Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 5.3% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica, 2011–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica is 5.3%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.8% on the previous year and down 45.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica peaked at 11.0% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 5.1%, in 2023.
That places Costa Rica 85th out of 169 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 and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 5.6% | — |
| 2012 | 6.8% | +21.5% |
| 2013 | 8.3% | +21.5% |
| 2014 | 9.7% | +17.3% |
| 2015 | 9.0% | -7.4% |
| 2016 | 8.3% | -8.3% |
| 2017 | 11.0% | +33.2% |
| 2018 | 7.3% | -34.1% |
| 2019 | 5.7% | -21.5% |
| 2020 | 7.1% | +24.2% |
| 2021 | 6.8% | -4.0% |
| 2022 | 5.4% | -21.1% |
| 2023 | 5.1% | -4.1% |
| 2024 | 5.3% | +2.8% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 5.3% is above the median for high income countries, which is 2.1%, 2.6× the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 5.3% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 8.8%, 60% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 8.0% | 5.6% | 11.0% | 9 |
| 2020s | 5.9% | 5.1% | 7.1% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 82 Qatar 6.0% compare
- 83 Cuba 5.9% compare
- 84 Cayman Islands 5.5% compare
- 86 Kenya 5.2%
- 87 Anguilla 5.2% compare
- 88 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 5.0%
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 and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica?
- Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica was 5.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 11.0% in 2017.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 5.1% in 2023.
- How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
- Costa Rica ranks 85th out of 169 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 45.7%. 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 and adolescents of primary and lower 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