Legal and Regulatory Matters - Chilean Regulation and Internal Investigation (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	Sep. 30, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Assets	$ 7,782,564	$ 7,062,470
Liabilities	5,883,427	6,041,245
Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Assets	1,558,050	1,309,113
Liabilities	606,896	424,297
Chile | Laureate International Universities | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Assets	806,000	687,000
Liabilities	186,000	93,000
Chile | Laureate International Universities | Variable Interest Entity, Primary Beneficiary | Consolidation Eliminations
Loss Contingencies [Line Items]
Due from related parties	$ 20,000	$ 11,000