Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 2.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica stood at 2.9%. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 6.5% on the previous year and down 61.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica peaked at 14.2% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 2.9%, in 2025.
Costa Rica ranks 137th of 206 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 14.2% | — |
| 2001 | 13.5% | -4.9% |
| 2002 | 12.2% | -9.6% |
| 2003 | 10.8% | -11.5% |
| 2004 | 9.7% | -10.2% |
| 2005 | 8.7% | -10.3% |
| 2006 | 8.1% | -6.9% |
| 2007 | 7.6% | -6.2% |
| 2008 | 7.5% | -1.3% |
| 2009 | 7.3% | -2.7% |
| 2010 | 7.7% | +5.5% |
| 2011 | 8.1% | +5.2% |
| 2012 | 8.3% | +2.5% |
| 2013 | 8.5% | +2.4% |
| 2014 | 8.2% | -3.5% |
| 2015 | 7.5% | -8.5% |
| 2016 | 6.4% | -14.7% |
| 2017 | 5.6% | -12.5% |
| 2018 | 5.1% | -8.9% |
| 2019 | 4.8% | -5.9% |
| 2020 | 4.5% | -6.2% |
| 2021 | 4.3% | -4.4% |
| 2022 | 3.9% | -9.3% |
| 2023 | 3.5% | -10.3% |
| 2024 | 3.1% | -11.4% |
| 2025 | 2.9% | -6.5% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 2.9% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.4%, 2.1× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 2.9% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 5.9%, 49% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 10.0% | 7.3% | 14.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 7.0% | 4.8% | 8.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.7% | 2.9% | 4.5% | 6 |
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 out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica was 2.9% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 14.2% in 2000.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.9% in 2025.
- How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Costa Rica ranks 137th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 61.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release