Description of Business	3 Months Ended
Mar. 31, 2017
Organization, Consolidation and Presentation of Financial Statements [Abstract]
Description of Business	Description of Business Laureate Education, Inc. and subsidiaries (hereinafter Laureate, we, us, our, or the Company) provide higher education programs and services to students through an international network of licensed universities and higher education institutions (institutions). Laureate's programs are provided through institutions that are campus-based and internet-based, or through electronically distributed educational programs (online). On October 1, 2015, we redomiciled in Delaware as a public benefit corporation as a demonstration of our long-term commitment to our mission to benefit our students and society. On February 6, 2017, the Company completed an initial public offering (IPO) of shares of its Class A common stock, a newly established class of the Company’s common stock of which 700,000 shares were authorized, and began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ‘‘LAUR’’. The Company sold 35,000 shares of its Class A common stock in the IPO at a price of $14.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds to the Company, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us, of $456,888. On January 31, 2017, in connection with our IPO, our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was accepted for filing by Delaware's Secretary of State, and effective upon such filing, a 4 to 1 reverse stock split for our common stock was consummated and each share of our common stock then outstanding was automatically reclassified into one fourth of one share of Class B Common Stock, a newly established class of the Company’s common stock, with any resulting fractional shares rounded down to the next whole share. These financial statements reflect the reverse stock split. The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In our opinion, these financial statements include all adjustments considered necessary to present a fair statement of our consolidated results of operations, financial position and cash flows. Operating results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. These unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with Laureate's audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 (the 2016 Form 10-K).

Description of Business

Laureate Education, Inc. and subsidiaries (hereinafter Laureate, we, us, our, or the Company) provide higher education programs and services to students through an international network of licensed universities and higher education institutions (institutions). Laureate's programs are provided through institutions that are campus-based and internet-based, or through electronically distributed educational programs (online). On October 1, 2015, we redomiciled in Delaware as a public benefit corporation as a demonstration of our long-term commitment to our mission to benefit our students and society.

On February 6, 2017, the Company completed an initial public offering (IPO) of shares of its Class A common stock, a newly established class of the Company’s common stock of which 700,000 shares were authorized, and began trading on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol ‘‘LAUR’’. The Company sold 35,000 shares of its Class A common stock in the IPO at a price of $14.00 per share, resulting in net proceeds to the Company, after deducting underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses payable by us, of $456,888. On January 31, 2017, in connection with our IPO, our Amended and Restated Certificate of Incorporation was accepted for filing by Delaware's Secretary of State, and effective upon such filing, a 4 to 1 reverse stock split for our common stock was consummated and each share of our common stock then outstanding was automatically reclassified into one fourth of one share of Class B Common Stock, a newly established class of the Company’s common stock, with any resulting fractional shares rounded down to the next whole share. These financial statements reflect the reverse stock split.

The accompanying unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements have been prepared in accordance with accounting principles generally accepted in the United States (GAAP) for interim financial information and with the instructions to Form 10-Q. Accordingly, they do not include all of the information and footnotes required by GAAP for complete financial statements. In our opinion, these financial statements include all adjustments considered necessary to present a fair statement of our consolidated results of operations, financial position and cash flows. Operating results for any interim period are not necessarily indicative of the results that may be expected for the full year. These unaudited Consolidated Financial Statements should be read in conjunction with Laureate's audited Consolidated Financial Statements included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2016 (the 2016 Form 10-K).