Number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age was 17,707 in 2023. ▼ Falling
Number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age in Costa Rica, 1970–2023
Source: UNICEF.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 17,707 for number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age in 2023.
The figure is up 5.4% on the previous year and down 52.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age in Costa Rica peaked at 78,616 in 1996 and was at its lowest, 16,799, in 2022.
Costa Rica ranks 17th of 35 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 31 years of available data.
Number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 62,069 | — |
| 1973 | 62,495 | +0.7% |
| 1975 | 67,340 | +7.8% |
| 1976 | 70,002 | +4.0% |
| 1979 | 70,482 | +0.7% |
| 1981 | 70,790 | +0.4% |
| 1982 | 71,723 | +1.3% |
| 1985 | 74,470 | +3.8% |
| 1986 | 73,818 | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 72,587 | -1.7% |
| 1989 | 70,838 | -2.4% |
| 1990 | 71,270 | +0.6% |
| 1991 | 70,690 | -0.8% |
| 1992 | 72,710 | +2.9% |
| 1993 | 73,682 | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 74,824 | +1.5% |
| 1995 | 77,642 | +3.8% |
| 1996 | 78,616 | +1.3% |
| 2011 | 39,553 | -49.7% |
| 2012 | 38,963 | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 37,300 | -4.3% |
| 2014 | 32,262 | -13.5% |
| 2015 | 30,683 | -4.9% |
| 2016 | 29,336 | -4.4% |
| 2017 | 31,946 | +8.9% |
| 2018 | 21,361 | -33.1% |
| 2019 | 18,002 | -15.7% |
| 2020 | 19,888 | +10.5% |
| 2021 | 19,440 | -2.3% |
| 2022 | 16,799 | -13.6% |
| 2023 | 17,707 | +5.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 17,707 is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 17,707, 1.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 17,707 is above the median for high income countries, which is 1,374, 12.9× the median. (11 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2011 | -49.7% | 78,616 | 39,553 |
| 2018 | -33.1% | 31,946 | 21,361 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 66,478 | 62,069 | 70,482 | 5 |
| 1980s | 72,371 | 70,790 | 74,470 | 6 |
| 1990s | 74,205 | 70,690 | 78,616 | 7 |
| 2010s | 31,045 | 18,002 | 39,553 | 9 |
| 2020s | 18,458 | 16,799 | 19,888 | 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 number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age in Costa Rica?
- Number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age in Costa Rica was 17,707 in 2023, according to UNICEF.
- What is the highest number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 78,616 in 1996.
- What is the lowest number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 16,799 in 2022.
- How does Costa Rica rank for number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age?
- Costa Rica ranks 17th out of 35 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 52.5%. 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 Number of out-of-school youth of upper secondary school age (UNESCO). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under UNICEF Terms of Use (attribution required).