Venezuelan people
Encyclopedia
Venezuelan people are from a multiethnic nation
in South America
called Venezuela
. Venezuelans are predominantly Roman Catholic
and speak Spanish
, and a majority of them are the result of a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.
, after Brazil
, Mexico
, Argentina
, Colombia
, and Peru
.
More than ninety percent of the Venezuelans live in urban areas – a figure significantly higher than the world average. The literacy rate (98 percent) in Venezuela is also well above the world average, and the rate of population growth is slightly higher than the world average. Also, a large proportion of Venezuelans are young, largely because of recent decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 30 percent of the people are 14 years of age or younger, just 4 percent are aged 65 or older.
immigrants, Amerindian peoples
, Africans
, Asians
, Middle Easterners
and other recent immigrants.
Many of the indigenous peoples were absorbed into the mestizo
population, but the remaining 500,000 currently represent over eighty-five distinct cultures. The European immigrants were primarily Spanish
colonists, but a high number of other Europeans brought by the past high growth (Portugal
, Italian
, German, also many North Americans) migrated to the region in the middle 20th century by the Petroleum Growth, and in smaller numbers French
, English
and Polish
communities immigrated during the Second World War and the Cold War
.
Black Africans
were brought as slaves, mostly to the coastal lowlands, beginning early in the 16th century, and continuing into the 19th century. Other immigrant populations include Asians and Middle Easterners, particularly Lebanese, Syrians, and Chinese.
About 65% of the population is mestizo, or of mixed European, African, and Amerindian ancestry, while 25% are white of European ancestry and/or Middle Eastern ancestry. Another 8% is black, or of mixed black African and European ancestry, while 2% is Amerindian ancestry. Pure indigenous Amerindians comprise 1 percent of the population. There are 101 languages listed for Venezuela in the Ethnologue database, of which 80 are spoken today as living languages.
. Today more than fifty different indigenous ethnic groups inhabit Venezuela. Most of them speak languages belonging to the Chibcha
n and Carib
an language families.
, in which a huge segment of the population, between 81% and 90%, practices Roman Catholicism
. About 1% of Venezuelans practice indigenous religions
.
Under 1% practice Judaism
, Islam
, Hinduism
, and Buddhism
. Despite strong numbers of adherents, around 60% of respondents to a poll by El Tiempo report that they do not practice their faith actively.
Nation
A nation may refer to a community of people who share a common language, culture, ethnicity, descent, and/or history. In this definition, a nation has no physical borders. However, it can also refer to people who share a common territory and government irrespective of their ethnic make-up...
in South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
called Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. Venezuelans are predominantly Roman Catholic
Roman Catholicism in Venezuela
The Catholic Church in Venezuela is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, curia in Rome and the Venezuelan Bishops Conference....
and speak Spanish
Spanish language
Spanish , also known as Castilian , is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that evolved from several languages and dialects in central-northern Iberia around the 9th century and gradually spread with the expansion of the Kingdom of Castile into central and southern Iberia during the...
, and a majority of them are the result of a mixture of Europeans, Africans, and Amerindians.
Demography
With approximately 28 million people in 2006, Venezuela is the sixth-most populous country in Latin AmericaLatin America
Latin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish and Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,500 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, after Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Argentina
Argentina
Argentina , officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America by land area, after Brazil. It is constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires...
, Colombia
Colombia
Colombia, officially the Republic of Colombia , is a unitary constitutional republic comprising thirty-two departments. The country is located in northwestern South America, bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the...
, and Peru
Peru
Peru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean....
.
More than ninety percent of the Venezuelans live in urban areas – a figure significantly higher than the world average. The literacy rate (98 percent) in Venezuela is also well above the world average, and the rate of population growth is slightly higher than the world average. Also, a large proportion of Venezuelans are young, largely because of recent decreases in the infant mortality rate. While 30 percent of the people are 14 years of age or younger, just 4 percent are aged 65 or older.
Ethnic groups
The country has a diverse population that reflects its colourful history and the peoples that have populated here from ancient times to the present. The historic amalgam of the different main groups forms the basics of Venezuela's current demographics: EuropeanEuropean ethnic groups
The ethnic groups in Europe are the various ethnic groups that reside in the nations of Europe. European ethnology is the field of anthropology focusing on Europe....
immigrants, Amerindian peoples
Indigenous peoples of the Americas
The indigenous peoples of the Americas are the pre-Columbian inhabitants of North and South America, their descendants and other ethnic groups who are identified with those peoples. Indigenous peoples are known in Canada as Aboriginal peoples, and in the United States as Native Americans...
, Africans
African people
African people refers to natives, inhabitants, or citizen of Africa and to people of African descent.-Etymology:Many etymological hypotheses that have been postulated for the ancient name "Africa":...
, Asians
Asian people
Asian people or Asiatic people is a term with multiple meanings that refers to people who descend from a portion of Asia's population.- Central Asia :...
, Middle Easterners
Arab diaspora
Arab diaspora refers to Arab immigrants, and their descendants who, voluntarily or as refugees, emigrated from their native lands and now reside in non-Arab countries, primarily in Latin America, and Europe, as well as North America and South Asia, parts of Southeast Asia, the Caribbean, and West...
and other recent immigrants.
