Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government was 18.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Costa Rica, 2000–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in IMF calculation.
Analysis
In 2023, expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Costa Rica stood at 18.0%. That is the lowest value across all 24 years on record.
That represents a change of down 3.4% on the previous year and down 28.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Costa Rica peaked at 36.2% in 2012 and was at its lowest, 18.0%, in 2023.
That places Costa Rica 22nd out of 123 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 24 years of available data.
Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | IMF calculation | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 20.6% | — |
| 2001 | 21.4% | +3.7% |
| 2002 | 28.2% | +32.0% |
| 2003 | 21.6% | -23.3% |
| 2004 | 29.9% | +38.5% |
| 2005 | 29.9% | -0.3% |
| 2006 | 30.5% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 31.8% | +4.2% |
| 2008 | 29.5% | -7.3% |
| 2009 | 34.9% | +18.6% |
| 2010 | 34.7% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 35.6% | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 36.2% | +1.7% |
| 2013 | 25.3% | -30.1% |
| 2014 | 24.3% | -3.9% |
| 2015 | 24.5% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 25.0% | +1.8% |
| 2017 | 25.1% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 24.6% | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 22.9% | -7.1% |
| 2020 | 20.2% | -11.7% |
| 2021 | 19.8% | -2.0% |
| 2022 | 18.7% | -5.6% |
| 2023 | 18.0% | -3.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 18.0% is above the median for high income countries, which is 11.2%, 1.6× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 18.0% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 16.6%, 1.1× the median. (15 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +38.5% | 21.6% | 29.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 27.8% | 20.6% | 34.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 27.8% | 22.9% | 36.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 19.2% | 18.0% | 20.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More education data for Costa Rica
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 37,015 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 14,772 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 62,694 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 61,047 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 464,490 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 460,126 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0897 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Costa Rica?
- Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government in Costa Rica was 18.0% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest expenditure on education as a percentage of total government recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 36.2% in 2012.
- What is the lowest expenditure on education as a percentage of total government recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.0% in 2023.
- How does Costa Rica rank for expenditure on education as a percentage of total government?
- Costa Rica ranks 22nd out of 123 countries with data for 2023.
- Is expenditure on education as a percentage of total government rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 28.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Expenditure on education as a percentage of total government expenditure (%) (IMF calculation). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release