Market Research Companies in Venezuela

Key figures for researchers

Population counted

27,227,930 (2011 census)¹

Population with omission adjustment

28,946,101 (2011 census)¹

Largest states

Zulia 3,704,404, Miranda 2,675,165, Carabobo 2,245,744 (2011 census)¹

Other large entities

Distrito Capital 1,943,901, Lara 1,774,867 (2011 census)¹

Median age

27 years (2011 census)¹

Households

7,162,117 (2011 census)¹

Venezuelans living abroad

nearly 7.89 million (UNHCR, Global Appeal 2026)²

In Latin America and the Caribbean

6,590,671 (R4V, May 2024)³

Internet users

76.7 per 100 people (2024)⁴

Mobile subscriptions

71 per 100 people (2024)⁵

Research guide

Research landscape

Caracas is the main business centre for research, with activity also in Maracaibo, Valencia and Barquisimeto. Local agencies typically offer consumer, social and opinion research and fieldwork, and Venezuela is sometimes covered in multi-country Andean or Latin American studies. The global reference for professional standards is the ICC/ESOMAR International Code on market, opinion and social research and data analytics, released on 8 December 2016.

Recent official statistics are limited: the XIV Population and Housing Census, with 30 October 2011 as reference date, is the latest census published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). Since then, large numbers of people have left the country: UNHCR reports that nearly 7.89 million refugees and migrants from Venezuela live abroad. Quotas built on 2011 census figures may therefore not match today’s population, so ask your agency which sources it uses to set and weight its samples.

Languages and fieldwork

Under Article 9 of the Constitution, Spanish (castellano) is the official language, and indigenous languages are also of official use for indigenous peoples. Spanish is the fieldwork language for almost all studies; the 2011 census counted 724,592 indigenous people.

The 2011 census counted 27,227,930 people (28,946,101 after adjustment for omission) across 23 states, the Distrito Capital and the Federal Dependencies. The most populated entities were Zulia (3,704,404), whose capital is Maracaibo, Miranda (2,675,165), Carabobo (2,245,744), whose capital is Valencia, the Distrito Capital (1,943,901), in Caracas, and Lara (1,774,867), whose capital is Barquisimeto. About 75% of the population lived on about 20% of the national territory.

Which methods work

There were 76.7 internet users and 71 mobile subscriptions per 100 people in 2024. Online and mobile surveys can reach many urban targets, and questionnaires should be short and work well on a phone with a modest connection.

Face-to-face (household, intercept or central location) and telephone interviews remain used for national samples, older and lower-income targets and areas outside the main cities. Focus groups and in-depth interviews are mostly held in Caracas and the other large cities. For studies about Venezuelans abroad, note that 6,590,671 lived in Latin America and the Caribbean in May 2024, according to R4V, the platform co-led by UNHCR and IOM.

Timing

Carnival (8 and 9 February 2027) and Holy Week (Holy Thursday and Good Friday, 25 and 26 March 2027) are the main holiday periods of the first quarter. Other national holidays include 1 January, 19 April, 1 May, 24 June, 5 July, 24 July, 12 October and 24, 25 and 31 December. Avoid starting fieldwork in these weeks.

The school year runs from September to July: in 2026-2027, classes started on 14 September 2026, the Christmas break runs from 14 December 2026 to 11 January 2027, teaching ends on 16 July and the school year closes on 30 July 2027. Families are harder to reach from mid-December to early January and after the school year closes, so allow more fieldwork time.

Data protection

Venezuela has no comprehensive data protection law and no dedicated data protection authority: privacy disputes are decided by the courts. The Constitution protects privacy (Article 60) and creates habeas data (Article 28): everyone may access the data held about them in public or private records and ask for it to be corrected or destroyed if it is inaccurate or unlawfully affects them.

Supreme Tribunal of Justice Decision No. 1318 of 4 August 2011 set principles for processing personal data, including prior, revocable consent, a legitimate and predetermined purpose, accuracy, security and confidentiality. Specific laws, such as the law on computer crimes and the law protecting the privacy of communications, provide criminal penalties. There is no clear duty to notify a breach to an authority. In practice, follow the ICC/ESOMAR Code: ask your agency how consent is recorded, where the data is hosted and how recordings will be shared.

Working with a local agency

• Share a clear brief: objectives, target, sample size, states and cities, urban/rural split, method and deadline.
• Ask which data the agency uses to set quotas and weights, since the latest census dates from 2011.
• Ask which panels or fieldwork teams will be used, and how supervision, back-checks and fraud checks are done.
• Agree in writing how consent is recorded, who controls the personal data, the retention period and any transfer outside Venezuela.
• Compare several proposals: you can send one request to up to 5 companies from this page.