Description of Business	9 Months Ended
Description of Business	Sep. 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 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 In 2017 and 2018, the Company announced the divestiture of certain subsidiaries located in Europe, Asia and Central America, which were included in the Rest of World, Peru (formerly Andean), and Central America (formerly Central America & U.S. Campuses) segments. The goal of the divestitures was to create a more focused and simplified business model and generate proceeds to be used for further repayment of long-term debt. 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, 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, were accounted for as discontinued operations for all periods presented in accordance with Accounting Standards Codification (ASC) 205-20, “Discontinued Operations” (ASC 205). 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. As a result of these efforts to explore strategic alternatives, during the third quarter of 2020, the Company announced that it had completed a sale of its operations in Chile and had signed agreements to sell its operations in Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, as well as Walden University, its fully online higher education institution in the United States. The sale of Australia and New Zealand was subsequently completed on November 3, 2020. After completing these announced divestitures, the Company’s remaining principal markets will be Mexico and Peru. This also represented a strategic shift that had a major effect on the Company’s operations and financial results. Accordingly, Chile, Brazil, Australia and New Zealand, and Walden also have been accounted for as discontinued operations for all periods presented in accordance with ASC 205. The timing and ability to complete any of the remaining transactions is uncertain and will be subject to market and other conditions, which may include regulatory approvals and consents of third parties. 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. 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).