Share of the population with at least some formal education in Colombia
Colombia: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 97.4% in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Colombia, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population with at least some formal education in Colombia is 97.4%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 1.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Colombia peaked at 97.4% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 9.9%, in 1870.
Colombia ranks 49th of 111 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Colombia, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 9.9% | — |
| 1875 | 11.4% | +15.2% |
| 1880 | 13.0% | +14.0% |
| 1885 | 14.6% | +12.3% |
| 1890 | 15.4% | +5.5% |
| 1895 | 15.6% | +1.3% |
| 1900 | 23.0% | +47.4% |
| 1905 | 26.1% | +13.5% |
| 1910 | 35.0% | +34.1% |
| 1915 | 38.6% | +10.3% |
| 1920 | 42.2% | +9.3% |
| 1925 | 48.1% | +14.0% |
| 1930 | 51.8% | +7.7% |
| 1935 | 54.4% | +5.0% |
| 1940 | 55.8% | +2.6% |
| 1945 | 58.7% | +5.2% |
| 1950 | 61.1% | +4.1% |
| 1955 | 64.7% | +5.9% |
| 1960 | 69.2% | +7.0% |
| 1965 | 73.3% | +5.9% |
| 1970 | 77.7% | +6.0% |
| 1975 | 80.7% | +3.9% |
| 1980 | 84.2% | +4.3% |
| 1985 | 87.8% | +4.3% |
| 1990 | 89.6% | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 89.8% | +0.2% |
| 2000 | 91.9% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 95.2% | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 95.6% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 96.5% | +0.9% |
| 2020 | 97.4% | +0.9% |
Colombia compared with similar countries
- Colombia's 97.4% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 1.0× the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Colombia's 97.4% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 97.1%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | +47.4% | 15.6% | 23.0% |
| 1910 | +34.1% | 26.1% | 35.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 10.7% | 9.9% | 11.4% | 2 |
| 1880s | 13.8% | 13.0% | 14.6% | 2 |
| 1890s | 15.5% | 15.4% | 15.6% | 2 |
| 1900s | 24.6% | 23.0% | 26.1% | 2 |
| 1910s | 36.8% | 35.0% | 38.6% | 2 |
| 1920s | 45.2% | 42.2% | 48.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 53.1% | 51.8% | 54.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 57.2% | 55.8% | 58.7% | 2 |
| 1950s | 62.9% | 61.1% | 64.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 71.2% | 69.2% | 73.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 79.2% | 77.7% | 80.7% | 2 |
| 1980s | 86.0% | 84.2% | 87.8% | 2 |
| 1990s | 89.7% | 89.6% | 89.8% | 2 |
| 2000s | 93.6% | 91.9% | 95.2% | 2 |
| 2010s | 96.0% | 95.6% | 96.5% | 2 |
| 2020s | 97.4% | 97.4% | 97.4% | 1 |
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 share of the population with at least some formal education in Colombia?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Colombia was 97.4% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Colombia?
- The highest recorded value was 97.4% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Colombia?
- The lowest recorded value was 9.9% in 1870.
- How does Colombia rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Colombia ranks 49th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Colombia?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Colombia data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.