Arab Venezuelans

Migration history

Arab immigration to Venezuela started in the 19th century. They came mostly from the Ottoman provinces of Lebanon and Syria, 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, Eastern Rite Catholic Churches, about 550,000 Druze, and 10,000 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. Other sources stated that there are about 60,000 Syrian-Venezuelans living in Syria. 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. In 2021, the largest Druze communities outside the Middle East were in Venezuela and the United States (50,000).

Notable people

• Mariam Habach, Beauty Queen, Miss Venezuela 2015, Syrian father and a Venezuelan mother
• Stephany Abasali, born to a Syrian father and a Lebanese mother, Miss Venezuela 2024

References

References

1. (21 August 2025). "La "pequeña Venezuela": Sweida, la capital de los drusos en Siria donde el 20% de la población es venezolana". BBC News Mundo.
2. Margolis, Mac. (15 September 2013). "Abdel el-Zabayar: From Parliament to the Frontlines". The Daily Beast.
3. Gligorevic, Tihomir. (11 September 2013). "Venezuela boast a Syrian population that nears half a million". inserbia.info.
4. Salloum, Habeeb. (2000). "Arabs Making Their Mark in Latin America: Generations of Immigrants in Colombia, Venezuela and Mexico". Al Jadid.
5. (2009). "Geographical Distribution of the Lebanese Diaspora". iLoubnan.
6. (2009). "Geographical Distribution of the Lebanese Diaspora". Joshua Project.
7. (9 August 1999). "Por amor a Venezuela: La emigración libanesa".
8. (Feb 2012). "EL LEVANTE Y AMÉRICA LATINA. UNA BITÁCORA DE LATINOAMÉRICA EN SIRIA, LÍBANO, JORDANIA Y PALESTINA".
9. (October 2010). "Venezuela afianza relaciones con Siria". Aristobulo Isturiz PSUV.
10. (Sep 2009). "Chavez tells Israelis to disobey 'genocidal' govt". 26 September News.
11. (6 April 2021). "Sending relief--and a message of inclusion and love—to our Druze sisters and brothers". Los Angeles Times.