<item><hi format=bold>International disputes:</hi> claims all of Guyana west of the Essequibo River; maritime boundary dispute with Colombia in the Gulf of Venezuela
<item><hi format=bold>Climate:</hi> tropical; hot, humid; more moderate in highlands
<item><hi format=bold>Terrain:</hi> Andes Mountains and Maracaibo Lowlands in northwest; central plains (llanos); Guiana Highlands in southeast
<item><hi format=bold>Natural resources:</hi> petroleum, natural gas, iron ore, gold, bauxite, other minerals, hydropower, diamonds
<item><hi format=bold>Land use:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>arable land:</hi> 3%
<item>• <hi format=ital>permanent crops:</hi> 1%
<item>• <hi format=ital>meadows and pastures:</hi> 20%
<item>• <hi format=ital>forest and woodland:</hi> 39%
<item>• <hi format=ital>other:</hi> 37%
</list>
<item><hi format=bold>Irrigated land:</hi> 2,640 sq km (1989 est.)
<item><hi format=bold>Environment:</hi>
<list style=hang>
<item>• <hi format=ital>current issues:</hi> sewage pollution of Lago de Valencia; oil and urban pollution of Lago de Maracaibo; deforestation; soil degradation; urban and industrial pollution, especially along the Caribbean coast