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Related Party Transactions (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	1 Months Ended				3 Months Ended	12 Months Ended
	Sep. 30, 2019	Jun. 30, 2019	Feb. 28, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016	Mar. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017
Class A Common Stock
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares)	0	0
Series A Preferred Stock
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Preferred stock dividends declared and paid						$ 11,103	$ 18,052
Affiliated Entity \| Series A Preferred Stock \| KKR And Snow Phipps
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares)				60,000
Preferred stock dividends declared and paid						$ 1,822	3,644
Affiliated Entity \| Series A-2 Preferred Stock \| KKR And Snow Phipps
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares)				15,000
Transactions Between Laureate And Santa Fe University of Arts and Design (SFUAD) \| Affiliated Entity \| Santa Fe University of Arts and Design (SFUAD)
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Due to related party							1,250
Transaction Between Laureate and Sylvan Laureate Foundation \| Affiliated Entity \| Sylvan Laureate Foundation
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Related party transaction, amounts of transaction					$ 2,000
Transaction Between Laureate And An Affiliate Of One Of The Wengen Investors \| Affiliated Entity
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Related party transaction, amounts of transaction							2,768
Transaction Between Laureate And An Affiliate Of One Of The Wengen Investors \| Affiliated Entity \| Class A Common Stock \| IPO
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Sale of stock, number of shares issued in transaction (in shares)			3,571,000
Transaction Between Laureate and I/O Data Centers, LLC (I/O) \| Affiliated Entity \| I/O Data Centers, LLC And Affiliates
Related Party Transaction [Line Items]
Costs incurred in transactions with related party							$ 500