Colombia's unemployment with advanced education, male (% of male labor force with advanced education) was 7.55% in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 1.34 percentage points from 8.89% in 2015.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 7.55% | 2025 |
| Ten years earlier | 8.89% | 2015 |
| Highest | 12.99% | 2021 |
| Lowest | 7.55% | 2025 |
| Average since 2016 | 9.34% | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | 11.76% | 2002 |
Since 2002 it is down 4.21 percentage points from 11.76% in 2002. The World Bank has no value for 2 of the years in between; the chart leaves those gaps open rather than joining across them.
What the numbers say
In 2025, Colombia's unemployment with advanced education, male (% of male labor force with advanced education) fell 0.68 percentage points on 2024 (from 8.24% to 7.55%).
Across the 18 yearly changes before that (2003 to 2024), the average change was −0.36 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 1.29 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 1.07 percentage points in 2016 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.91 percentage points in 2022. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 25% of the movement over 9 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 2025, Colombia had the 2nd highest value of the 17 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 | 7.55% | 2025 |
| Latin America & Caribbean | 3.97% | 2024 |
Closest to Colombia in the 2025 ranking
- West Bank and Gaza — 1st of 17: 17.82%
- Chile — 3rd of 17: 7.39%
- Pakistan — 4th of 17: 6.77%
- Costa Rica — 5th of 17: 5.72%
What this measures
The percentage of the labor force with an advanced level of education who are unemployed. Advanced education comprises short-cycle tertiary education, a bachelor’s degree or equivalent education level, a master’s degree or equivalent education level, or doctoral degree or equivalent education level according to the International Standard Classification of Education 2011 (ISCED 2011).
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 22 values
| Year | Unemployment with advanced education, male (% of male labor force with advanced education) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 7.55 |
| 2024 | 8.24 |
| 2023 | 7.9 |
| 2022 | 8.08 |
| 2021 | 12.99 |
| 2020 | no data |
| 2019 | 9.96 |
| 2018 | 9.86 |
| 2017 | 9.55 |
| 2016 | 9.96 |
Unemployment with advanced education, male (% of male labor force with advanced education) in nearby economies
- Argentina — 0.68% (2024)
- Bolivia — 3.39% (2024)
- Brazil — 2.51% (2025)
- Chile — 7.39% (2025)
- Costa Rica — 5.72% (2025)
- Dominican Republic — 3.48% (2025)
- Ecuador — 4.7% (2025)
- El Salvador
More social protection & labor data for Colombia
- Net migration — 129,139 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of asylum — 1,464 (2025)
- Unemployment, total (% of total labor force) (national estimate) — 8.43% (2025)
- Unemployment, female (% of female labor force) (national estimate) — 10.66% (2025)
- Unemployment, male (% of male labor force) (national estimate) — 6.78% (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of origin — 79,669 (2025)
- Labor force participation rate, female (% of female population ages 15+) (national estimate) — 52.31% (2025)
- Ratio of female to male labor force participation rate (%) (national estimate)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Colombia's unemployment with advanced education, male (% of male labor force with advanced education)?
- 7.55% in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2002?
- It is down 4.21 percentage points from 11.76% in 2002. The highest value was 12.99% in 2021 and the lowest 7.55% in 2025.
- How does Colombia rank?
- 2nd highest of 17 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in unemployment with advanced education, male (% of male labor force with advanced education) unusual for Colombia?
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SL.UEM.ADVN.MA.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Education and Mismatch Indicators database (EMI), International Labour Organization (ILO), uri: https://ilostat.ilo.org/data/bulk/, publisher: ILOSTAT, type: external database, date accessed: March 30, 2026 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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