1. Annual inflation has been estimated at a million per cent. This would cut the value of £1 to 0.01p.
2. When Christopher Columbus saw Venezuela in 1497 he said he had found Heaven on Earth.
3. Venezuelans have won the Miss World contest six times, a number equalled only by India.
4. Venezuela is home to the world’s largest rodent, the capybara.
5. Angel Falls in Venezuela is the world’s tallest waterfall.
6. There are more gun-related deaths in Venezuela per head of population than in any other country, with the exception of Honduras.
7. Amerigo Vespucci gave the country its name in 1499 as it reminded him of his home city of Venice. Venezuela means Little Venice.
8. Venezuela has about 31 million people, 25,000 species of orchid, 1,400 bird species and almost 4,000 species of fungi.
9. Coleo is a Venezuelan sport in which cowboys grab cattle by the tail and try to pull them over.
10. A new currency has just been launched in Venezuela replacing the “strong bolivar” with the “sovereign bolivar” at a rate of 100,000 to