Venezuela is situated in the northern part of South America, covering a land area of 916,400 square kilometers with an estimated population of approximately 28.4 million in 2024. It shares its eastern border with Guyana, its southern border with Brazil, its western border with Colombia, and has a northern coastline along the Caribbean Sea. The primary ports include Puerto Cabello, La Guaira, and Maracaibo, with Jose Port and Maracaibo serving as the main export hubs for petroleum and related products. Venezuela does not possess any world-class significant ports or maritime channels.

Venezuela operates under a presidential system where the president serves as the head of state, head of government, and commander-in-chief of the armed forces, with a six-year term and no restrictions on re-election. The nation maintains an active military force of about 200,000 personnel, supplemented by approximately 8 million militia reservists.

Venezuela holds the world's largest proven crude oil reserves, estimated at around 300 billion barrels, accounting for roughly 17% of the global total. It is one of the five founding members of OPEC. The majority of its crude oil is located in the Lake Maracaibo region and the Orinoco Heavy Oil Belt; however, it is predominantly heavy crude, characterized by high sulfur and heavy metal content alongside low viscosity, leading to elevated extraction and refining costs.

The country ranks eighth globally in proven natural gas reserves, with approximately 201 trillion cubic feet, representing about 2.9% of the world's total.

Official gold reserves held by Venezuela amounted to around 53 tonnes by the end of 2024, with an additional 31 tonnes stored at the Bank of England that have been frozen by the UK since 2018. Estimates for untapped gold reserves vary significantly: 1) The government, following the establishment of the Orinoco Mining Arc by Maduro in 2016, claims reserves exceeding 8,000 tonnes in that area. 2) Data from China's Ministry of Commerce cites "predicted gold reserves of 792 tonnes." 3) The U.S. Geological Survey (USGS), widely regarded as the most authoritative global mining statistics agency, reported total global gold reserves of approximately 64,000 tonnes in its 2024 data, with Russia and Australia leading at 12,000 tonnes each, Tanzania ranking 15th at 400 tonnes, and no specific data listed for Venezuela.

Iron ore reserve estimates also differ. According to China's Ministry of Commerce, Venezuela possesses "iron ore resources of 14.68 billion tonnes, with proven reserves of 3.63 billion tonnes," while some overseas analyses estimate a range of 2.2 to 4.0 billion tonnes. Based on these figures, Venezuela's iron ore reserves account for about 1-2% of the global total. However, the latest USGS report still does not include specific iron ore reserve data for Venezuela.

Regarding other mineral resources, data from China's Ministry of Commerce indicates that Venezuela has "bauxite resources of approximately 3.48 billion tonnes, with proven reserves of 1.33 billion tonnes... titanium reserves of 39 million tonnes; diamond resources of 41 million carats;... proven coal reserves of 730 million tonnes; and nickel ore reserves of 490,000 tonnes." Using the latest USGS data, global bauxite reserves are about 30 billion dry tonnes, global titanium reserves are approximately 560 million tonnes, global diamond reserves are around 1.7 billion carats, and global nickel reserves are about 130 million tonnes. According to BP data, global coal reserves are roughly 10.7 trillion tonnes. Based on these benchmarks, Venezuela's shares of global reserves for bauxite, titanium, coal, and nickel are approximately 4.4%, 7%, 0.1%, and 0.4%, respectively.

The country is also rich in hydro and forest resources, with a forest coverage rate of about 52%, significantly higher than the global average of approximately 32%.

The United States, China, and Spain are Venezuela's primary export destinations. Total exports in 2023 amounted to approximately $7.63 billion, with exports to the US, China, and Spain being about $3.81 billion, $740 million, and $670 million, respectively, accounting for shares of roughly 50%, 10%, and 9%.

In terms of commodities, petroleum and its products, base metals (iron and aluminum), and nitrogen fertilizers are the main exports. Petroleum and its products (including crude oil and petroleum coke) constitute about 60% of exports, iron (including scrap, ore, and reduced iron) about 8%, acyclic alcohol derivatives about 5.5%, nitrogen fertilizers about 3.7%, primary aluminum about 3%, and gold about 1.5%.

Focusing solely on crude oil exports, OPEC data indicates that as of November 2025, Venezuela's crude oil production was approximately 934,000 barrels per day, with crude oil exports in 2024 averaging about 656,000 barrels per day.