Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP was 1.32 in 2021. ▼ Falling
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica, 1980–2021
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
In 2021, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica stood at 1.32.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 6.3% on the previous year and up 5.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica peaked at 2.17 in 1980 and was at its lowest, 0.9072, in 2000.
That places Costa Rica 4th out of 31 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 29 years of available data.
Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 2.17 | — |
| 1982 | 1.81 | -16.6% |
| 1983 | 1.54 | -15.0% |
| 1986 | 1.91 | +24.0% |
| 1988 | 1.72 | -10.0% |
| 1989 | 1.72 | +0.3% |
| 1995 | 1.05 | -39.2% |
| 1996 | 1.11 | +5.7% |
| 1999 | 0.9325 | -15.9% |
| 2000 | 0.9072 | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 0.9257 | +2.0% |
| 2002 | 0.969 | +4.7% |
| 2004 | 0.9183 | -5.2% |
| 2006 | 0.966 | +5.2% |
| 2007 | 0.969 | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 1.02 | +5.4% |
| 2009 | 1.14 | +11.7% |
| 2010 | 1.21 | +6.0% |
| 2011 | 1.25 | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 1.3 | +3.4% |
| 2013 | 1.37 | +5.9% |
| 2014 | 1.45 | +5.6% |
| 2015 | 1.53 | +5.6% |
| 2016 | 1.58 | +3.5% |
| 2017 | 1.67 | +5.6% |
| 2018 | 1.57 | -6.3% |
| 2019 | 1.48 | -5.3% |
| 2020 | 1.41 | -4.8% |
| 2021 | 1.32 | -6.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 1.32 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.7952, 1.7× the median. (31 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 1.32 is above the median for high income countries, which is 0.6269, 2.1× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Government expenditure on tertiary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | -39.2% | 1.72 | 1.05 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 1.81 | 1.54 | 2.17 | 6 |
| 1990s | 1.03 | 0.9325 | 1.11 | 3 |
| 2000s | 0.9772 | 0.9072 | 1.14 | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.44 | 1.21 | 1.67 | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.37 | 1.32 | 1.41 | 2 |
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 tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica?
- Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp in Costa Rica was 1.32 in 2021, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.17 in 1980.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.9072 in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp?
- Costa Rica ranks 4th out of 31 countries with data for 2021.
- Is government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNICEF, published as part of Government expenditure on tertiary education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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