,73964,98612.7711.51Llanos
La GuairaLa Guaira340,000352,9201,496227.27235.91Capital
LaraBarquisimeto1,870,0001,774,86719,80094.4489.64Central-Western
MéridaMérida880,000828,59211,30077.8873.33Andean
MirandaLos Teques2,970,0002,675,1657,950373.58336.50Capital
MonagasMaturín930,000905,44328,93032.1531.30Eastern
Nueva EspartaLa AsunciónPorlamar570,000491,6101,150495.65427.90Insular
PortuguesaGuanare930,000876,49615,20061.1857.66Central-Western
SucreCumaná990,000896,29111,80083.9075.96Eastern
TáchiraSan Cristóbal1,030,0001,168,90811,10092.79105.31Andean
TrujilloTrujilloValera770,000686,3677,400104.0592.75Andean
YaracuySan Felipe670,000600,8527,10094.3784.63Central-Western
ZuliaMaracaibo3,830,0003,704,40463,10060.7058.71Zulian
Disputed state whose territory is controlled by Guyana:
Guayana EsequibaTumeremo
(administrative center)
128,000125,000159,5420.80.78Guayana

By Human Development Index

RankStateHDI (2021)[5]
High human development
10.737
2 Miranda0.724
3 Aragua0.718
4 Carabobo0.713
5 Nueva Esparta0.712
Vargas
7 Anzoátegui0.703
Medium human development
8 Bolívar0.695
0.691
9 Táchira0.689
10 Monagas0.682
11 Falcón0.681
12 Mérida0.679
13 Zulia0.677
14 Delta Amacuro0.676
15 Amazonas0.672
16 Lara0.671
17 Cojedes0.668
18 Sucre0.660
Trujillo
20 Yaracuy0.657
21 Guárico0.653
22 Portuguesa0.638
23 Barinas0.637
24 Apure0.619

Special status areas

FlagStateCapitalPopulation
(2011)
Area
(km2)
RegionMap
Capital DistrictCaracas1,943,901433Capital
Federal DependenciesLos Roques2,155342Insular

State name etymologies

Several states are named for historical figures:

Several states are named for natural features:

Other naming origins:

See also

Bibliography

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: 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. 2021-12-14. www.distancelatlong.com.
  2. News: Bassant . Mark . Maduro releases new map of Venezuela, claiming Essequibo Region . 7 December 2023 . Trinidad Express Newspapers . 6 December 2023 . en.
  3. News: Hernández . Osmary . Almánzar . Fernando . Alberti . Mia . Venezuela's president orders creation of new state and map including land from Guyana . 7 December 2023 . CNN . 6 December 2023 . en.
  4. Web site: Population in Venezuela by state 2021 . 2023-01-18 . Statista . en.
  5. Web site: Sub-national HDI - Area Database - Global Data Lab. hdi.globaldatalab.org. 2021-07-28.
  6. Book: Simón . Pedro . Noticias historiales de Venezuela . 1992 . Biblioteca Ayacucho . Caracas, Venezuela . 980-276-210-5 . 128.