Education in Meta, Colombia: official figures
The net enrolment rate from the transition year to upper secondary in Meta was 90.3% in 2024, according to the Ministry of Education (12th highest of 33), against 93.5% in 2019 and 93.6% in 2011.
How many teenagers in Meta attend upper secondary school?
48.1% of young people of upper-secondary age (15 and 16) in Meta were enrolled at that level in 2024 (15th highest of 33); net enrolment was 76.0% in lower secondary and 65.7% in the transition year.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyWhat is the school dropout rate in Meta?
4.5% of pupils in Meta dropped out of school during the 2024 school year (14th highest of 33), against 4.7% in 2023. 6.8% failed their year and 9.3% were repeating a grade.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyHow do students in Meta do in the Saber 11 exam?
Students at schools in Meta averaged 252.9 out of 500 in the Saber 11 school-leaving exam in the 2022 calendar-A round (11th highest of 33; Colombia 250.1), against 248.0 in 2019. 11,732 students sat the exam there.
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyHow good are maths results in Meta?
In the 2022 Saber 11 exam, students at schools in Meta averaged 51.7 out of 100 in mathematics (9th highest of 33; Colombia 50.6), 53.3 in critical reading (Colombia 52.8) and 49.8 in English (Colombia 49.9).
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyWhat is the literacy rate in Meta?
5.8% of people in Meta lived in households with an adult aged 15 or over who could not read and write in 2025 (tied for 9th lowest of 33; Colombia 6.4%), and 40.1% 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 Meta are behind at school?
In 2025, 3.2% of people in Meta lived in households with a child aged 6 to 16 not attending school (Colombia 1.8%), and 20.8% 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 Meta compares with other departments
Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary (2024)
Meta ranks 12 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 9 | Casanare | 91.0% |
| 10 | Sucre | 90.6% |
| 11 | Bogota | 90.6% |
| 12 | Meta | 90.3% |
| 13 | Quindio | 90.0% |
| 14 | Antioquia | 89.8% |
| 15 | Boyaca | 89.6% |
Net enrolment rate, upper secondary (2024)
Meta ranks 15 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 12 | Casanare | 50.9% |
| 13 | Caldas | 50.0% |
| 14 | Cordoba | 48.5% |
| 15 | Meta | 48.1% |
| 16 | Norte de Santander | 47.9% |
| 17 | Sucre | 47.7% |
| 18 | Huila | 46.5% |
School dropout rate (2024)
Meta ranks 14 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | School dropout rate |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Quindio | 4.8% |
| 12 | Guainia | 4.7% |
| 13 | Huila | 4.5% |
| 14 | Meta | 4.5% |
| 15 | Norte de Santander | 4.4% |
| 16 | Santander | 4.1% |
| 17 | Antioquia | 3.8% |
Average Saber 11 score (0-500) (2022)
Meta ranks 11 of 33, highest first. Calendar-A round, by department of the school
| Rank | Region | Average Saber 11 score (0-500) |
|---|---|---|
| 8 | Huila | 254.9 |
| 9 | Casanare | 253.6 |
| 10 | Caldas | 253.1 |
| 11 | Meta | 252.9 |
| 12 | Narino | 248.1 |
| 13 | Valle del Cauca | 247.9 |
| 14 | Antioquia | 245.9 |
More on Meta: 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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