Tertiary education enrolment (gross) in Costa Rica

Gross tertiary enrolment in Costa Rica was 55.0% in 2019. The value for 2019 is the highest in the series, which starts in 2004.

Tertiary education enrolment (gross) % of the population in the five years after secondary school age Data: 2004 to 2019 Source: World Bank

The latest value for Costa Rica is for 2019. Most countries have figures for 2023.

Costa Rica, 2019 55.0% % of the population in the five years after secondary school age

Change from 2018 +2.4percentage points 2018: 52.6%

World, 2019 38.7% Official aggregate

Median of OECD (38 countries), 2019 73.1% Middle value of 37 countries

Tertiary education enrolment (gross) in Costa Rica over time

From

Costa Rica World ×

The chart loads when you scroll to it. The table below shows the same data.

% of the population in the five years after secondary school age. Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators. Gaps mean no published value; points are not joined across missing years.

Tertiary education enrolment (gross) (% of the population in the five years after secondary school age), 2001 to 2024
Period	Costa Rica	World
2024	–	43.6%
2023	–	43.2%
2022	–	42.0%
2021	–	41.1%
2020	–	39.7%
2019	55.0%	38.7%
2018	52.6%	37.9%
2017	54.4%	37.5%
2016	51.7%	37.1%
2015	51.3%	36.6%
2014	50.3%	35.6%
2013	47.5%	33.1%
2012	46.7%	32.3%
2011	44.7%	31.1%
2010	–	29.6%
2009	–	28.3%
2008	–	27.4%
2007	–	26.3%
2006	–	25.7%
2005	–	24.3%
2004	25.8%	23.6%
2003	–	22.8%
2002	–	21.6%
2001	–	20.4%

A dash means no value was published for that period.

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In short

That is a change of +2.4 percentage points from 52.6% in 2018.
Since 2004, when it was 25.8%, the figure has changed by +29.2 percentage points.
The figure for the world in 2019 was 38.7%.

More for Costa Rica

All statistics for Costa Rica

Primary school enrolment (gross) 104.8% 2024 · World Bank ILO estimate of the youth NEET rate 18.3% 2025 · ILOSTAT Primary completion (UIS) 99.6% 2024 · UNESCO UIS Lower secondary completion 90.3% 2024 · UNESCO UIS Upper secondary completion 81.7% 2024 · UNESCO UIS Out-of-school children 4.5%nat_est 2024 · UNESCO UIS

Source and dates

Original producer: UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Distributed by: World Bank, World Development Indicators
Dataset or series code: SE.TER.ENRR · dataset details · view at source
Observation period: 2004 to 2019 for Costa Rica
Provider update: 8 October 2026
Retrieved: 9 November 2026
Published here: 9 November 2026
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (per series metadata)
Attribution: Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators, original data: UNESCO Institute for Statistics