Venezuela, RB: Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2017, Venezuela, RB's literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) rose 0.03 percentage points on 2016 (from 97.21% to 97.24%).

Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2016), the average change was +0.32 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.36 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.79 percentage points in 2012 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.24 percentage points in 2011. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.26 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 90% of the movement over 8 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

See how every economy compares in the full ranking.

What this measures

Adult literacy rate is the percentage of people ages 15 and above who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.

Limitations: In practice, literacy is difficult to measure. Estimating literacy rates requires census or survey measurements under controlled conditions. Many countries report the number of literate people from self-reported data. Some use educational attainment data as a proxy but apply different lengths of school attendance or levels of completion. Ant there is a trend among recent national and international surveys toward using a direct reading test of literacy skills. Because definitions and methods of data collection differ across countries, data should be used cautiously.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 14 values

Literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) in nearby economies

• Bolivia — 94.82% (2024)
• Brazil — 95.01% (2024)
• Colombia — 95.69% (2024)
• Dominican Republic — 94.43% (2024)
• Ecuador — 92.58% (2024)
• El Salvador — 88.25% (2024)
• Guatemala — 78.46% (2024)
• Honduras — 88.78% (2024)
• Mexico — 94.87% (2024)

More education data for Venezuela, RB

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
• School enrollment, preprimary (% gross) — 69.52% (2017)
• Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) — 103.04% (2024)
• Primary education, pupils — 3.54 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 113.69% (2024)
• Lower secondary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) — 83.18% (2024)

Reading data like this

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Questions people ask

What is Venezuela, RB's literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above)?

97.24% in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1981?

It is up 14.24 percentage points from 83% in 1981. The highest value was 97.24% in 2017 and the lowest 83% in 1981.

Is the latest change in literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) unusual for Venezuela, RB?

In 2017, Venezuela, RB's literacy rate, adult female (% of females ages 15 and above) rose 0.03 percentage points on 2016 (from 97.21% to 97.24%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2006 to 2016), the average change was +0.32 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.36 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.8 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.ADT.LITR.FE.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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