Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP was 0.5% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica, 1980–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica stood at 0.5%.
That represents a change of down 2.3% on the previous year and up 11.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica peaked at 0.5% in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1980.
That places Costa Rica 46th out of 169 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 0.0% | — |
| 1982 | 0.0% | — |
| 1983 | 0.0% | — |
| 1986 | 0.0% | — |
| 1988 | 0.0% | — |
| 1989 | 0.0% | — |
| 1995 | 0.0% | — |
| 1996 | 0.0% | — |
| 1999 | 0.3% | — |
| 2000 | 0.2% | -19.2% |
| 2001 | 0.4% | +45.3% |
| 2002 | 0.4% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | +9.4% |
| 2006 | 0.3% | -25.8% |
| 2007 | 0.3% | -9.4% |
| 2008 | 0.3% | +7.6% |
| 2009 | 0.3% | +22.2% |
| 2010 | 0.4% | +3.7% |
| 2011 | 0.4% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 0.4% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 0.4% | +18.7% |
| 2014 | 0.4% | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 0.4% | +1.6% |
| 2016 | 0.4% | -2.5% |
| 2017 | 0.4% | +5.3% |
| 2018 | 0.3% | -28.4% |
| 2019 | 0.3% | -8.6% |
| 2020 | 0.2% | -10.4% |
| 2021 | 0.2% | -9.0% |
| 2022 | 0.5% | +110.3% |
| 2023 | 0.5% | -2.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.4%, 1.2× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.5% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.3%, 1.4× the median. (34 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on pre-primary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +110.3% | 0.2% | 0.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 6 |
| 1990s | 0.1% | 0.0% | 0.3% | 3 |
| 2000s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.5% | 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 pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica?
- Government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica was 0.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 0.5% in 2022.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1980.
- How does Costa Rica rank for government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Costa Rica ranks 46th out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government expenditure on pre-primary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 11.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Government expenditure on pre-primary 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