Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from was 13.5% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Costa Rica, 2001–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 13.5% for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in 2023.
That represents a change of up 6.4% on the previous year and down 24.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Costa Rica peaked at 19.3% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 10.2%, in 2002.
Costa Rica ranks 73rd of 122 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 12.0% | — |
| 2002 | 10.2% | -15.1% |
| 2007 | 15.9% | +56.4% |
| 2010 | 16.4% | +3.1% |
| 2011 | 17.9% | +9.4% |
| 2015 | 19.3% | +8.0% |
| 2016 | 18.5% | -4.1% |
| 2017 | 17.9% | -3.4% |
| 2018 | 18.5% | +3.1% |
| 2019 | 17.4% | -5.7% |
| 2020 | 15.9% | -8.5% |
| 2022 | 12.7% | -20.4% |
| 2023 | 13.5% | +6.4% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 13.5% is below the median for high income countries, which is 18.2%, 74% of the median. (58 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 13.5% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 19.2%, 70% of the median. (18 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 12.7% | 10.2% | 15.9% | 3 |
| 2010s | 18.0% | 16.4% | 19.3% | 7 |
| 2020s | 14.0% | 12.7% | 15.9% | 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 percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Costa Rica?
- Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from in Costa Rica was 13.5% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 19.3% in 2015.
- What is the lowest percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.2% in 2002.
- How does Costa Rica rank for percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from?
- Costa Rica ranks 73rd out of 122 countries with data for 2023.
- Is percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 24.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Percentage of graduates from tertiary education graduating from Health and Welfare programmes, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release