Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban was 11.1% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica, 2002–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica stood at 11.1%.
That represents a change of up 193.2% on the previous year and up 31.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica peaked at 19.5% in 2003 and was at its lowest, 3.1%, in 2020.
That places Costa Rica 34th out of 68 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 16.6% | — |
| 2003 | 19.5% | +17.5% |
| 2004 | 12.8% | -34.4% |
| 2005 | 11.5% | -10.2% |
| 2006 | 15.1% | +31.3% |
| 2007 | 11.8% | -21.9% |
| 2008 | 17.6% | +49.2% |
| 2009 | 15.7% | -10.8% |
| 2010 | 14.4% | -8.3% |
| 2011 | 10.5% | -26.8% |
| 2012 | 8.6% | -18.4% |
| 2013 | 8.9% | +3.5% |
| 2014 | 8.5% | -4.5% |
| 2015 | 13.1% | +54.1% |
| 2016 | 12.2% | -6.9% |
| 2017 | 9.7% | -20.5% |
| 2018 | 9.6% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 5.7% | -40.5% |
| 2020 | 3.1% | -45.6% |
| 2021 | 3.8% | +22.6% |
| 2024 | 11.1% | +193.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 11.1% is above the median for high income countries, which is 6.4%, 1.8× the median. (26 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 11.1% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 10.6%, 1.0× the median. (16 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | +193.2% | 3.8% | 11.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 15.1% | 11.5% | 19.5% | 8 |
| 2010s | 10.1% | 5.7% | 14.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 6.0% | 3.1% | 11.1% | 3 |
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 youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica was 11.1% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 19.5% in 2003.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.1% in 2020.
- How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban?
- Costa Rica ranks 34th out of 68 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.1%. 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 youth of upper secondary school age, urban, male (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release