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 13.8% 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 13.8%.
That represents a change of up 151.2% on the previous year and up 42.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica peaked at 41.1% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 3.2%, in 2020.
Costa Rica ranks 16th of 25 countries on this measure, 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 | 29.2% | — |
| 2003 | 23.4% | -19.9% |
| 2004 | 21.1% | -9.8% |
| 2005 | 17.9% | -15.2% |
| 2006 | 24.3% | +35.8% |
| 2007 | 16.8% | -30.9% |
| 2008 | 22.5% | +33.9% |
| 2009 | 20.1% | -10.7% |
| 2010 | 18.1% | -10.0% |
| 2011 | 41.1% | +127.2% |
| 2012 | 13.6% | -66.9% |
| 2013 | 16.8% | +23.5% |
| 2014 | 9.7% | -42.3% |
| 2015 | 17.2% | +77.3% |
| 2016 | 19.7% | +14.5% |
| 2017 | 13.5% | -31.5% |
| 2018 | 22.3% | +65.1% |
| 2019 | 10.9% | -51.1% |
| 2020 | 3.2% | -70.6% |
| 2021 | 5.5% | +71.9% |
| 2024 | 13.8% | +151.2% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 13.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 14.2%, 98% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 13.8% is above the median for high income countries, which is 5.7%, 2.4× the median. (5 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 21.9% | 16.8% | 29.2% | 8 |
| 2010s | 18.3% | 9.7% | 41.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 7.5% | 3.2% | 13.8% | 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 13.8% 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 41.1% in 2011.
- 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 3.2% in 2020.
- How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban?
- Costa Rica ranks 16th out of 25 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 42.5%. 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 youth of upper secondary school age, urban, poorest quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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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