Colombia's literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) was 1.01 in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is unchanged at from 1.01 in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 1.01 | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 1.01 | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.01 | 2014 |
| Highest | 1.02 | 1993 |
| Lowest | 1 | 2018 |
| Average since 2015 | 1.01 | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 1.02 | 1993 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Colombia's literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) rose 0.005 on 2023 (from 1.01 to 1.01).
Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2023), the average change was −0.000295 and a typical year strayed about 0.00347 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 0.01 in 2019 and the biggest yearly fall was 0.0071 in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 2% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Colombia had the 7th highest value of the 20 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Colombia | 1.01 | 2024 |
| World | 0.98 | 2024 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 1 | 2024 |
| Upper middle income | 1 | 2024 |
Closest to Colombia in the 2024 ranking
- Honduras — 1st of 20: 1.02
- South Africa — 2nd of 20: 1.02
- Uganda — 3rd of 20: 1.02
- Dominican Republic — 5th of 20: 1.01
- El Salvador — 6th of 20: 1.01
- Bolivia — 7th of 20: 1
What this measures
Gender parity index for youth literacy rate is the ratio of females to males ages 15-24 who can both read and write with understanding a short simple statement about their everyday life.
Limitations: In practice, literacy is difficult to measure. Estimating literacy rates requires census or survey measurements under controlled conditions. Many countries report the number of literate people from self-reported data. Some use educational attainment data as a proxy but apply different lengths of school attendance or levels of completion. And there is a trend among recent national and international surveys toward using a direct reading test of literacy skills. Because definitions and methods of data collection differ across countries, data should be used cautiously.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 25 values
| Year | Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 1.01 |
| 2023 | 1.01 |
| 2022 | 1.01 |
| 2021 | 1.01 |
| 2020 | 1.01 |
| 2019 | 1.01 |
| 2018 | 1 |
| 2017 | 1.01 |
| 2016 | 1.01 |
| 2015 | 1.01 |
| 2014 |
Literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) in nearby economies
- Bolivia — 1 (2024)
- Brazil — 1 (2024)
- Chile — 1 (2022)
- Dominican Republic — 1.01 (2024)
- Ecuador — 1 (2024)
- El Salvador — 1.01 (2024)
- Guatemala — 0.99 (2024)
- Honduras — 1.02 (2024)
- Mexico — 1 (2024)
- Panama
More education data for Colombia
- Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
- Primary education, duration (years) — 5 (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 11 (2025)
- Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
- Primary education, pupils — 4.14 million (2022)
- Primary education, teachers — 180,781 (2022)
- School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 0.97 (2020)
- Secondary education, pupils — 4.85 million (2022)
- Primary education, pupils (% female) — 48.13% (2018)
- Pupil-teacher ratio, primary — 23.3 (2018)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Colombia's literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI)?
- 1.01 in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1993?
- It is down 0.98% from 1.02 in 1993. The highest value was 1.02 in 1993 and the lowest 1 in 2018.
- How does Colombia rank?
- 7th highest of 20 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) unusual for Colombia?
- In 2024, Colombia's literacy rate, youth (ages 15-24), gender parity index (GPI) rose 0.005 on 2023 (from 1.01 to 1.01). Across the 21 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2023), the average change was −0.000295 and a typical year strayed about 0.00347 from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.ADT.1524.LT.FM.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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