Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary was 6.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Costa Rica, 2011–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Costa Rica stood at 6.5%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.4% on the previous year and down 45.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Costa Rica peaked at 13.0% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 6.5%, in 2023.
That places Costa Rica 106th out of 171 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 14 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 9.3% | — |
| 2012 | 10.2% | +9.8% |
| 2013 | 11.3% | +10.5% |
| 2014 | 11.9% | +5.2% |
| 2015 | 11.2% | -5.7% |
| 2016 | 10.4% | -7.0% |
| 2017 | 13.0% | +24.4% |
| 2018 | 8.6% | -33.8% |
| 2019 | 6.9% | -19.9% |
| 2020 | 8.3% | +20.1% |
| 2021 | 8.0% | -3.1% |
| 2022 | 6.6% | -18.0% |
| 2023 | 6.5% | -0.8% |
| 2024 | 6.5% | +0.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 6.5% is above the median for high income countries, which is 3.6%, 1.8× the median. (65 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 6.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 11.5%, 57% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 10.3% | 6.9% | 13.0% | 9 |
| 2020s | 7.2% | 6.5% | 8.3% | 5 |
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 children, adolescents and youth of primary in Costa Rica?
- Out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary in Costa Rica was 6.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 13.0% in 2017.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.5% in 2023.
- How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary?
- Costa Rica ranks 106th out of 171 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children, adolescents and youth of primary rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.0%. 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 children, adolescents and youth of primary, lower secondary and upper secondary school age, male (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release