Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP was 2.4% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
2.4%
Change on year
up 20.4%
World rank
13th
of 152 countries
All-time high
2.4%
in 2019
All-time low
0.8%
in 1982
Years of data
26
1980–2019

Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Costa Rica, 1980–2019

11.522.51980199920191980: 1.5 %1982: 0.76 %1983: 0.856 %1988: 0.823 %1989: 0.856 %1995: 0.796 %1996: 0.959 %1999: 1.6 %2000: 1.3 %2001: 1.5 %2002: 1.6 %2004: 1.4 %2006: 1.4 %2007: 1.5 %2008: 1.5 %2009: 1.9 %2010: 2.1 %2011: 2.1 %2012: 2.2 %2013: 2.3 %2014: 2.3 %2015: 2.4 %2016: 2.3 %2017: 2.3 %2018: 2 %2019: 2.4 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp in Costa Rica is 2.4%, measured in 2019. That is the highest value across all 26 years on record.

That represents a change of up 20.4% on the previous year and up 27.3% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp in Costa Rica peaked at 2.4% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 0.8%, in 1982.

Costa Rica ranks 13th of 152 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%) in Costa Rica, 1980 to 2019.
Year % Change
1980 1.5%
1982 0.8% -50.1%
1983 0.9% +12.6%
1988 0.8% -3.8%
1989 0.9% +3.9%
1995 0.8% -6.9%
1996 1.0% +20.4%
1999 1.6% +64.9%
2000 1.3% -16.9%
2001 1.5% +13.4%
2002 1.6% +10.8%
2004 1.4% -17.1%
2006 1.4% +2.1%
2007 1.5% +4.7%
2008 1.5% +4.2%
2009 1.9% +24.1%
2010 2.1% +10.5%
2011 2.1% +0.6%
2012 2.2% +5.4%
2013 2.3% +4.2%
2014 2.3% -0.5%
2015 2.4% +3.8%
2016 2.3% -4.8%
2017 2.3% +2.1%
2018 2.0% -13.7%
2019 2.4% +20.4%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 1.0% 0.8% 1.5% 5
1990s 1.1% 0.8% 1.6% 3
2000s 1.5% 1.3% 1.9% 8
2010s 2.2% 2.0% 2.4% 10

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 10 Brunei Darussalam 2.7% compare
  2. 11 Brazil 2.5% compare
  3. 12 Serbia 2.5% compare
  4. 14 Eswatini 2.4% compare
  5. 15 Cyprus 2.4% compare
  6. 16 Oman 2.4% compare

See the full ranking of 152 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp in Costa Rica?
Government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp in Costa Rica was 2.4% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 2.4% in 2019.
What is the lowest government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.8% in 1982.
How does Costa Rica rank for government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp?
Costa Rica ranks 13th out of 152 countries with data for 2019.
Is government expenditure on secondary education as % of gdp rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 27.3%. 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 Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 07 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-expenditure-on-secondary-education-as-percent-of-gdp-percent/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
Government expenditure on secondary education as % of GDP (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
152 places, 2,921 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Total general (local, regional and central) government expenditure on secondary education (current, capital, and transfers), expressed as a percentage of GDP. It includes expenditure funded by transfers from international sources to government. Divide total government expenditure for a given level of education (ex. primary, secondary, or all levels combined) by the GDP, and multiply by 100. A higher percentage of GDP spent on education shows a higher government priority for education, but also a higher capacity of the government to raise revenues for public spending, in relation to the size of the country's economy. When interpreting this indicator however, one should keep in mind in some countries, the private sector and/or households may fund a higher proportion of total funding for education, thus making government expenditure appear lower than in other countries. Limitations: In some instances data on total public expenditure on education refers only to the Ministry of Education, excluding other ministries which may also spend a part of their budget on educational activities. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/