Statement Coverage
Statement coverage is a structural coverage criterion that measures the percentage of executable statements executed during testing.
“The coverage of executable statements.”
(Definition reproduced from the ISTQB Glossary. Copyright belongs to ISTQB.)
View the complete ISTQB GlossaryWhat is Statement Coverage?
Higher statement coverage increases confidence that code has been exercised, although it does not guarantee defect-free software.
Execution measurement: Counts executed statements.
Coverage metric: Expressed as a percentage.
White-box testing: Based on source code execution.
Visual Example
Simplified state transitions
Arrows omitted for clarity
Real World Example
A mobile banking app lets customers freeze, unfreeze, replace, and cancel debit cards from the app.
The same button can be valid in one card status and invalid in another. Statement coverage matters because the defect risk sits in movement between statuses, not just on individual screens.
The tester follows each allowed and blocked transition, such as frozen to active or cancelled to reissued, and checks that the app prevents impossible card states.
Understanding Statement coverage helps the team protect customers from cards being left active, unusable, or shown with the wrong status after an action.
Practice Questions
Question 1
Which statement BEST describes Statement coverage in the context of ISTQB terminology?
Question 2
A tester needs to explain Statement coverage to a non‑technical stakeholder. Which approach is MOST appropriate?
Test your knowledge with real ISTQB-style questions
You’ve learned Statement Coverage. Test your understanding with topic-specific questions in our Mock Exams.