Population with tertiary education — all countries

Population with tertiary education — Costa Rica

Population with tertiary education in Costa Rica in 2024 — 16.83%. Ranked 25 in the world out of 41. Since 2001, the indicator has risen by 6.39 pp.

2024 16.83% −4.77 pp vs 2020
World rank 25of 41
Period maximum 22.79%2014
Period minimum 10.44%2001

Trend over time

2001–2024 · % of population aged 25+

Population with tertiary education — Costa Rica, 2001–2024101520252001200420072010201320162019202220242001: 10.44%2002: 10.56%2003: 10.78%2004: 11.08%2005: 11.71%2006: 12.53%2007: 12.71%2014: 22.79%2015: 21.3%2016: 20.63%2018: 21.31%2020: 21.61%2024: 16.83%
Change over the period: +6.39 pp Annual average: 0.28 pp

Comparison, 2024

How the value compares with the world and the groups this territory belongs to: Costa Rica

Costa Rica 16.83%
Central America computed 16.09%
Population with tertiary education — Costa Rica, by year Costa Rica All countries CSV XLSX
Year % Change, pp
2024 16.83
2020 21.61
2018 21.31
2016 20.63 −0.67 pp
2015 21.3 −1.48 pp
2014 22.79
2007 12.71 +0.18 pp
2006 12.53 +0.82 pp
2005 11.71 +0.63 pp
2004 11.08 +0.3 pp
2003 10.78 +0.22 pp
2002 10.56 +0.12 pp
2001 10.44

Central America, 2024

The same indicator for neighboring countries — with links to their pages

About the indicator

The share of the population aged 25 and older that has completed education at the bachelor's level or above. It differs fundamentally from tertiary enrollment: enrollment counts current students, while this indicator is the accumulated result of past decades, so it changes slowly and reflects not the policy of today but the state of the system twenty or thirty years ago.

Important: An accumulated stock, not the current flow: a country whose tertiary enrollment has grown quickly will keep catching up on this indicator for another generation.

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), license CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO.