Share of children who have completed primary school in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of children who have completed primary school was 98.9% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Costa Rica, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of children who have completed primary school in Costa Rica stood at 98.9%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 3.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Costa Rica peaked at 98.9% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 77.8%, in 1986.
Costa Rica ranks 60th of 165 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 79.4% | — |
| 1982 | 79.1% | -0.3% |
| 1983 | 78.8% | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 78.4% | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 78.0% | -0.5% |
| 1986 | 77.8% | -0.3% |
| 1987 | 77.8% | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 78.0% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 78.2% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 78.4% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 78.6% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 79.0% | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 79.6% | +0.7% |
| 1994 | 80.2% | +0.8% |
| 1995 | 80.7% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 81.2% | +0.6% |
| 1997 | 81.6% | +0.5% |
| 1998 | 82.2% | +0.7% |
| 1999 | 82.8% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 83.7% | +1.1% |
| 2001 | 84.7% | +1.2% |
| 2002 | 85.8% | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 87.1% | +1.5% |
| 2004 | 88.2% | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 89.2% | +1.1% |
| 2006 | 89.9% | +0.7% |
| 2007 | 90.4% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 90.8% | +0.5% |
| 2009 | 91.3% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 91.9% | +0.6% |
| 2011 | 92.5% | +0.7% |
| 2012 | 93.2% | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 93.9% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 94.6% | +0.8% |
| 2015 | 95.4% | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 96.1% | +0.7% |
| 2017 | 96.7% | +0.6% |
| 2018 | 97.2% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 97.6% | +0.4% |
| 2020 | 97.9% | +0.4% |
| 2021 | 98.2% | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 98.4% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 98.6% | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 98.8% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 98.9% | +0.1% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 98.9% is below the median for high income countries, which is 99.6%, 99% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 98.9% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 96.7%, 1.0× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 78.4% | 77.8% | 79.4% | 9 |
| 1990s | 80.4% | 78.4% | 82.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 88.1% | 83.7% | 91.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 94.9% | 91.9% | 97.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 98.5% | 97.9% | 98.9% | 6 |
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 share of children who have completed primary school in Costa Rica?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Costa Rica was 98.9% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 98.9% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 77.8% in 1986.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Costa Rica ranks 60th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.7%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.