Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage was 0.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Costa Rica, 1999–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 0.8% for government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in 2023.
That represents a change of down 4.5% on the previous year and up 4.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Costa Rica peaked at 1.3% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.3%, in 2000.
That places Costa Rica 48th out of 122 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 0.4% | — |
| 2000 | 0.3% | -20.1% |
| 2001 | 0.5% | +61.6% |
| 2002 | 0.5% | +5.5% |
| 2004 | 0.4% | -22.8% |
| 2006 | 0.4% | -0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.4% | +6.8% |
| 2008 | 0.4% | +5.7% |
| 2009 | 0.6% | +26.2% |
| 2010 | 0.6% | +12.5% |
| 2011 | 0.6% | -0.3% |
| 2012 | 0.6% | +4.6% |
| 2013 | 0.7% | +15.2% |
| 2014 | 0.8% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 0.8% | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 0.7% | -4.5% |
| 2017 | 0.8% | +13.3% |
| 2018 | 0.7% | -20.0% |
| 2019 | 1.0% | +54.5% |
| 2020 | 1.3% | +24.5% |
| 2021 | 1.2% | -8.5% |
| 2022 | 0.8% | -30.6% |
| 2023 | 0.8% | -4.5% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 0.9%, 91% of the median. (52 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.8% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 0.6%, 1.3× the median. (21 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.4% | 0.4% | 0.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 0.4% | 0.3% | 0.6% | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.7% | 0.6% | 1.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.0% | 0.8% | 1.3% | 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 upper secondary education as a percentage in Costa Rica?
- Government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage in Costa Rica was 0.8% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 1.3% in 2020.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.3% in 2000.
- How does Costa Rica rank for government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage?
- Costa Rica ranks 48th out of 122 countries with data for 2023.
- Is government expenditure on upper secondary education as a percentage rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.8%. 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 upper secondary 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