States of Venezuela

Venezuela
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Venezuela is divided into 23 states (estados), 1 Capital District (Distrito Capital) and the Federal Dependencies (Dependencias Federales) that consist of a large number of Venezuelan islands. Venezuela also claims the Guayana Esequiba territory which comprises six districts in the independent nation of Guyana.

Historical states

Prior to the Federal War of (1859–1863), the country was divided into provinces rather than states (see Provinces 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 included Guzmán 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).

States

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

Flag	Coat of Arms	State	Capital city	Population (2011 census)	Area (km²)	Region	Location
		Amazonas	Puerto Ayacucho	146,480	180,145	Guayana
		Anzoátegui	Barcelona	1,469,747	43,300	Nor - Oriental
		Apure	San Fernando de Apure	459,025	76,500	Llanos
		Aragua	Maracay	1,630,308	7,014	Central
		Barinas	Barinas	816,264	35,200	Andean
		Bolívar	Ciudad Bolívar	1,410,964	238,000	Guayana
		Carabobo	Valencia	2,245,744	4,650	Central
		Cojedes	San Carlos	323,165	14,800	Central
		Delta Amacuro	Tucupita	167,676	40,200	Guayana
		Falcón	Coro	902,847	24,800	Central - Occidental
		Guárico	San Juan De Los Morros	747,739	64,986	Llanos
		Lara	Barquisimeto	1,774,867	19,800	Central - Occidental
		Mérida	Mérida	828,592	11,300	Andean
		Miranda	Los Teques	2,675,165	7,950	Capital
		Monagas	Maturín	905,443	28,930	Nor - Oriental
		Nueva Esparta	La Asunción	491,610	1,150	Insular
		Portuguesa	Guanare	876,496	15,200	Central - Occidental
		Sucre	Cumaná	896,291	11,800	Nor - Oriental
		Táchira	San Cristóbal	1,168,908	11,100	Andean
		Trujillo	Trujillo	686,367	7,400	Andean
		Vargas	La Güaira	352,920	1,496	Capital
		Yaracuy	San Felipe	600,852	7,100	Central - Occidental
		Zulia	Maracaibo	3,704,404	63,100	Zulian

Special status areas

Flag	Coat of Arms	Area	Capital city	Population (2011 census)	Area (km²)	Location
		Capital District	Caracas	1,943,901	433
		Federal Dependencies	Los Roques	2,155	342

Naming

Several states are named for historical figures:

• Anzoátegui for José Antonio Anzoátegui
• Bolívar for Simón Bolívar
• Falcón for Juan Crisóstomo Falcón
• Lara for Jacinto Lara
• Miranda for Francisco de Miranda
• Monagas for José Tadeo Monagas and José Gregorio Monagas
• Sucre for Antonio José de Sucre
• Vargas for José María Vargas

Several states are named for natural features:

• Amazonas is named for the Amazon River
• Apure is named for the Apure River
• Aragua for the Aragua River
• Barinas for the Barinas River
• Cojedes for the Cojedes River
• Delta Amacuro for the river delta of the Orinoco River, and for the Amacuro River
• Guárico for the Guárico River
• Portuguesa for the Portuguesa River
• Táchira for the Táchira River
• Yaracuy for the Yaracuy River

Other naming origins:

• Carabobo, named for an ethnic village
• Caracas, named for the Caracas indigenous group
• Mérida, for the capital city, Mérida, itself named for Mérida in Spain.
• Nueva Esparta ("New Sparta") 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.
• Zulia's name stems from a vocal transliteration from the chibcha language, being the name they called an exotic blue-flowered plant known as "Edging Lobelia" (Lobelia erinus). Also for the Zulia River.

See also

• ISO 3166-2:VE

External links

• CityMayors feature

Wikimedia Commons has media related to States of Venezuela.

Administrative divisions of Venezuela Capital District Caracas States Amazonas Anzoátegui Apure Aragua Barinas Bolívar Carabobo Cojedes Delta Amacuro Falcón Guárico Lara Mérida Miranda Monagas Nueva Esparta Portuguesa Sucre Táchira Trujillo Vargas Yaracuy Zulia Dependencies Los Monjes Archipelago Las Aves archipelago Isla Aves Los Hermanos Archipelago Islas Los Frailes Los Roques archipelago La Sola Island La Tortuga Island La Orchila Blanquilla Island Los Testigos Islands Isla de Patos Regions Andean Capital Central Central-Western Guayana Insular Llanos North-Eastern South-Western Zulian Claimed Guayana Esequiba

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