Caracas, formally Santiago de León de Caracas, is Venezuela’s capital city, the hub of the Greater Caracas Area, and the country’s biggest metropolis. Caracas is situated in the northern section of the nation along the Guaire River, following the contours of the small Caracas Valley on Venezuela’s coast mountain range (Cordillera de la Costa). Between 760 and 910 meters (2,490 and 2,990 feet) above sea level is good construction terrain. The valley lies next to the Caribbean Sea, separated from it by a steep 2,200-metre-high (7,200-foot) mountain range known as Cerro El vila; to the south, more hills and mountains exist.
The Metropolitan District of Caracas consists of five municipalities: Libertador, the main administrative division of the Venezuelan Capital District, and four additional municipalities located within Miranda State: Chacao, Baruta, Sucre, and El Hatillo. Libertador is home to numerous government facilities and serves as the Capital District (Distrito Capital). As of 2011, the Distrito Capital had a population of 2,013,366 residents, while the Caracas Metropolitan District had a population of 3,273,863 residents (2013). Caracas Metropolitan Region is predicted to have a population of 5,243,301.
The city is home to a variety of businesses, including service firms, banks, and shopping complexes. Apart from limited industrial activity in its metropolitan region, it has a predominantly service-based economy. Caracas is home to the Caracas Stock Exchange and Petróleos de Venezuela (PDVSA). PDVSA is Venezuela’s biggest enterprise. Caracas is also the cultural hub of Venezuela, with an abundance of restaurants, theaters, museums, and shopping malls. Caracas is home to many of Latin America’s highest structures.
Venezuela and its capital, Caracas, are said to have among of the world’s highest per capita murder rates, with 116 killings per 100,000 residents. The majority of homicides and other violent crimes remain unsolved. The impoverished areas that dot the hills around Caracas are always perilous.
n. South Africa is sometimes referred to as the “Rainbow Nation” to reflect the country’s newly emerging multicultural variety in the aftermath of apartheid ideology. South Africa is classified as an upper-middle-income economy and a recently industrialized country by the World Bank. It has the second-largest economy in Africa and the 34th-largest in the world. South Africa has the seventh-highest per capita income in Africa in terms of purchasing power parity. Poverty and inequality, however, remain pervasive, with almost a quarter of the population jobless and living on less than US$1.25 per day. Nonetheless, South Africa is regarded as a medium power in international affairs and wields substantial regional power.