Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher was 86.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica, 1973–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica stood at 86.1%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher in Costa Rica peaked at 86.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 34.8%, in 1973.
That places Costa Rica 91st out of 136 countries with data for 2024, putting it 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 | 34.8% | — |
| 2001 | 74.1% | +113.2% |
| 2002 | 74.2% | +0.1% |
| 2003 | 75.5% | +1.8% |
| 2004 | 75.6% | +0.1% |
| 2005 | 77.2% | +2.1% |
| 2006 | 76.4% | -1.0% |
| 2007 | 77.5% | +1.4% |
| 2008 | 79.1% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 79.7% | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 79.3% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 79.9% | +0.8% |
| 2012 | 80.2% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 81.0% | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 82.0% | +1.3% |
| 2015 | 81.3% | -0.8% |
| 2016 | 81.2% | -0.1% |
| 2017 | 81.5% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 82.0% | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 82.8% | +1.0% |
| 2020 | 83.1% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 83.8% | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 83.9% | +0.1% |
| 2023 | 84.9% | +1.2% |
| 2024 | 86.1% | +1.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 34.8% | 34.8% | 34.8% | 1 |
| 2000s | 76.6% | 74.1% | 79.7% | 9 |
| 2010s | 81.1% | 79.3% | 82.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 84.4% | 83.1% | 86.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More education data for Costa Rica
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,024 tertiary education (2024)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0494 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 43,058 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 2 (2025)
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 86.1% 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 86.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 34.8% in 1973.
- How does Costa Rica rank for educational attainment rate, completed primary education or higher?
- Costa Rica ranks 91st out of 136 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 5.0%. 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, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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