Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower was 0.7% in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
0.7%
Change on year
down 45.6%
World rank
123rd
of 149 countries
All-time high
20.3%
in 1985
All-time low
0.7%
in 2019
Years of data
27
1970–2019

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica, 1970–2019

051015201970199420191970: 20.2 %1973: 17.6 %1975: 18.8 %1976: 17.5 %1979: 17.1 %1981: 16.9 %1982: 19.1 %1985: 20.3 %1986: 19 %1987: 18.9 %1989: 18.7 %1990: 18.3 %1991: 17.7 %1992: 15.8 %1993: 15.6 %1994: 15.1 %1995: 15.1 %1996: 15.5 %2011: 3 %2012: 3 %2013: 2.6 %2014: 3.7 %2015: 3.2 %2016: 2.8 %2017: 5 %2018: 1.3 %2019: 0.724 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica is 0.7%, measured in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 27 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is down 45.6% on the previous year and down 75.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica peaked at 20.3% in 1985 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 2019.

That places Costa Rica 123rd out of 149 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%) in Costa Rica, 1970 to 2019.
Year % Change
1970 20.2%
1973 17.6% -13.0%
1975 18.8% +7.0%
1976 17.5% -6.8%
1979 17.1% -2.6%
1981 16.9% -1.0%
1982 19.1% +13.4%
1985 20.3% +6.3%
1986 19.0% -6.4%
1987 18.9% -0.8%
1989 18.7% -1.1%
1990 18.3% -1.9%
1991 17.7% -3.7%
1992 15.8% -10.4%
1993 15.6% -1.7%
1994 15.1% -3.1%
1995 15.1% +0.1%
1996 15.5% +2.6%
2011 3.0% -80.8%
2012 3.0% -0.5%
2013 2.6% -13.1%
2014 3.7% +43.6%
2015 3.2% -12.2%
2016 2.8% -13.8%
2017 5.0% +80.1%
2018 1.3% -73.6%
2019 0.7% -45.6%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 0.7% is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.3%, 57% of the median. (61 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 0.7% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 4.4%, 17% of the median. (34 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower 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.

YearChange FromTo
2017 +80.1% 2.8% 5.0%
2011 -80.8% 15.5% 3.0%
2018 -73.6% 5.0% 1.3%

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 18.2% 17.1% 20.2% 5
1980s 18.8% 16.9% 20.3% 6
1990s 16.2% 15.1% 18.3% 7
2010s 2.8% 0.7% 5.0% 9

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 120 Antigua and Barbuda 0.9% compare
  2. 121 Zimbabwe 0.9% compare
  3. 122 Czechia 0.8% compare
  4. 124 Slovenia 0.6% compare
  5. 125 Kazakhstan 0.6% compare
  6. 126 New Zealand 0.6% compare

See the full ranking of 192 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica?
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica was 0.7% in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 20.3% in 1985.
What is the lowest out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 2019.
How does Costa Rica rank for out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower?
Costa Rica ranks 123rd out of 149 countries with data for 2019.
Is out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is down 75.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 27 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 13 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age/costa-rica/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/out-of-school-rate-for-children-and-adolescents-of-primary-and-lower-secondary-school-age/costa-rica/">Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower in Costa Rica</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Out-of-school rate for children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, both sexes (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
192 places, 4,615 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Proportion of children and adolescents in the official age range for primary and lower secondary education who are not enrolled in primary or lower secondary education. To calculate the indicator, the number of students of the official age for primary and lower secondary education enrolled in primary or lower secondary education is subtracted from the total population of primary and lower secondary education. The result is expressed as a percentage of the population of the official age for primary and lower secondary education. For more information, consult the UNESCO Institute of Statistics website: http://www.uis.unesco.org/Education/