Share of the population with at least some formal education in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 98.2% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Costa Rica, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population with at least some formal education in Costa Rica is 98.2%, measured in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
The figure is up 0.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Costa Rica peaked at 98.2% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 8.6%, in 1870.
That places Costa Rica 37th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 8.6% | — |
| 1875 | 10.6% | +23.3% |
| 1880 | 12.9% | +21.7% |
| 1885 | 15.6% | +20.9% |
| 1890 | 19.0% | +21.8% |
| 1895 | 22.9% | +20.5% |
| 1900 | 37.6% | +64.2% |
| 1905 | 44.2% | +17.6% |
| 1910 | 50.6% | +14.5% |
| 1915 | 55.2% | +9.1% |
| 1920 | 60.8% | +10.1% |
| 1925 | 66.5% | +9.4% |
| 1930 | 69.2% | +4.1% |
| 1935 | 72.1% | +4.2% |
| 1940 | 75.2% | +4.3% |
| 1945 | 78.5% | +4.4% |
| 1950 | 80.8% | +2.9% |
| 1955 | 82.0% | +1.5% |
| 1960 | 82.3% | +0.4% |
| 1965 | 83.4% | +1.3% |
| 1970 | 83.8% | +0.5% |
| 1975 | 89.2% | +6.4% |
| 1980 | 91.9% | +3.0% |
| 1985 | 94.0% | +2.3% |
| 1990 | 94.6% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 94.9% | +0.3% |
| 2000 | 95.8% | +0.9% |
| 2005 | 97.5% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 97.3% | -0.2% |
| 2015 | 97.7% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 98.2% | +0.5% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 98.2% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.0%, 99% of the median. (41 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 98.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 97.1%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some formal education 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1900 | +64.2% | 22.9% | 37.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 9.6% | 8.6% | 10.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 14.2% | 12.9% | 15.6% | 2 |
| 1890s | 20.9% | 19.0% | 22.9% | 2 |
| 1900s | 40.9% | 37.6% | 44.2% | 2 |
| 1910s | 52.9% | 50.6% | 55.2% | 2 |
| 1920s | 63.6% | 60.8% | 66.5% | 2 |
| 1930s | 70.7% | 69.2% | 72.1% | 2 |
| 1940s | 76.8% | 75.2% | 78.5% | 2 |
| 1950s | 81.4% | 80.8% | 82.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 82.8% | 82.3% | 83.4% | 2 |
| 1970s | 86.5% | 83.8% | 89.2% | 2 |
| 1980s | 93.0% | 91.9% | 94.0% | 2 |
| 1990s | 94.8% | 94.6% | 94.9% | 2 |
| 2000s | 96.7% | 95.8% | 97.5% | 2 |
| 2010s | 97.5% | 97.3% | 97.7% | 2 |
| 2020s | 98.2% | 98.2% | 98.2% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 34 Germany 98.4% compare
- 34 Peru 98.4% compare
- 36 New Zealand 98.3% compare
- 37 Bulgaria 98.2% compare
- 37 El Salvador 98.2% compare
- 37 Iceland 98.2% compare
- 37 Philippines 98.2% compare
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 share of the population with at least some formal education in Costa Rica?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Costa Rica was 98.2% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 98.2% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.6% in 1870.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Costa Rica ranks 37th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.