Education in Tolima, Colombia: official figures
The net enrolment rate from the transition year to upper secondary in Tolima was 97.1% in 2024, according to the Ministry of Education (3rd highest of 33), against 99.1% in 2019 and 88.7% in 2011.
How many teenagers in Tolima attend upper secondary school?
54.5% of young people of upper-secondary age (15 and 16) in Tolima were enrolled at that level in 2024 (8th highest of 33); net enrolment was 82.6% in lower secondary and 71.0% in the transition year.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyWhat is the school dropout rate in Tolima?
3.7% of pupils in Tolima dropped out of school during the 2024 school year (15th lowest of 33), against 4.2% in 2023. 5.8% failed their year and 7.9% were repeating a grade.
Source: Ministerio de Educacion Nacional (MEN) · saved copyHow do students in Tolima do in the Saber 11 exam?
Students at schools in Tolima averaged 244.6 out of 500 in the Saber 11 school-leaving exam in the 2022 calendar-A round (16th highest of 33; Colombia 250.1), against 240.8 in 2019. 15,711 students sat the exam there.
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyHow good are maths results in Tolima?
In the 2022 Saber 11 exam, students at schools in Tolima averaged 49.6 out of 100 in mathematics (14th highest of 33; Colombia 50.6), 51.6 in critical reading (Colombia 52.8) and 48.3 in English (Colombia 49.9).
Source: Instituto Colombiano para la Evaluacion de la Educacion (ICFES) · saved copyWhat is the literacy rate in Tolima?
8.4% of people in Tolima lived in households with an adult aged 15 or over who could not read and write in 2025 (11th highest of 33; Colombia 6.4%), and 46.5% 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 Tolima are behind at school?
In 2025, 2.1% of people in Tolima lived in households with a child aged 6 to 16 not attending school (Colombia 1.8%), and 19.3% 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 Tolima compares with other departments
Net enrolment rate, transition to upper secondary (2024)
Tolima ranks 3 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)
Tolima ranks 8 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Net enrolment rate, upper secondary |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Risaralda | 55.8% |
| 6 | Santander | 55.0% |
| 7 | Quindio | 54.7% |
| 8 | Tolima | 54.5% |
| 9 | San Andres and Providencia | 54.3% |
| 10 | Antioquia | 52.8% |
| 11 | Bolivar | 52.6% |
School dropout rate (2024)
Tolima ranks 19 of 33, highest first.
| Rank | Region | School dropout rate |
|---|---|---|
| 16 | Santander | 4.1% |
| 17 | Antioquia | 3.8% |
| 18 | Casanare | 3.8% |
| 19 | Tolima | 3.7% |
| 20 | Cordoba | 3.5% |
| 21 | Cundinamarca | 3.5% |
| 22 | Magdalena | 3.5% |
Average Saber 11 score (0-500) (2022)
Tolima ranks 16 of 33, highest first. Calendar-A round, by department of the school
| Rank | Region | Average Saber 11 score (0-500) |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Valle del Cauca | 247.9 |
| 14 | Antioquia | 245.9 |
| 15 | Atlantico | 245.2 |
| 16 | Tolima | 244.6 |
| 17 | Cesar | 242.4 |
| 18 | Caqueta | 241.7 |
| 19 | Arauca | 241.5 |
More on Tolima: 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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