Share of the population with at least some secondary education in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of the population with at least some secondary education was 52.39 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population with at least some secondary education in Costa Rica, 1973–2024
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of the population with at least some secondary education in Costa Rica is 52.39, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.3% on the previous year and down 4.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some secondary education in Costa Rica peaked at 55.44 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 16.91, in 1973.
Costa Rica ranks 101st of 135 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some secondary education in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 16.91 | — |
| 2001 | 36.54 | +116.1% |
| 2002 | 37.4 | +2.3% |
| 2003 | 38.5 | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 38.7 | +0.5% |
| 2005 | 39.9 | +3.1% |
| 2006 | 40.1 | +0.5% |
| 2007 | 47.68 | +18.9% |
| 2008 | 49.77 | +4.4% |
| 2009 | 50.11 | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 48.99 | -2.2% |
| 2011 | 50.13 | +2.3% |
| 2012 | 50.82 | +1.4% |
| 2013 | 45 | -11.4% |
| 2014 | 54.67 | +21.5% |
| 2015 | 53.06 | -2.9% |
| 2016 | 53.11 | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 45.7 | -13.9% |
| 2018 | 54.56 | +19.4% |
| 2019 | 47.4 | -13.1% |
| 2020 | 55.44 | +17.0% |
| 2021 | 49.2 | -11.3% |
| 2022 | 50.1 | +1.8% |
| 2023 | 51.2 | +2.2% |
| 2024 | 52.39 | +2.3% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 52.39 is below the median for high income countries, which is 91.64, 57% of the median. (53 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 52.39 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 62.99, 83% of the median. (26 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of the population with at least some secondary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | +116.1% | 16.91 | 36.54 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 16.91 | 16.91 | 16.91 | 1 |
| 2000s | 42.08 | 36.54 | 50.11 | 9 |
| 2010s | 50.34 | 45 | 54.67 | 10 |
| 2020s | 51.67 | 49.2 | 55.44 | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More education data for Costa Rica
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.16 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 95.51 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some secondary education in Costa Rica?
- Share of the population with at least some secondary education in Costa Rica was 52.39 in 2024, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some secondary education recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 55.44 in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some secondary education recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.91 in 1973.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of the population with at least some secondary education?
- Costa Rica ranks 101st out of 135 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population with at least some secondary education rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some secondary education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 25 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).