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 2.6% 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
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica is 2.6%, measured in 2025. That is the lowest value across all 26 years on record.
The figure is down 7.1% on the previous year and down 61.2% 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, 2.6%, in 2025.
That places Costa Rica 136th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it 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 | 12.1% | -10.4% |
| 2003 | 10.7% | -11.6% |
| 2004 | 9.6% | -10.3% |
| 2005 | 8.5% | -11.5% |
| 2006 | 7.7% | -9.4% |
| 2007 | 7.1% | -7.8% |
| 2008 | 6.8% | -4.2% |
| 2009 | 6.8% | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 7.1% | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 7.4% | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 7.5% | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 7.6% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 7.4% | -2.6% |
| 2015 | 6.7% | -9.5% |
| 2016 | 5.8% | -13.4% |
| 2017 | 5.0% | -13.8% |
| 2018 | 4.5% | -10.0% |
| 2019 | 4.1% | -8.9% |
| 2020 | 3.9% | -4.9% |
| 2021 | 3.7% | -5.1% |
| 2022 | 3.6% | -2.7% |
| 2023 | 3.2% | -11.1% |
| 2024 | 2.8% | -12.5% |
| 2025 | 2.6% | -7.1% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 2.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 1.3%, 2.0× the median. (72 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 2.6% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 5.6%, 46% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 9.7% | 6.8% | 14.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.3% | 4.1% | 7.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.3% | 2.6% | 3.9% | 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 2.6% 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 2.6% in 2025.
- How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Costa Rica ranks 136th 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 61.2%. 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, female (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