The growth of high-level training in Colombia during the last decade has been sustained, but the gaps compared to developed economies remain wide. According to the most recent report from the Educational Economics Laboratory (LEE) of the Javeriana University, Between 2014 and 2024 the number of annual master’s and doctoral graduates increased from 14,002 to 42,678, which represents an increase of 205%.
However, the proportion of doctors in the country barely reached 0.15% of the population over 25 years of age in 2023, while in Germany and The United States exceeds 1.7% and 2.2%, respectively
(Read: Icetex reform would have a fiscal impact of $8.9 billion, warns the Minhacienda).
“The percentage of the population with a doctorate in Colombia continues to be low compared to developed economies, despite recent growth in enrollment and graduates“said the LEE.
According to the document, in 2023 Colombia registered 19 doctors per million inhabitants, compared to 107 in Brazil, 45 in Chile and 41 in Argentina. Although the national indicator has shown progress, since in 2012 the figure was 7.5 doctors per million, It still remains well below the regional average of 70 doctors per million. “Despite the relative improvement, the gap with high-income countries remains wide,” warns the study, when comparing the 233 doctors per million in Spain and the 221 per million in Portugal.
Now, according to the National Higher Education Information System (SNIES), In 2024, 1,349 doctors graduated, the highest value in the last six yearswhich is equivalent to 25.6 graduates per million inhabitants. The trend, although positive, is insufficient compared to the growth observed in master’s degrees, the level that concentrates most of the advanced training in the country.
The report shows that the proportion of people with a master’s degree in Colombia rose from 4.2% to 4.6% between 2022 and 2023, surpassing the record of Chile which had 3.1%, but still far from Germany (12.3%) and the United States (14.8%). In the same period, The density of master’s graduates per million inhabitants increased from 1,594 in 2013 to 2,227 in 2022, which which places Colombia above the average for Latin America (741.9 per million) and Latin America (948.5 per million).
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4.6% of the Colombian population over 25 years of age has a master’s degree, compared to 14.8% in the United States and 12.3% in Germany.
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However, the report maintains that the comparison with European countries remains unfavorable. In 2022, Spain reached 3,460 master’s degree graduates per million inhabitants, and Portugal, 2,711.9, both with levels higher than those of Colombia. However, in the Latin American context, The country is consolidated as one of the fastest growing countries in master’s trainingdoubling its graduation rate in less than a decade.
At the national level, andhe number of master’s graduates increased from 24,846 in 2019 to 39,317 in 2024, which is equivalent to 747 graduates per million inhabitants, the highest value in the historical series. The LEE points out that “the master’s degree has established itself as the main level of advanced training in Colombia and represents the greatest contribution to highly qualified human capital in the country.”
The study warns that this expansion, although significant, is concentrated in a few departments. Bogotá has 1,025 active master’s programs, followed by Antioquia (424) and Valle del Cauca (216), while regions such as La Guajira, Cesar and Chocó register less than 15 each. “Master’s training is strongly centralized in the main urban and university centers of the country, with limited presence in territories with less institutional development.”, indicates the report.
The concentration is also evident in doctorates. In 2025, the SNIES reported 483 active programs, located mainly in Bogotá (143), Antioquia (94) and Valle del Cauca (43). These three jurisdictions concentrate more than 60% of the total supply. “Although the supply of doctorates has grown, the pattern of territorial concentration persists, which restricts equitable access to higher-level training,” the document concludes.
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Between 2020 and 2024, Colfuturo and MinCiencias awarded more than 5,700 scholarships for master’s and doctoral studies, in Colombia and abroad.
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Financing of high level education
In terms of financing, the report highlights the role of Icetex, Colfuturo and MinCiencias as key instruments to expand access to advanced training. However, the system faces budget constraints. In 2025, Icetex could only open 10,000 credit quotas, compared to the 26,000 average per year in previous years.which represents a reduction of more than 60%. “This situation highlights the financial vulnerability of the higher education support system,” the report states.
Between 2018 and 2024, Icetex awarded more than 900 annual scholarships for master’s degrees, while support for doctorates fluctuated between 6 and 43 per year. Master’s degrees concentrated more than 90% of the assigned scholarships. In that period, 58% of the beneficiaries were women, and 60% of the credits were allocated to students in strata 2 and 3.
According to the Atenea platform, between 2020 and 2024 MinCiencias granted 29,490 supports for advanced training, of which 59% corresponded to master’s degrees and 37.5% to doctorates. Of the latter, 59% were taken in Colombia and 41% abroad.
For its part, Colfuturo has maintained its role as the main financing channel for studies at foreign universities. Between 2020 and 2024, and in agreement with MinCiencias, it awarded more than 5,700 scholarships, of which 75% were for master’s degrees and 10% for doctorates. In 2021 it reached its highest number of beneficiaries, with 1,588 supports. The foundation reports that the majority of those selected come from strata 3, 4 and 5, while strata 1 and 2 represent a marginal participation.
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ICETEX reduced its budget by more than 60% in 2025, going from 26,000 to 10,000 credit quotas for higher education.
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The report also records that between 2020 and 2024 the Fulbright program awarded 189 scholarships to Colombians for master’s and doctoral studies in the United States, in areas such as political science, music and philosophy. The Carolina Foundation has benefited 3,500 Colombian students for postgraduate studies in Spain, and the Erasmus Mundus program awarded 340 scholarships in the same period. Added to this are alliances with the DAAD in Germany, which has financed more than 600 beneficiaries, and support from the Bank of the Republic, which annually covers seven postgraduate programs.
Despite this framework of instruments, the report warns about the quality of part of the international offer. “A large part of the master’s agreements in Spain correspond to universities of low academic quality that do not appear in the main international rankings.“, indicates the document, and adds that in 2025 no institution located within the first 300 places of the QS World University Rankings was identified among the programs offered by Icetex agreements.
At the level of educational credits, the records show a sustained upward trend. Between 2015 and 2024, Icetex master’s credits increased from 900 to 1,345 per semester, while doctoral credits increased from 20 to 114, and medical-surgical specialization credits from 87 to 274. In credits for study abroad, the number of beneficiaries reached its maximum in 2022 with 1,608 approved operations, although it later decreased to 1,155 in 2024.
The analysis concludes that Colombia has made progress in the expansion of its advanced human capital, with regional leadership in master’s degrees, but still maintains a considerable gap in doctoral training and knowledge production. “The challenge of public policy is to strengthen the financial sustainability of access mechanisms, diversify support and prioritize doctorates and research as axes of national competitiveness.says the study.
(See: Icetex generates more than $1.6 billion in 2025 to finance higher education in Colombia)
DIANA K. RODRÍGUEZ T.
Portfolio Journalist
