Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 5.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica, 1980–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica is 5.3%, measured in 2023.
The figure is down 4.2% on the previous year and down 20.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica peaked at 7.3% in 1980 and was at its lowest, 3.4%, in 1995.
That places Costa Rica 48th out of 199 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 32 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 7.3% | — |
| 1982 | 4.9% | -33.5% |
| 1983 | 5.0% | +1.5% |
| 1986 | 4.4% | -10.8% |
| 1988 | 4.0% | -9.2% |
| 1989 | 4.1% | +1.6% |
| 1995 | 3.4% | -17.8% |
| 1996 | 3.9% | +16.0% |
| 1999 | 5.4% | +38.6% |
| 2000 | 4.7% | -13.5% |
| 2001 | 4.8% | +3.5% |
| 2002 | 5.2% | +6.6% |
| 2003 | 5.1% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 4.9% | -4.7% |
| 2006 | 4.6% | -5.6% |
| 2007 | 4.6% | +0.4% |
| 2008 | 4.9% | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 6.0% | +23.0% |
| 2010 | 6.6% | +9.2% |
| 2011 | 6.4% | -2.8% |
| 2012 | 6.6% | +3.2% |
| 2013 | 6.7% | +1.6% |
| 2014 | 6.7% | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 6.9% | +2.9% |
| 2016 | 6.9% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 7.1% | +2.6% |
| 2018 | 6.8% | -4.2% |
| 2019 | 6.7% | -0.5% |
| 2020 | 6.6% | -1.6% |
| 2021 | 6.2% | -5.7% |
| 2022 | 5.5% | -11.2% |
| 2023 | 5.3% | -4.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 5.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 4.4%, 1.2× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 5.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 4.1%, 1.3× the median. (39 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | +38.6% | 3.9% | 5.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 5.0% | 4.0% | 7.3% | 6 |
| 1990s | 4.2% | 3.4% | 5.4% | 3 |
| 2000s | 5.0% | 4.6% | 6.0% | 9 |
| 2010s | 6.7% | 6.4% | 7.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.9% | 5.3% | 6.6% | 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 government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica was 5.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 7.3% in 1980.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.4% in 1995.
- How does Costa Rica rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Costa Rica ranks 48th out of 199 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 20.6%. 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 Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release