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| States, Federal Dependencies and Capital District Estados, Dependencias Federales y Distrito Capital (Spanish) | |
|---|---|
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| Category | Federated state |
| Location | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela |
| Number |
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| Populations | 146,480 (Amazonas) – 3,704,404 (Zulia) |
| Areas | 1,100 km2 (440 sq mi) (Nueva Esparta) – 240,000 km2 (92,000 sq mi) (Bolívar) |
| Government | |
| Subdivisions |
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Legislature
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Judiciary |
 Venezuela portal |
TheBolivarian Republic of Venezuela is afederation made up of twenty-three states (Spanish:estados), aCapital District (Spanish:Distrito Capital) and theFederal Dependencies (Spanish:Dependencias Federales), which consist of manyislands and islets in theCaribbean Sea.[1] Venezuela claims thedisputed Essequibo territory as one of its states, which it calls Guayana Esequiba, but the territory is controlled byGuyana as part of six of itsregions.
The states and territories of Venezuela are usually organized intoregions (Spanish:regiones), although these regions are mostly geographical entities rather than administrative entities.
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Prior to theFederal War (1859–1863), the country was divided into provinces rather than states (seeProvinces 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 includedGuzmán 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, renamedLa Guaira in 2019).
On 5 December 2023, following areferendum 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 adiplomatic crisis between the two countries.
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.
| Region | Spanish | States |
|---|---|---|
| Andean | Andina | Mérida,Táchira,Trujillo |
| Capital | Capital | Caracas (Capital District),La Guaira,Miranda |
| Central | Centro | Aragua,Carabobo |
| Central-Western | Centro-Occidente | Falcón,Lara,Yaracuy |
| Guayana | Guayana | Amazonas,Bolívar,Delta Amacuro |
| Insular | Insular | Nueva Esparta,Federal Dependencies |
| Los Llanos | Los Llanos | Apure,Barinas,Cojedes,Guárico,Portuguesa |
| Eastern | Oriental | Anzoátegui,Monagas,Sucre |
| Zulian | Zulia | Zulia |
Below is a list of the 23 states of Venezuela. The states are listed along with their correspondent emblems, data and location.
| Flag | State | Capital | Largest city | Population (2021)[4] | Population (2011) | Area (km2) | Density per km2 (2021) | Density per km2 (2011) | Region | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 | Amazonas | Puerto Ayacucho | 180,000 | 146,480 | 180,145 | 0.99 | 0.81 | Guayana |  | |
.svg) | Anzoátegui | Barcelona | 1,570,000 | 1,469,747 | 43,300 | 36.26 | 33.94 | Eastern |  | |
 | Apure | San Fernando de Apure | 570,000 | 459,025 | 76,500 | 7.45 | 6.00 | Llanos |  | |
 | Aragua | Maracay | 1,640,000 | 1,630,308 | 7,014 | 233.82 | 232.44 | Central |  | |
 | Barinas | Barinas | 830,000 | 816,264 | 35,200 | 23.58 | 23.19 | Andean |  | |
 | Bolívar | Ciudad Bolívar | Ciudad Guayana | 1,730,000 | 1,410,964 | 238,000 | 7.27 | 5.93 | Guayana |  |
 | Carabobo | Valencia | 2,240,000 | 2,245,744 | 4,650 | 481.72 | 482.96 | Central |  | |
 | Cojedes | San Carlos | 330,000 | 323,165 | 14,800 | 22.29 | 21.84 | Central |  | |
 | Delta Amacuro | Tucupita | 190,000 | 167,676 | 40,200 | 4.72 | 4.17 | Guayana |  | |
 | Falcón | Coro | Punto Fijo | 990,000 | 902,847 | 24,800 | 39.92 | 36.41 | Central-Western |  |
 | Guárico | San Juan de los Morros | Calabozo | 830,000 | 747,739 | 64,986 | 12.77 | 11.51 | Llanos |  |
 | La Guaira | La Guaira | 340,000 | 352,920 | 1,496 | 227.27 | 235.91 | Capital |  | |
 | Lara | Barquisimeto | 1,870,000 | 1,774,867 | 19,800 | 94.44 | 89.64 | Central-Western |  | |
 | Mérida | Mérida | 880,000 | 828,592 | 11,300 | 77.88 | 73.33 | Andean |  | |
 | Miranda | Los Teques | 2,970,000 | 2,675,165 | 7,950 | 373.58 | 336.50 | Capital |  | |
 | Monagas | Maturín | 930,000 | 905,443 | 28,930 | 32.15 | 31.30 | Eastern |  | |
 | Nueva Esparta | La Asunción | Porlamar | 570,000 | 491,610 | 1,150 | 495.65 | 427.90 | Insular |  |
 | Portuguesa | Guanare | 930,000 | 876,496 | 15,200 | 61.18 | 57.66 | Central-Western |  | |
 | Sucre | Cumaná | 990,000 | 896,291 | 11,800 | 83.90 | 75.96 | Eastern |  | |
 | Táchira | San Cristóbal | 1,030,000 | 1,168,908 | 11,100 | 92.79 | 105.31 | Andean |  | |
 | Trujillo | Trujillo | Valera | 770,000 | 686,367 | 7,400 | 104.05 | 92.75 | Andean |  |
 | Yaracuy | San Felipe | 670,000 | 600,852 | 7,100 | 94.37 | 84.63 | Central-Western |  | |
 | Zulia | Maracaibo | 3,830,000 | 3,704,404 | 63,100 | 60.70 | 58.71 | Zulian |  | |
| Disputed state whose territory is controlled byGuyana: | ||||||||||
| Guayana Esequiba | Tumeremo (administrative center) | 128,000 | 125,000 | 159,542 | 0.8 | 0.78 | Guayana |  | ||
.svg)
| Rank | State | HDI (2022)[5] | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| High human development | |||||||||
| 1 | .svg) Capital District | 0.743 | |||||||
| 2 | Miranda | 0.730 | |||||||
| 3 | Aragua | 0.725 | |||||||
| 4 | Carabobo | 0.719 | |||||||
| 5 | La Guaira | ||||||||
| 6 | Nueva Esparta | 0.718 | |||||||
| 7 |  Anzoátegui | 0.710 | |||||||
| 8 | Bolívar | 0.701 | |||||||
| Medium human development | |||||||||
| – | Venezuela | 0.699 | |||||||
| 9 |  Táchira | 0.697 | |||||||
| 10 |  Monagas | 0.689 | |||||||
| 11 | Falcón | ||||||||
| 12 | Mérida | 0.688 | |||||||
| 13 | Zulia | 0.684 | |||||||
| 14 | Delta Amacuro | 0.683 | |||||||
| 15 | Amazonas | 0.679 | |||||||
| 16 | Lara | ||||||||
| 17 | Cojedes | 0.676 | |||||||
| 18 | Sucre | 0.669 | |||||||
| 19 | Trujillo | ||||||||
| 20 | Yaracuy | 0.666 | |||||||
| 21 | Guárico | 0.661 | |||||||
| 22 | Portuguesa | 0.646 | |||||||
| 23 | Barinas | ||||||||
| 24 | Apure | 0.628 | |||||||
| Flag | State | Capital | Population (2011) | Area (km2) | Region | Map |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Capital District | Caracas | 1,943,901 | 433 | Capital | .svg) |
 | Federal Dependencies | Los Roques | 2,155 | 342 | Insular | .svg) |
Several states are named for historical figures:
Several states are named for natural features:
Other naming origins:
| Capital District | .svg) | |
|---|---|---|
| States | ||
| Federal Dependencies | ||
| Regions | ||
| Disputed state | ||
| Related topics |
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