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 8.6% 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
Costa Rica recorded 8.6% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 32.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban in Costa Rica peaked at 34.1% in 2011 and was at its lowest, 6.3%, in 2016.
Costa Rica ranks 23rd of 28 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 18 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 | 17.2% | — |
| 2003 | 23.4% | +36.0% |
| 2004 | 15.6% | -33.3% |
| 2005 | 14.6% | -6.4% |
| 2006 | 19.7% | +34.9% |
| 2007 | 19.9% | +1.0% |
| 2008 | 10.6% | -46.7% |
| 2009 | 11.0% | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 19.3% | +75.5% |
| 2011 | 34.1% | +76.8% |
| 2012 | 16.1% | -52.8% |
| 2013 | 9.3% | -42.2% |
| 2014 | 12.7% | +36.6% |
| 2015 | 11.8% | -7.1% |
| 2016 | 6.3% | -46.6% |
| 2017 | 10.2% | +61.9% |
| 2018 | 9.3% | -9.1% |
| 2024 | 8.6% | -7.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 8.6% is above the median for high income countries, which is 6.7%, 1.3× the median. (5 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 8.6% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 9.8%, 87% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 16.5% | 10.6% | 23.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 14.3% | 6.3% | 34.1% | 9 |
| 2020s | 8.6% | 8.6% | 8.6% | 1 |
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 8.6% 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 34.1% 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 6.3% in 2016.
- How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, urban?
- Costa Rica ranks 23rd out of 28 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 down 32.2%. 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, second quintile, both sexes (household survey data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 18 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release