Education in Santander, Colombia: official figures
The net enrolment rate from the transition year to upper secondary in Santander was 92.9% in 2024, according to the Ministry of Education (7th highest of 33), against 96.2% in 2019 and 92.4% in 2011.
How many teenagers in Santander attend upper secondary school?
55.0% of young people of upper-secondary age (15 and 16) in Santander were enrolled at that level in 2024 (6th highest of 33); net enrolment was 82.3% in lower secondary and 65.1% in the transition year.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyWhat is the school dropout rate in Santander?
4.1% of pupils in Santander dropped out of school during the 2024 school year (16th highest of 33), against 4.2% in 2023. 6.9% failed their year and 7.6% were repeating a grade.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyHow do students in Santander do in the Saber 11 exam?
Students at schools in Santander averaged 267.0 out of 500 in the Saber 11 school-leaving exam in the 2022 calendar-A round (3rd highest of 33; Colombia 250.1), against 263.6 in 2019. 24,884 students sat the exam there.
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyHow good are maths results in Santander?
In the 2022 Saber 11 exam, students at schools in Santander averaged 54.8 out of 100 in mathematics (2nd highest of 33; Colombia 50.6), 55.8 in critical reading (Colombia 52.8) and 53.0 in English (Colombia 49.9).
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyWhat is the literacy rate in Santander?
5.5% of people in Santander lived in households with an adult aged 15 or over who could not read and write in 2025 (8th lowest of 33; Colombia 6.4%), and 38.9% 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 Santander are behind at school?
In 2025, 1.3% of people in Santander lived in households with a child aged 6 to 16 not attending school (Colombia 1.8%), and 21.4% 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 Santander compares with other departments
Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary (2024)
Santander ranks 7 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 4 | San Andres and Providencia | 94.0% |
| 5 | Risaralda | 93.2% |
| 6 | Magdalena | 93.1% |
| 7 | Santander | 92.9% |
| 8 | Atlantico | 92.3% |
| 9 | Casanare | 91.0% |
| 10 | Sucre | 90.6% |
Net enrolment rate, upper secondary (2024)
Santander ranks 6 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 3 | Atlantico | 57.5% |
| 4 | Cundinamarca | 56.6% |
| 5 | Risaralda | 55.8% |
| 6 | Santander | 55.0% |
| 7 | Quindio | 54.7% |
| 8 | Tolima | 54.5% |
| 9 | San Andres and Providencia | 54.3% |
School dropout rate (2024)
Santander ranks 16 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | School dropout rate |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Huila | 4.5% |
| 14 | Meta | 4.5% |
| 15 | Norte de Santander | 4.4% |
| 16 | Santander | 4.1% |
| 17 | Antioquia | 3.8% |
| 18 | Casanare | 3.8% |
| 19 | Tolima | 3.7% |
Average Saber 11 score (0-500) (2022)
Santander ranks 3 of 33, highest first. Calendar-A round, by department of the school
| Rank | Region | Average Saber 11 score (0-500) |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Bogota | 270.3 |
| 2 | Boyaca | 268.5 |
| 3 | Santander | 267.0 |
| 4 | Cundinamarca | 262.8 |
| 5 | Quindio | 260.8 |
| 6 | Norte de Santander | 259.7 |
| 7 | Risaralda | 255.0 |
More on Santander: 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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