European Venezuelans (Spanish: Venezolanos europeos), also known as White Venezuelans (Spanish: Venezolanos blancos) are Venezuelans who self-identify in the national census as white, tracing their heritage to European ethnic groups. According to the official census report, although "white" literally involves external caucasoid features such as fair skin, hair, and eyes, among others, the term "white" has been used in different ways in different historical periods and places, and so its precise definition is somewhat confusing.

According to the 2011 National Population and Housing Census, 43.6% of the population identified themselves as white people. A genomic study shows that about 61.5% of the Venezuelan gene pool has European ancestry. Among the Latin American and Caribbean countries in the study (Argentina, Bahamas, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, Colombia, El Salvador, Ecuador, Jamaica, Mexico, Peru, Puerto Rico, and Venezuela), Brazil, Venezuela, and Argentina exhibit the highest European contribution.

The ancestry of European Venezuelans is primarily Spanish, Portuguese, and Italian.

Other ancestries of European Venezuelans are: Germans, Poles, Greeks, and other minorities.^{[citation needed]}

Italian explorer Christopher Columbus arrived in the Venezuela region in 1498. European explorers named Venezuela ("Little Venice") after observing local indigenous houses on stilts over water. During the first quarter-century of contact, the Europeans limited themselves to slave hunting and pearlfishing on the northeastern coast; the first permanent Spanish settlement in Venezuela, Cumaná, was not made until 1523.

European colonization of Venezuela commenced with the arrival of the Spanish in the late 15th century, with settlers predominantly hailing from regions such as Andalusia, Galicia, the Basque Country, and the Canary Islands. The influence of the Canary Islands on Venezuelan culture and customs has been particularly significant, earning Venezuela the occasional nickname "the eighth island of the Canary archipelago".

Throughout the colonial period, Spanish authorities discouraged non-Spanish migration to safeguard colonial territories from rival European claims, although exceptions existed. The influx of Germans began in the early 16th century, with King Carlos I granting colonization privileges to German families to offset certain debts. This led to the renaming of the Province of Venezuela as Klein-Venedig, with its capital established as Neu-Augsburg (now Coro), and the founding of Neu-Nürnberg (now Maracaibo), the country's second-largest city. In 1542, the Dutch seized control of the Araya peninsula for its lucrative salt flats, subsequently expanding their presence to other coastal areas such as Falcón, Carabobo, and Zulia due to economic ties with the nearby Netherlands Antilles. Until deep into the 19th century, the now Venezuelan islands of Aves, the Aves archipelago, Los Roques and La Orchila were also considered by the Dutch government to be part of the Dutch West Indies.

During the emergence of the independence movements in the Americas, Venezuela experienced a notable influx of White Dominicans. This surge in migration was largely prompted by a genocide perpetrated by Afro-descendant Haitians following the capture of Hispaniola. As Venezuela pursued independence, it witnessed a significant arrival of Italian immigrants seeking better opportunities, with migration beginning in 1814 and intensifying around 1870 during Italy's unification. These Italian immigrants primarily concentrated in agricultural regions, particularly focusing on coffee and cocoa cultivation in the Andean and the Coastal Range area of the country. Concurrently, volunteers from England, Scotland, and Ireland formed the "British Legion", actively engaging in the War of Independence, leaving a lasting impact and contributing to the enduring presence of British descendants in Venezuela.