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 2.3% in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
2.3%
Change on year
up 156.4%
World rank
21st
of 30 countries
All-time high
6.8%
in 2011
All-time low
0.4%
in 2022
Years of data
23
2002–2024

Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica, 2002–2024

02462002201320242002: 4.8 %2003: 6 %2004: 6 %2005: 6.5 %2006: 3.4 %2007: 3.1 %2008: 3.2 %2009: 4.5 %2010: 5.3 %2011: 6.8 %2012: 4.4 %2013: 1.7 %2014: 2.3 %2015: 3 %2016: 3.5 %2017: 2.1 %2018: 2.2 %2019: 0.6 %2020: 1.2 %2021: 1.3 %2022: 0.4 %2023: 0.9 %2024: 2.3 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Costa Rica recorded 2.3% for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in 2024.

That represents a change of up 156.4% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica peaked at 6.8% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.4%, in 2022.

Costa Rica ranks 21st of 30 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, urban, second quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%) in Costa Rica, 2002 to 2024.
Year % Change
2002 4.8%
2003 6.0% +25.0%
2004 6.0% +0.0%
2005 6.5% +8.3%
2006 3.4% -47.7%
2007 3.1% -8.8%
2008 3.2% +3.2%
2009 4.5% +40.6%
2010 5.3% +17.8%
2011 6.8% +27.5%
2012 4.4% -34.9%
2013 1.7% -61.4%
2014 2.3% +35.3%
2015 3.0% +30.4%
2016 3.5% +16.7%
2017 2.1% -40.0%
2018 2.2% +5.0%
2019 0.6% -72.8%
2020 1.2% +100.0%
2021 1.3% +8.3%
2022 0.4% -69.2%
2023 0.9% +125.0%
2024 2.3% +156.4%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 2.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.7%, 1.4× the median. (15 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 4.7% 3.1% 6.5% 8
2010s 3.2% 0.6% 6.8% 10
2020s 1.2% 0.4% 2.3% 5

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 18 Nepal 5.3% compare
  2. 19 Colombia 3.6% compare
  3. 20 Ecuador 2.6% compare
  4. 22 Dominican Republic 2.1% compare
  5. 23 El Salvador 1.7% compare
  6. 24 Paraguay 1.6% compare

See the full ranking of 30 places →

More education data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

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 2.3% in 2024, 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 6.8% in 2011.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.4% in 2022.
How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
Costa Rica ranks 21st out of 30 countries with data for 2024.
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 up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
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, urban, second quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 15 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-adolescents-of-lower-secondary-school-age-urban-second-quintile-5/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, urban, second quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
30 places, 387 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release