Many of the indigenous peoples were absorbed into the mestizo
Mestizo
Mestizo is a term traditionally used in Latin America, Philippines and Spain for people of mixed European and Native American heritage or descent...
population, but the remaining 500,000 currently represent over eighty-five distinct cultures. The European immigrants were primarily Spanish
Spanish people
The Spanish are citizens of the Kingdom of Spain. Within Spain, there are also a number of vigorous nationalisms and regionalisms, reflecting the country's complex history....
colonists, but a high number of other Europeans brought by the past high growth (Portugal
Portuguese people
The Portuguese are a nation and ethnic group native to the country of Portugal, in the west of the Iberian peninsula of south-west Europe. Their language is Portuguese, and Roman Catholicism is the predominant religion....
, Italian
Italian people
The Italian people are an ethnic group that share a common Italian culture, ancestry and speak the Italian language as a mother tongue. Within Italy, Italians are defined by citizenship, regardless of ancestry or country of residence , and are distinguished from people...
, German, also many North Americans) migrated to the region in the middle 20th century by the Petroleum Growth, and in smaller numbers French
French people
The French are a nation that share a common French culture and speak the French language as a mother tongue. Historically, the French population are descended from peoples of Celtic, Latin and Germanic origin, and are today a mixture of several ethnic groups...
, English
English people
The English are a nation and ethnic group native to England, who speak English. The English identity is of early mediaeval origin, when they were known in Old English as the Anglecynn. England is now a country of the United Kingdom, and the majority of English people in England are British Citizens...
and Polish
Poles
thumb|right|180px|The state flag of [[Poland]] as used by Polish government and diplomatic authoritiesThe Polish people, or Poles , are a nation indigenous to Poland. They are united by the Polish language, which belongs to the historical Lechitic subgroup of West Slavic languages of Central Europe...
communities immigrated during the Second World War and the Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
.
Black Africans
Black people
The term black people is used in systems of racial classification for humans of a dark skinned phenotype, relative to other racial groups.Different societies apply different criteria regarding who is classified as "black", and often social variables such as class, socio-economic status also plays a...
were brought as slaves, mostly to the coastal lowlands, beginning early in the 16th century, and continuing into the 19th century. Other immigrant populations include Asians and Middle Easterners, particularly Lebanese, Syrians, and Chinese.
About 65% of the population is mestizo, or of mixed European, African, and Amerindian ancestry, while 25% are white of European ancestry and/or Middle Eastern ancestry. Another 8% is black, or of mixed black African and European ancestry, while 2% is Amerindian ancestry. Pure indigenous Amerindians comprise 1 percent of the population. There are 101 languages listed for Venezuela in the Ethnologue database, of which 80 are spoken today as living languages.
Indigenous peoples
Before the Spanish colonization of the region that would become the country of Venezuela, the territory was the home to many different indigenous peoplesIndigenous peoples
Indigenous peoples are ethnic groups that are defined as indigenous according to one of the various definitions of the term, there is no universally accepted definition but most of which carry connotations of being the "original inhabitants" of a territory....
. Today more than fifty different indigenous ethnic groups inhabit Venezuela. Most of them speak languages belonging to the Chibcha
Chibchan languages
The Chibchan languages make up a language family indigenous to the Isthmo-Colombian area, which extends from eastern Honduras to northern Colombia and includes populations of these countries as well as Nicaragua, Costa Rica, and Panama...
n and Carib
Cariban languages
The Cariban languages are an indigenous language family of South America. They are widespread across northernmost South America, from the mouth of the Amazon River to the Colombian Andes, but also appear in central Brazil. Cariban languages are relatively closely related, and number two to three...
an language families.
Religion
The National Institute for Statistics (INE) does not collect religious statistics, and accurate reports are hard to obtain. Based on various studies, more than 95% of the population adheres to ChristianityChristianity
Christianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings...
, in which a huge segment of the population, between 81% and 90%, practices Roman Catholicism
Roman Catholicism in Venezuela
The Catholic Church in Venezuela is part of the worldwide Roman Catholic Church, under the spiritual leadership of the Pope, curia in Rome and the Venezuelan Bishops Conference....
. About 1% of Venezuelans practice indigenous religions
Animism
Animism refers to the belief that non-human entities are spiritual beings, or at least embody some kind of life-principle....
.
Under 1% practice Judaism
Judaism
Judaism ) is the "religion, philosophy, and way of life" of the Jewish people...
, Islam
Islam in Venezuela
There are approximately 100,000 Muslims in Venezuela, 0.4 percent of the nation's population. Venezuela has a small but influential Muslim population, many of them Arabs of Lebanese, Palestinian, Syrian descent and Turkish....
, Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, and Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
. Despite strong numbers of adherents, around 60% of respondents to a poll by El Tiempo report that they do not practice their faith actively.
- Culture of VenezuelaCulture of VenezuelaThe Venezuelan people have a rich cultural heritage. From the original American Indians to the Spanish and Africans who arrived after the Spanish conquest, the twentieth century waves of immigration brought many Italians, Portuguese, Arabs, Germans, Moroccan Jews, and others from the bordering...