Literacy rates among adults in Venezuela

Venezuela: Literacy rates among adults was 97.2% in 2017. ▲ Rising

Latest (2017)
97.2%
Change on year
up 0.1%
World rank
24th
of 89 countries
All-time high
97.2%
in 2017
All-time low
84.7%
in 1981
Years of data
14
1981–2017

Literacy rates among adults in Venezuela, 1981–2017

0204060801001981199920171981: 84.7 %1990: 89.8 %2001: 93 %2005: 94.4 %2006: 94.7 %2007: 95.2 %2008: 95.3 %2009: 95.5 %2010: 95.4 %2011: 94.8 %2012: 96 %2015: 96.6 %2016: 97.1 %2017: 97.2 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2017, literacy rates among adults in Venezuela stood at 97.2%. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.

That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 2.1% over ten years.

Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Venezuela peaked at 97.2% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 84.7%, in 1981.

Venezuela ranks 24th of 89 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 84.7% 84.7% 84.7% 1
1990s 89.8% 89.8% 89.8% 1
2000s 94.7% 93.0% 95.5% 6
2010s 96.2% 94.8% 97.2% 6

Countries ranked near Venezuela

  1. 21 Singapore 97.7% compare
  2. 22 Oman 97.3% compare
  3. 23 Turkey 97.3% compare
  4. 25 China 96.7% compare
  5. 26 Bolivia 96.7% compare
  6. 27 Macao 96.5% compare

See the full ranking of 89 places →

More education data for Venezuela

All data for Venezuela →

Frequently asked questions

What is literacy rates among adults in Venezuela?
Literacy rates among adults in Venezuela was 97.2% in 2017, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest literacy rates among adults recorded in Venezuela?
The highest recorded value was 97.2% in 2017.
What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Venezuela?
The lowest recorded value was 84.7% in 1981.
How does Venezuela rank for literacy rates among adults?
Venezuela ranks 24th out of 89 countries with data for 2017.
Is literacy rates among adults rising or falling in Venezuela?
Over the last ten years it is up 2.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Venezuela data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rates among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Literacy rates among adults
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
89 places, 916 data points, 1975–2024
Last refreshed

Share of the population aged 15 years and older who can read and write.