Literacy rate in Colombia
Colombia: Literacy rate was 95.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate in Colombia, 1918–2024
Source: UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rate in Colombia is 95.3%, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate in Colombia peaked at 95.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 42.4%, in 1918.
That places Colombia 53rd out of 128 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Literacy rate in Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1918 | 42.4% | — |
| 1928 | 51.6% | +21.7% |
| 1938 | 55.8% | +8.1% |
| 1950 | 52.5% | -5.9% |
| 1993 | 91.1% | +73.4% |
| 1996 | 91.2% | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 92.8% | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 92.8% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 92.3% | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 92.7% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 93.4% | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 93.2% | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 93.4% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 93.6% | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 94.2% | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 94.2% | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 94.7% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 94.9% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 95.1% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 95.2% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 95.6% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 95.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 95.3% | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 95.5% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 95.3% | -0.1% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 95.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 95.4%, 100% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 95.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 94.4%, 1.0× the median. (22 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Literacy rate in Colombia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1993 | +73.4% | 52.5% | 91.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1910s | 42.4% | 42.4% | 42.4% | 1 |
| 1920s | 51.6% | 51.6% | 51.6% | 1 |
| 1930s | 55.8% | 55.8% | 55.8% | 1 |
| 1950s | 52.5% | 52.5% | 52.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 91.1% | 91.1% | 91.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 92.9% | 92.3% | 93.4% | 6 |
| 2010s | 94.4% | 93.4% | 95.2% | 8 |
| 2020s | 95.5% | 95.3% | 95.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
More education data for Colombia
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 190,940 (2022)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 234,939 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 963,182 (2022)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 937,684 (2022)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.85 million (2022)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.14 million (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -1.2 % change on previous year (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2022)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.08 units per person (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate in Colombia?
- Literacy rate in Colombia was 95.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 95.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest literacy rate recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.4% in 1918.
- How does Colombia rank for literacy rate?
- Colombia ranks 53rd out of 128 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Colombia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of adults who can read and write a simple statement about their everyday life.