Literacy rates among adults in Colombia
Colombia: Literacy rates among adults was 95.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Colombia, 1993–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rates among adults in Colombia is 95.3%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Colombia peaked at 95.7% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 91.1%, in 1993.
That places Colombia 35th out of 89 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 69.8% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 20.0% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 11 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 104.8% (2022)
- Primary education, teachers 180,781 (2022)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.63 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 103.4% (2022)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates among adults in Colombia?
- Literacy rates among adults in Colombia was 95.3% in 2024, 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 Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 95.7% in 2021.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 91.1% in 1993.
- How does Colombia rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Colombia ranks 35th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rates among adults 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 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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population aged 15 years and older who can read and write.