Description of Business	6 Months Ended
Description of Business	Jun. 30, 2020
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 portfolio 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). In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, we have temporarily transitioned the educational delivery method at all of our campus-based institutions to be online and are leveraging our existing technologies and learning platforms to serve students outside of the traditional classroom setting. We are domiciled in Delaware as a public benefit corporation, a demonstration of our long-term commitment to our mission to benefit our students and society. The Company completed its initial public offering (IPO) on February 6, 2017 and its shares are listed on the Nasdaq Global Select Market under the symbol “LAUR.” Discontinued Operations On August 9, 2018, the Company announced the divestiture of certain subsidiaries located in Europe, Asia and Central America, which were included in the Rest of World, Andean, and Central America (formerly Central America & U.S. Campuses) segments. Previously, the Company had announced the divestiture of certain subsidiaries in the Rest of World and Central America segments. After completing all of these announced divestitures, the Company’s remaining principal markets would be Brazil, Chile, Mexico and Peru, along with the Online & Partnerships segment and the institutions in Australia and New Zealand. This represented a strategic shift that had a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results. Accordingly, all of the divestitures that were part of this strategic shift, including the divestitures announced on August 9, 2018 and those announced previously, as well as the Company's operations in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia that were managed under a contract that expired on August 31, 2019 and was not renewed, are accounted for as discontinued operations for all periods presented in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 205-20, “Discontinued Operations” (ASC 205). See Note 4, Discontinued Operations and Assets Held for Sale, for more information. Unless indicated otherwise, the information in the footnotes to the Consolidated Financial Statements relates to continuing operations. Exploration of Strategic Alternatives On January 27, 2020, Laureate announced that its Board of Directors had authorized the Company to explore strategic alternatives for each of its businesses to unlock shareholder value. As part of this process, the Company is evaluating all potential options for its remaining businesses, including sales, spin-offs or business combinations. There can be no assurance as to the outcome of this process, including whether it will result in the completion of any transaction, as to the values that may be realized from any potential transaction or as to how long the review process will take. During the six months ended June 30, 2020, no additional entities met the held-for-sale criteria and, therefore, there were no changes to the entities classified as Discontinued Operations. As discussed in Note 21, Subsequent Events, on July 29, 2020, the Company entered into an agreement to sell its Australia and New Zealand operations. During the second quarter of 2020, the Company recorded an impairment charge of approximately $418,000 related to the long-lived assets, indefinite-lived intangible assets and goodwill of our institutions in Chile. See further discussion in Note 8, Goodwill and Loss on Impairment of Assets. 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, 2019 (the 2019 Form 10-K).