Earnings (Loss) Per Share - Summary of Earnings (Loss) Per Share Basic and Diluted (Details) - USD ($) $ / shares in Units, shares in Thousands, $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2023	Dec. 31, 2022	Dec. 31, 2021
Antidilutive Securities Excluded from Computation of Earnings Per Share [Line Items]
Income (loss) from continuing operations	$ 117,029	$ 60,718	$ (283,080)
Net loss (income) attributable to noncontrolling interests	323	595	(11,839)
Income (loss) from continuing operations attributable to Laureate Education, Inc.	117,352	61,313	(294,919)
Accretion of redemption value of redeemable noncontrolling interests and equity	0	0	(88)
Net income (loss) from continuing operations available to common stockholders for basic earnings per share	117,352	61,313	(295,007)
Net income (loss) from continuing operations available to common stockholders for diluted earnings per share	117,352	61,313	(295,007)
Numerator used in basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share for discontinued operations:
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, net of tax	(9,762)	8,260	486,865
Loss attributable to noncontrolling interests	0	0	500
Net (loss) income from discontinued operations for basic earnings per share	(9,762)	8,260	487,365
Net (loss) income from discontinued operations for diluted earnings per share	$ (9,762)	$ 8,260	$ 487,365
Denominator used in basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share:
Basic weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	157,256	167,670	189,692
Diluted weighted average shares outstanding (in shares)	157,879	168,268	189,692
Basic earnings per share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, basic (in dollars per share)	$ 0.75	$ 0.37	$ (1.56)
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, basic (in dollars per share)	(0.06)	0.05	2.57
Basic earnings per share (in dollars per share)	0.69	0.42	1.01
Diluted earnings per share:
Income (loss) from continuing operations, diluted (in dollars per share)	0.74	0.36	(1.56)
(Loss) income from discontinued operations, diluted (in dollars per share)	(0.06)	0.05	2.57
Diluted earnings per share (in dollars per share)	$ 0.68	$ 0.41	$ 1.01
Stock options, net of estimated forfeitures
Denominator used in basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share:
Effect of dilutive stock options (in shares)	237	310	0
Restricted Stock Units (RSUs)
Denominator used in basic and diluted earnings (loss) per common share:
Effect of dilutive stock options (in shares)	386	288	0