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 16.9% 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
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia is 16.9%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and down 29.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia peaked at 45.2% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 16.9%, in 2023.
That places Colombia 31st out of 38 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, rural in Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 43.2% | — |
| 2003 | 40.0% | -7.4% |
| 2004 | 39.1% | -2.2% |
| 2005 | 45.2% | +15.6% |
| 2008 | 29.1% | -35.6% |
| 2009 | 23.7% | -18.6% |
| 2010 | 26.1% | +10.1% |
| 2011 | 26.6% | +1.9% |
| 2012 | 27.1% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 24.1% | -11.1% |
| 2014 | 26.2% | +8.7% |
| 2015 | 23.9% | -8.9% |
| 2016 | 24.2% | +1.4% |
| 2017 | 24.2% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 19.2% | -20.7% |
| 2019 | 23.9% | +24.5% |
| 2020 | 17.6% | -26.4% |
| 2021 | 17.2% | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 17.7% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 16.9% | -4.5% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 16.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 23.8%, 71% of the median. (10 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 16.9% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 20.3%, 83% of the median. (15 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 36.7% | 23.7% | 45.2% | 6 |
| 2010s | 24.5% | 19.2% | 27.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.4% | 16.9% | 17.7% | 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, rural in Colombia?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural in Colombia was 16.9% 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 45.2% in 2005.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.9% in 2023.
- How does Colombia rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, rural?
- Colombia ranks 31st out of 38 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 29.9%. 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, rural, 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