Education in La Guajira, Colombia: official figures
The net enrolment rate from the transition year to upper secondary in La Guajira was 100.1% in 2024, according to the Ministry of Education (the highest of 33), against 92.9% in 2019 and 77.0% in 2011.
How many teenagers in La Guajira attend upper secondary school?
30.3% of young people of upper-secondary age (15 and 16) in La Guajira were enrolled at that level in 2024 (5th lowest of 33); net enrolment was 61.9% in lower secondary and 88.3% in the transition year.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyWhat is the school dropout rate in La Guajira?
2.8% of pupils in La Guajira dropped out of school during the 2024 school year (7th lowest of 33), against 3.3% in 2023. 8.5% failed their year and 12.9% were repeating a grade.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyHow do students in La Guajira do in the Saber 11 exam?
Students at schools in La Guajira averaged 221.5 out of 500 in the Saber 11 school-leaving exam in the 2022 calendar-A round (5th lowest of 33; Colombia 250.1), against 218.1 in 2019. 9,775 students sat the exam there.
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyHow good are maths results in La Guajira?
In the 2022 Saber 11 exam, students at schools in La Guajira averaged 44.6 out of 100 in mathematics (5th lowest of 33; Colombia 50.6), 47.3 in critical reading (Colombia 52.8) and 41.2 in English (Colombia 49.9).
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyWhat is the literacy rate in La Guajira?
22.1% of people in La Guajira lived in households with an adult aged 15 or over who could not read and write in 2025 (the highest of 33; Colombia 6.4%), and 56.8% in households whose adults averaged fewer than nine years of schooling (Colombia 36.8%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow many children in La Guajira are behind at school?
In 2025, 3.6% of people in La Guajira lived in households with a child aged 6 to 16 not attending school (Colombia 1.8%), and 32.9% in households with a child aged 7 to 17 behind the normal grade for their age (Colombia 19.7%).
Source: Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE) · saved copyHow La Guajira compares with other departments
Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary (2024)
La Guajira ranks 1 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | La Guajira | 100.1% |
| 2 | Bolivar | 97.8% |
| 3 | Tolima | 97.1% |
| 4 | San Andres and Providencia | 94.0% |
| 5 | Risaralda | 93.2% |
| 6 | Magdalena | 93.1% |
| 7 | Santander | 92.9% |
Net enrolment rate, upper secondary (2024)
La Guajira ranks 29 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Caqueta | 33.0% |
| 27 | Guaviare | 31.9% |
| 28 | Choco | 30.5% |
| 29 | La Guajira | 30.3% |
| 30 | Amazonas | 26.4% |
| 31 | Vaupes | 14.2% |
| 32 | Guainia | 11.3% |
School dropout rate (2024)
La Guajira ranks 27 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | School dropout rate |
|---|---|---|
| 24 | Bolivar | 3.4% |
| 25 | Cauca | 3.2% |
| 26 | Sucre | 3.2% |
| 27 | La Guajira | 2.8% |
| 28 | Bogota | 2.5% |
| 29 | Narino | 2.5% |
| 30 | Choco | 2.4% |
Average Saber 11 score (0-500) (2022)
La Guajira ranks 29 of 33, highest first. Calendar-A round, by department of the school
| Rank | Region | Average Saber 11 score (0-500) |
|---|---|---|
| 26 | Guaviare | 228.8 |
| 27 | Magdalena | 227.5 |
| 28 | Guainia | 224.2 |
| 29 | La Guajira | 221.5 |
| 30 | Vichada | 217.9 |
| 31 | Amazonas | 215.5 |
| 32 | Vaupes | 213.7 |
More on La Guajira: overview · economy and jobs · health · poverty and living standards · government budget · Colombia
Sources
- Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES): Resultados unicos Saber 11: average scores and number of candidates by department of the school, rounds 2019-4 and 2022-4 (datos.gov.co API response, aggregated by the API from ICFES microdata), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f4b8bdc7c323…)
- Departamento Administrativo Nacional de Estadistica (DANE): Pobreza multidimensional, anexo departamental 2025 (Encuesta Nacional de Calidad de Vida): incidence by department and area, household deprivations by indicator, intensity and incidence by sex, 2018-2025 (updated 14 April 2026), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 73caab08046d…)
- Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN): MEN_ESTADISTICAS_EN_EDUCACION_EN_PREESCOLAR, BASICA Y MEDIA_POR_DEPARTAMENTO, 2011-2024: net and gross enrolment coverage, dropout, failure and repetition rates by department (datos.gov.co API response), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bac11bda6cae…)
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