Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education was 20.4% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Share of GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Costa Rica, 1986–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Costa Rica is 20.4%, measured in 2023.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 5.6% on the previous year and down 10.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Costa Rica peaked at 32.6% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 16.7%, in 1995.
Costa Rica ranks 16th of 194 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 22.1% | 17.7% | 30.3% | 3 |
| 1990s | 19.3% | 16.7% | 21.9% | 3 |
| 2000s | 20.4% | 18.8% | 23.4% | 9 |
| 2010s | 25.1% | 22.8% | 32.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.8% | 20.4% | 31.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 13 Dominican Republic 20.9% compare
- 14 Sierra Leone 20.5% compare
- 15 Mozambique 20.4% compare
- 17 Burkina Faso 20.3% compare
- 18 Bolivia 20.2% compare
- 19 Kiribati 20.1% compare
More economy & growth data for Costa Rica
- Industry (including construction), value added 10.30 trillion current LCU (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure 3.7% (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 8.1% (2025)
- Final consumption expenditure 78.0% (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 17.42 billion constant 2015 US$ (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 96.52 billion current US$ (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 48.60 trillion current LCU (2025)
- Gross national expenditure 75.05 billion constant 2015 US$ (2025)
- Industry (including construction), value added 20.46 billion current US$ (2025)
- Exports of goods and services 8.6% (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Costa Rica?
- Share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education in Costa Rica was 20.4% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 32.6% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.7% in 1995.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education?
- Costa Rica ranks 16th out of 194 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of gdp spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 10.7%. 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 GDP spent on education vs. share of government spending assigned to education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of total general government spending (across all sectors) that is allocated to education.