Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in Colombia
Colombia: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest was 15.6% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in Colombia, 2002–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in Colombia stood at 15.6%. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 9.8% on the previous year and down 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in Colombia peaked at 42.9% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 15.6%, in 2023.
That places Colombia 32nd out of 42 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 20 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 38.8% | — |
| 2003 | 35.2% | -9.3% |
| 2004 | 35.5% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 42.9% | +20.9% |
| 2008 | 23.4% | -45.5% |
| 2009 | 22.8% | -2.6% |
| 2010 | 25.7% | +12.5% |
| 2011 | 23.1% | -10.0% |
| 2012 | 23.3% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 21.9% | -6.0% |
| 2014 | 22.1% | +0.9% |
| 2015 | 23.2% | +5.2% |
| 2016 | 20.6% | -11.4% |
| 2017 | 19.4% | -5.8% |
| 2018 | 18.5% | -4.6% |
| 2019 | 20.4% | +10.3% |
| 2020 | 16.1% | -21.1% |
| 2021 | 16.1% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 17.3% | +7.5% |
| 2023 | 15.6% | -9.8% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 15.6% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 17.1%, 91% of the median. (12 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 15.6% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 17.7%, 88% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33.1% | 22.8% | 42.9% | 6 |
| 2010s | 21.8% | 18.5% | 25.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 16.3% | 15.6% | 17.3% | 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, poorest in Colombia?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest in Colombia was 15.6% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 42.9% in 2005.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.6% in 2023.
- How does Colombia rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest?
- Colombia ranks 32nd out of 42 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, poorest rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.8%. 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, poorest quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release