Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 77.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica, 1973–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica is 77.2%, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 1.8% on the previous year and up 8.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica peaked at 77.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 16.5%, in 1973.
Costa Rica ranks 62nd of 103 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 16.5% | — |
| 2001 | 61.2% | +271.0% |
| 2002 | 62.0% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 64.1% | +3.4% |
| 2004 | 64.5% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 66.5% | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 66.0% | -0.8% |
| 2007 | 67.1% | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 69.3% | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 70.0% | +1.0% |
| 2010 | 69.1% | -1.3% |
| 2011 | 69.9% | +1.2% |
| 2012 | 70.5% | +0.8% |
| 2013 | 71.2% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 71.2% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 72.1% | +1.2% |
| 2016 | 71.0% | -1.5% |
| 2017 | 71.7% | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 72.7% | +1.4% |
| 2019 | 73.8% | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 75.3% | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 74.2% | -1.4% |
| 2022 | 73.8% | -0.5% |
| 2023 | 75.8% | +2.7% |
| 2024 | 77.2% | +1.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 16.5% | 16.5% | 16.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 65.6% | 61.2% | 70.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 71.3% | 69.1% | 73.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 75.3% | 73.8% | 77.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More education data for Costa Rica
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), gaps filled 228,863 (2024)
- Enrolment in secondary education, male (number), annual growth rate -2.91 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 123,741 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, both sexes (number), annual -5.22 % change on previous year (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 221,811 (2019)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.17 % change on previous year (2019)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 34,294 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 8,765 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 119,754 (2019)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 2.39 % change on previous year (2019)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica?
- Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica was 77.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 77.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.5% in 1973.
- How does Costa Rica rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Costa Rica ranks 62nd out of 103 countries with data for 2024.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher, population 25+ years, rural, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release