Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Colombia
Colombia: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both was 12.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Colombia, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Colombia recorded 12.8% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.6% on the previous year and down 26.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Colombia peaked at 31.5% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 12.8%, in 2023.
Colombia ranks 36th of 71 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 31.5% | — |
| 2002 | 28.6% | -9.2% |
| 2003 | 26.3% | -8.0% |
| 2004 | 25.5% | -3.0% |
| 2005 | 22.7% | -10.9% |
| 2008 | 18.1% | -20.4% |
| 2009 | 18.3% | +1.1% |
| 2010 | 14.5% | -21.0% |
| 2011 | 17.4% | +20.4% |
| 2012 | 18.2% | +4.6% |
| 2013 | 17.5% | -3.8% |
| 2014 | 16.5% | -5.7% |
| 2015 | 13.2% | -20.0% |
| 2016 | 15.8% | +19.7% |
| 2017 | 15.0% | -5.1% |
| 2018 | 14.5% | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 15.2% | +4.8% |
| 2020 | 13.8% | -9.2% |
| 2021 | 13.8% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 13.7% | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 12.8% | -6.6% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 12.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 13.0%, 99% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 12.8% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12.8%, 1.0× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.4% | 18.1% | 31.5% | 7 |
| 2010s | 15.8% | 13.2% | 18.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 13.5% | 12.8% | 13.8% | 4 |
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 out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Colombia?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both in Colombia was 12.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 31.5% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 12.8% in 2023.
- How does Colombia rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both?
- Colombia ranks 36th out of 71 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, both rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.9%. 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 youth of upper secondary school age, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release