Literacy in Colombia
Colombia: Literacy was 95.34 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
95.34
Change on year
down 0.1%
World rank
35th
of 89 countries
All-time high
95.66
in 2021
All-time low
91.06
in 1993
Years of data
21
1993–2024
Literacy in Colombia, 1993–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy in Colombia is 95.34, 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 in Colombia peaked at 95.66 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 91.06, 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.
Literacy in Colombia, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1993 | 91.06 | — |
| 1996 | 91.21 | +0.2% |
| 2004 | 92.8 | +1.7% |
| 2005 | 92.85 | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 92.3 | -0.6% |
| 2007 | 92.65 | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 93.38 | +0.8% |
| 2009 | 93.24 | -0.1% |
| 2010 | 93.37 | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 93.58 | +0.2% |
| 2014 | 94.19 | +0.7% |
| 2015 | 94.25 | +0.1% |
| 2016 | 94.65 | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 94.89 | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 95.09 | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 95.25 | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 95.64 | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 95.66 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 95.31 | -0.4% |
| 2023 | 95.46 | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 95.34 | -0.1% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 95.34 is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 95.55, 100% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 95.34 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 94.86, 1.0× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 91.13 | 91.06 | 91.21 | 2 |
| 2000s | 92.87 | 92.3 | 93.38 | 6 |
| 2010s | 94.41 | 93.37 | 95.25 | 8 |
| 2020s | 95.48 | 95.31 | 95.66 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
More education data for Colombia
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 93.21 (2022)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 92.68 (2022)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy in Colombia?
- Literacy in Colombia was 95.34 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 95.66 in 2021.
- What is the lowest literacy recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 91.06 in 1993.
- How does Colombia rank for literacy?
- Colombia ranks 35th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy 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 Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy. 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).