Venezuela ( / ˌ v ɛ n ə ˈ z w eɪ l ə / ; American Spanish: [beneˈswela] ( listen ) ), officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (Spanish: República Bolivariana de Venezuela ), [12] is a country on the northern coast of South America , consisting of a continental landmass and many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea . It has a territorial extension of 916,445 km 2 (353,841 sq mi), and its population was estimated at 29 million in 2022. [13] The capital and largest urban agglomeration is the city
The continental territory is bordered on the north by the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean , on the west by Colombia , Brazil on the south, Trinidad and Tobago to the north-east and on the east by Guyana . The Venezuelan government maintains a claim against Guyana to Guayana Esequiba . [14] Venezuela is a federal presidential republic consisting of 23 states , the Capital District and federal dependencies covering Venezuela's offshore islands. Venezuela is among the most urbanized countries in Latin Ame
The territory of Venezuela was colonized by Spain in 1522 amid resistance from indigenous peoples. In 1811, it became one of the first Spanish-American territories to declare independence from the Spanish and to form part, as a department, of the first federal Republic of Colombia (historiographically known as Gran Colombia ). It separated as a full sovereign country in 1830. During the 19th century, Venezuela suffered political turmoil and autocracy, remaining dominated by regional military dictators until