Venezuela Genealogy

Guide to Venezuela ancestry, family history, and genealogy: birth records, marriage records, death records, census records, parish registers, and military records.

Country Information
Venezuela is a country in South America bordered by Colombia and Guyana. Venezuela was one of three countries that emerged from the collapse of Gran Colombia in 1830 (the others being Ecuador and New Granada, which became Colombia). The official language is Spanish.

States
23 states (estados, singular - estado), 1 federal district (distrito federal), and 1 federal dependency (dependencia federal):

Note: The federal dependency consists of 11 federally controlled island groups with a total of 72 individual islands.

Municipios
Venezuela is divided into 23 states and 1 capital district. Each state is further divided into more than 300 municipios. To learn more click here. To find address and other contact information visit: http://www.gobiernoenlinea.ve/directorioestado/Registros Civiles de Venezuela Knowing about a country's political divisions will help in determining where records such as civil registration and census are located.

More Venezuela Research Tools
Research tools can include resources that assist in locating correct records to search and determining the correct locality to search in. Below are links and Wiki articles to research tools in Venezuela.

FamilySearch Resources
Below are FamilySearch resources that can assist you in resourcing your family.
 * Facebook Communities - Facebook groups discussing genealogy research
 * Historical Records
 * Family History Center locator map

Research Tutorials

 * Search page
 * Introduction to Hispanic Research
 * Reading Spanish Handwritten Records:
 * Lesson 1: The Spanish Alphabet
 * Lesson 2: Words and Dates
 * Lesson 3: Reading Spanish Records
 * Hispanic Online Resources
 * U.S. Hispanic Immigration
 * U.S. Hispanic Immigrants: Finding their Place of Origin
 * Improve your Search Results in FamilySearch Hispanic Records