Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia
Colombia: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural was 21.8% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia, 2002–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Colombia recorded 21.8% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.4% on the previous year and down 12.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia peaked at 46.4% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 13.7%, in 2005.
That places Colombia 19th out of 37 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 46.1% | — |
| 2003 | 42.2% | -8.5% |
| 2004 | 46.4% | +10.0% |
| 2005 | 13.7% | -70.4% |
| 2008 | 27.7% | +101.5% |
| 2009 | 27.5% | -0.7% |
| 2011 | 27.0% | -1.8% |
| 2012 | 31.4% | +16.3% |
| 2013 | 25.0% | -20.4% |
| 2014 | 20.7% | -17.2% |
| 2016 | 22.3% | +7.7% |
| 2017 | 26.7% | +19.7% |
| 2018 | 22.3% | -16.5% |
| 2019 | 22.8% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 20.4% | -10.5% |
| 2021 | 22.4% | +9.8% |
| 2022 | 23.8% | +6.3% |
| 2023 | 21.8% | -8.4% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 21.8% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 14.2%, 1.5× the median. (10 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 21.8% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12.7%, 1.7× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | +101.5% | 13.7% | 27.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 33.9% | 13.7% | 46.4% | 6 |
| 2010s | 24.8% | 20.7% | 31.4% | 8 |
| 2020s | 22.1% | 20.4% | 23.8% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Colombia
- 16 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 30.5% compare
- 17 El Salvador 27.7% compare
- 18 Malawi 27.7% compare
- 20 Nigeria 21.0% compare
- 21 Sierra Leone 18.8% compare
- 22 Ghana 17.9% 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 youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia was 21.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 46.4% in 2004.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.7% in 2005.
- How does Colombia rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural?
- Colombia ranks 19th out of 37 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.8%. 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, rural, fourth quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release