VATICAN CITY (Continued)
Government leader: Supreme Pontiff, JOHN PAUL II (Karol WOJTYŁA, elected Pope 16 October 1978)
Suffrage: limited to cardinals less than 80 in age
Elections: Supreme Pontiff elected for life by College of Cardinals
Communists: none known
Other political or pressure groups: none (exclusive of influence exercised by other church officers in universal Roman Catholic Church)
Member: IAEA; ITU, IWC—International Wheat Council, UPU, WTO; permanent observer status at FAO, OAS, UN, and UNESCO
ECONOMY
The Vatican City, seat of the Holy See, is supported financially by contributions (known as Peter's pence) from Roman Catholics throughout the world; some income derived from sale of Vatican postage stamps and tourist mementos, fees for admission to Vatican museums, and sale of publications; industrial activity consists solely of printing and production of a small amount of mosaics and staff uniforms; the banking and financial activities of the Vatican are worldwide; the Institute for Religious Agencies carries out fiscal operations and invests and transfers funds of Roman Catholic religious communities throughout the world; the Cardinal's Commission controls the administration of ordinary assets of the Holy See and a Special Administration manages the Holy See's capital assets
Electric power: 2100 kW (standby) capacity (1981); all power is imported from Italy
COMMUNICATIONS
Railroads: none
Highways: none (city streets)
Civil air: no major transport aircraft
Airfields: none
Telecommunications: 2 AM stations and 2 FM stations; 2,000-line automatic telephone exchange
DEFENSE FORCES
Defense is responsibility of Italy
VENEZUELA
(See reference map IV) |
LAND
911,680 km2; 4% cropland, 18% pasture, 21% forest, 57% urban, waste, and other
Land boundaries: 4,181 km
WATER
Limits of territorial waters (claimed): 12 nm plus 3 nm contiguous zone for customs and sanitation (economic, including fishing, 200 nm)
Coastline: 2,800 km
PEOPLE
Population: 18,427,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 2.8%
Nationality: noun—Venezuelan(s); adjective—Venezuelan
Ethnic divisions: 67% mestizo, 21% white, 10% Negro, 2% Indian
Religion: 96% nominally Roman Catholic, 2% Protestant
Language: Spanish (official); "Indian" dialects spoken by about 200,000 aborigines in the interior
Literacy: 74% (claimed, 1970 est.)
Labor force: 4.4 million (1980); 24% agriculture, 6% construction, 17% manufacturing, 6% transportation, 18% commerce, 25% services, 4% petroleum, utilities, and other
Organized labor: 27% of labor force
GOVERNMENT
Official name: Republic of Venezuela
Type: republic
Capital: Caracas
Political subdivisions: 20 states, 1 federal district, 2 federal territories, and 72 island dependencies in the Caribbean
Legal system: based on Napoleonic code; constitution promulgated 1961; judicial review of legislative acts in Cassation Court only; dual court system, state and federal;