Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Colombia
Colombia: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 3.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Colombia, 2000–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Colombia recorded 3.3% for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and up 15.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Colombia peaked at 7.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 2015.
That places Colombia 27th out of 47 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 7.5% | — |
| 2002 | 5.7% | -24.1% |
| 2003 | 5.0% | -12.3% |
| 2004 | 4.7% | -6.0% |
| 2005 | 4.8% | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 3.5% | -27.6% |
| 2009 | 3.8% | +8.6% |
| 2010 | 2.2% | -42.8% |
| 2011 | 3.6% | +65.6% |
| 2012 | 3.4% | -5.6% |
| 2013 | 2.7% | -20.6% |
| 2014 | 2.9% | +7.4% |
| 2015 | 1.9% | -33.8% |
| 2016 | 2.5% | +30.2% |
| 2017 | 2.5% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 2.9% | +16.0% |
| 2019 | 3.5% | +20.7% |
| 2020 | 3.9% | +11.4% |
| 2021 | 4.7% | +20.5% |
| 2022 | 4.4% | -6.4% |
| 2023 | 3.4% | -22.7% |
| 2024 | 3.3% | -1.5% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 3.3% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 2.1%, 1.6× the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 3.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.4%, 2.5× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 5.0% | 3.5% | 7.5% | 7 |
| 2010s | 2.8% | 1.9% | 3.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.9% | 3.3% | 4.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
- 24 Dominican Republic 3.9% compare
- 25 Nepal 3.5% compare
- 26 Egypt 3.4% compare
- 28 Lesotho 3.2% compare
- 29 South Africa 2.7% compare
- 30 United States 2.6% compare
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 out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Colombia?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Colombia was 3.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 7.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 2015.
- How does Colombia rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Colombia ranks 27th out of 47 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Colombia data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 22 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release