Dispositions and Asset Sales (Details) € in Thousands, د.م. in Thousands, ¥ in Thousands, SFr in Thousands, $ in Thousands, $ in Thousands																			1 Months Ended				9 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 CNY (¥)	Aug. 06, 2018 USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2018 USD ($)	Jul. 27, 2018 HKD ($)	Apr. 13, 2018 USD ($)	Apr. 13, 2018 MAD (د.م.)	Apr. 12, 2018 USD ($)	Apr. 12, 2018 EUR (€)	Feb. 01, 2018 USD ($)	Jan. 25, 2018 USD ($)	Jan. 25, 2018 HKD ($)	Jan. 25, 2018 CNY (¥)	Jan. 11, 2018 USD ($)	Jan. 11, 2018 EUR (€)	Jul. 20, 2016 USD ($)	Jun. 14, 2016 USD ($)	Apr. 19, 2016 USD ($) educational_institution	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Nov. 30, 2017 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2016 USD ($)	Jul. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Sep. 30, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2018 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2017 USD ($)	Dec. 31, 2016 USD ($)	Nov. 29, 2017 MAD (د.م.)	Apr. 19, 2016 EUR (€)	Mar. 15, 2016 USD ($)	Mar. 15, 2016 CHF (SFr)	Dec. 31, 2015 USD ($)
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Payments to purchase noncontrolling interests																								$ 127	$ 17,443	$ 25,665
Gain (loss) on sales of subsidiaries, net																								254	(10,490)	398,081
Purchase of noncontrolling interest																								350	917	613
Receipts from sale of subsidiaries and property and equipment, net of cash sold																								375,807	9,831	554,441
Settlement of derivatives related to sale of subsidiaries																								9,960	0	5,663
Payments on long-term debt																								(867,915)	(3,038,946)	(1,421,379)
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period	$ 589,790																		$ 532,782					589,790	532,782	474,337					$ 430,520
Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Number of educational institutions (educational institution) | educational_institution																		2
European University–Cyprus Ltd And Laureate Italy S.r.L. | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Net proceeds from divestiture														$ 275,500	€ 232,000
Net proceeds from dispositions														244,300
Working capital settlement														$ 4,100
Gain (Loss) on disposition of business																							$ 218,000
Ad Portis | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Consideration received from dispositions																				$ 55,000
Cash consideration received from dispositions																				17,784
Gain (loss) on sales of subsidiaries, net																				20,300
Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches International School of Hotel Management | Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Settlement of derivatives related to sale of subsidiaries																	$ 10,297
Glion Institute of Higher Education and Les Roches International School of Hotel Management | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Consideration received from dispositions																													$ 385,000	SFr 380,000
Gain (loss) on sales of subsidiaries, net																					$ 249,400				(10,300)
Receipts from sale of subsidiaries and property and equipment, net of cash sold																			$ 9,300
Net proceeds from dispositions																	332,800				$ 5,800
Cash sold in disposition																	$ 14,500
LIUF SAS | Derivatives not designated as hedging instruments:
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Settlement of derivatives related to sale of subsidiaries																						$ 4,634
LIUF SAS | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Consideration received from dispositions																		$ 228,000										€ 201,000
Gain (loss) on sales of subsidiaries, net																$ 148,700
Net proceeds from dispositions																207,000
Cash sold in disposition																$ 3,400
Number of educational institutions (educational institution) | educational_institution																		5
LEI Lie Ying Limited | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Net proceeds from divestiture											$ 128,800		¥ 1,430,000
Net proceeds from dispositions	207,600										$ 110,800
Proceeds not received as conditions not met at closing	7,300												¥ 50,000
Gain (Loss) on disposition of business																								84,000
Payment term, first payment due after the closing date											6 months	6 months	6 months
Payment term, second payment due after the closing date											12 months	12 months	12 months
Proceeds from first holdback payment				$ 18,117	$ 142,221						$ 120,000
Proceeds from second holdback payment		¥ 60,000									9,100	$ 71,463
Amount receivable, noncurrent	25,900																							25,900
\Amounts of material contingent liabilities remaining	$ 14,300																							14,300
Laureate Germany Holding GmbH [Member] | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on disposition of business																							(5,500)
Capital consideration contributed								$ 3,600
Laureate Somed Holding | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on disposition of business																							$ 17,400
Laureate Somed Holding | Disposal Group, Held-for-sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Net proceeds from divestiture						$ 32,500	د.م. 300,000
Consideration received from dispositions | د.م.																											د.م. 500,000
Net proceeds from dispositions						$ 31,100
Lines of credit | Second Amended and Restated Credit Agreement | Term Loan
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Payments on long-term debt										$ (350,000)
LEI European Investments B.V. (LEI BV) | Laureate Germany Holding GmbH [Member] | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Net proceeds from divestiture								1,200	€ 1,000
Laureate Germany
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Cash and cash equivalents and restricted cash at end of period								$ 12,900
La Société Maroc Emirats Arabes Unis de Développement | Laureate Somed Holding | Disposal Group, Held-for-sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Noncontrolling interest, noncontrolling owners, ownership percent								40.00%
Laureate Somed Holding | Laureate Middle East Holdings B.V. | Laureate Somed Holding | Disposal Group, Held-for-sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Noncontrolling interest, ownership percentage by parent								60.00%
Construction Contracts | Payment Guarantee | Kendall College
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Gain (Loss) on disposition of business			$ (17,200)
Payment for guarantor obligation, construction contract			14,000
Payment for guarantor obligation, working capital adjustment			$ 2,100
Guarantor obligation, term			10
Remaining Lease Costs Minus Sublease Income | Payment Guarantee | Kendall College
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Guarantor obligations, amount of loan			$ 24,000
Affiliated Entity | LEI Lie Ying Limited | Disposal Group, Disposed of by Sale, Not Discontinued Operations
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Disposal transaction fees											$ 16,000
Majority-Owned Subsidiary, Unconsolidated | Repurchase Of Chilean Non-controlling Interest
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Payments to purchase noncontrolling interests																				6,085
Purchase of noncontrolling interest																				$ 36,247
Majority-Owned Subsidiary, Unconsolidated | Services And Intellectual Property Contractual Arrangements
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Other revenues from transactions with related party																								$ 1	13,927	13,970
UDLA Ecuador | Majority-Owned Subsidiary, Unconsolidated | Chilean Real Estate Subsidiary
Income Statement, Balance Sheet and Additional Disclosures by Disposal Groups, Including Discontinued Operations [Line Items]
Payments of dividends																									$ 1,242	$ 955