States of Venezuela


The Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is a federation made up of twenty-three states, a Capital District and the Federal Dependencies, which consist of many islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. Venezuela claims the disputed Essequibo territory as one of its states, which it calls Guayana Esequiba, but the territory is controlled by Guyana as part of six of its regions.
The states and territories of Venezuela are usually organized into regions, although these regions are mostly geographical entities rather than administrative entities.

Historical states

Prior to the Federal War, the country was divided into provinces rather than states. 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 included Guzmán Blanco State. 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, Amazonas, and Vargas.

Proposed states

On 5 December 2023, following a referendum held two days earlier, Venezuelan president Nicolás Maduro published a new map showing the claimed region of Guayana Esequiba as part of Venezuela. He urged legislators to create a law which would establish a new state covering the disputed region. The Venezuelan referendum on annexing the area led to a diplomatic crisis between the two countries.

Regions

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.
RegionSpanishStates
AndeanAndinaMérida, Táchira, Trujillo
CapitalCapitalCaracas, La Guaira, Miranda
CentralCentroAragua, Carabobo
Central-WesternCentro-OccidenteFalcón, Lara, Yaracuy
GuayanaGuayanaAmazonas, Bolívar, Delta Amacuro
InsularInsularNueva Esparta, Federal Dependencies
Los LlanosLos LlanosApure, Barinas, Cojedes, Guárico, Portuguesa
EasternOrientalAnzoátegui, Monagas, Sucre
ZulianZuliaZulia

States

Below is a list of the 23 states of Venezuela. The states are listed along with their correspondent emblems, data and location.

By Human Development Index

Special status areas

FlagStateCapitalPopulation
Area
RegionMap
Capital DistrictCaracas1,943,901433Capital
Federal DependenciesLos Roques2,155342Insular

State name etymologies

Several states are named for historical figures:
Several states are named for natural features:
Other naming origins:
  • Barinas, named after the indigenous ethnic group in the area
  • Carabobo, from the local Arawaco language expression Karau-bo-bo, meaning "Savannah of a lot of Ravines"
  • Caracas, named for the Caracas indigenous group
  • La Guaira, for the capital city, La Guaira, named after an indigenous Carib settlement called Huaira
  • Mérida, for the capital city, Mérida, itself named for Mérida in Spain
  • Nueva Esparta is named for the heroism shown by its inhabitants during the Venezuelan War of Independence, deemed similar to that of the Spartan soldiers of Ancient Greece.
  • Trujillo, for the capital city, Trujillo, itself named for Trujillo in Spain