Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes was 0.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Costa Rica, 2002–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Costa Rica is 0.8%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 25.3% on the previous year and down 16.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Costa Rica peaked at 2.8% in 2002 and was at its lowest, 0.5%, in 2019.
That places Costa Rica 43rd out of 47 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 2.8% | — |
| 2003 | 2.1% | -25.0% |
| 2004 | 2.3% | +9.5% |
| 2005 | 1.3% | -43.5% |
| 2006 | 1.6% | +23.1% |
| 2007 | 1.4% | -12.5% |
| 2008 | 1.1% | -21.4% |
| 2009 | 1.0% | -9.1% |
| 2010 | 1.1% | +10.0% |
| 2011 | 1.7% | +55.4% |
| 2012 | 1.2% | -29.8% |
| 2013 | 1.0% | -16.7% |
| 2014 | 0.9% | -10.0% |
| 2015 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 0.9% | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.3% | +49.4% |
| 2019 | 0.5% | -62.8% |
| 2020 | 0.7% | +40.0% |
| 2021 | 0.5% | -28.6% |
| 2022 | 0.5% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 0.6% | +20.0% |
| 2024 | 0.8% | +25.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 0.8% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.0%, 73% of the median. (6 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 0.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.4%, 55% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.7% | 1.0% | 2.8% | 8 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.5% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.5% | 0.8% | 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 of primary school age, both sexes in Costa Rica?
- Out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes in Costa Rica was 0.8% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 2.8% in 2002.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5% in 2019.
- How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes?
- Costa Rica ranks 43rd out of 47 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for children of primary school age, both sexes rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 16.5%. 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 of primary school age, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release