Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Colombia
Colombia: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban was 6.9% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban 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, urban in Colombia stood at 6.9%. That is the lowest value across all 20 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 14.8% on the previous year and down 30.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Colombia peaked at 16.3% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 6.9%, 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, urban in Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 15.9% | — |
| 2003 | 16.3% | +2.5% |
| 2004 | 13.7% | -16.0% |
| 2005 | 10.4% | -24.2% |
| 2008 | 10.9% | +5.0% |
| 2009 | 12.2% | +11.9% |
| 2010 | 7.5% | -38.5% |
| 2011 | 10.6% | +41.3% |
| 2012 | 10.8% | +1.9% |
| 2013 | 9.9% | -8.3% |
| 2014 | 8.3% | -16.2% |
| 2015 | 8.4% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 8.9% | +5.5% |
| 2017 | 8.3% | -6.7% |
| 2018 | 8.9% | +7.2% |
| 2019 | 7.0% | -21.3% |
| 2020 | 7.1% | +1.4% |
| 2021 | 8.9% | +25.4% |
| 2022 | 8.1% | -9.0% |
| 2023 | 6.9% | -14.8% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 6.9% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 8.5%, 81% of the median. (11 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 6.9% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 7.8%, 88% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.2% | 10.4% | 16.3% | 6 |
| 2010s | 8.9% | 7.0% | 10.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.8% | 6.9% | 8.9% | 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, urban in Colombia?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Colombia was 6.9% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 16.3% in 2003.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.9% in 2023.
- How does Colombia rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban?
- Colombia ranks 31st out of 38 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is down 30.3%. 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, urban, fourth 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