| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 1,600,000[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Caracas, Maracaibo, Valencia, Maracay, Ciudad Guayana, Barcelona-Puerto La Cruz, Punto Fijo, Margarita Island | |
| Languages | |
| Spanish, Arabic, English | |
| Religion | |
| Roman Catholicism Eastern Catholicism (Maronites) Eastern Orthodoxy Islam Druze | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| Arab Colombians, Arab Argentines, Arab Mexicans, Arab Brazilians, Arab diaspora, Arab Christians, Arab Muslims, Druze, Lebanese, Syrians, Palestinians, other Arabs |
Arab Venezuelans (Arabic: عرب فنزويلا; Spanish: Árabe-Venezolano) refers to Venezuelan citizens of Arab origin or descent. There are around 1,600,000 Venezuelans of Arab origin, mainly from Lebanon, Syria and Palestine.[1] Most Arab Venezuelans are of Syrian descent with their number between 400,000 and 1 million inhabitants,[2][3] and Lebanese descent with their number between 341,000[4] and 500,000.[5]
Arab immigration to Venezuela started as early as the 19th and 20th centuries. They came mostly from the Ottoman provinces of Lebanon, Syria, and Palestine, and are present in significant numbers in Caracas.
Immigration of Arabs in Venezuela has influenced Venezuelan culture, in particular Arabic food and music.
In religion, the majority of Arab-Venezuelans are Christians who belong to the Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Eastern Rite Catholic Churches. There are few Muslims.
According to the Venezuelan Institute of Statistics, about one million Venezuelans have Syrian origins and more than 20,000 Venezuelans are registered in the Venezuelan Embassy in Damascus.[6] Other sources stated that there is around 60,000 Syrian-Venezuelans living in Syria.[7] More than 200,000 people from the Sweida area carry Venezuelan citizenship and most are members of Syria's Druze sect, who immigrated to Venezuela in the past century.[8] In 2021 The largest Druze communities outside the Middle East are in Venezuela (60,000) and in the United States (50,000).[9]
