Cosmic SFRD across cosmic time. Both the estimates from the “field” and “clustered” samples are shown (azure and pink box respectively). We compare our measurements with estimates available from the literature based on multiwavelength observations. The SFRD derived from the clustered [C II] LF at z ∼ 5 is about one order of magnitude higher than the current measurements at that redshift. On the other hand, the SFRD of the field sample spans values compatible with both UV and IR-derived estimates, with an average value a factor of ∼1.6 higher than the estimates based on UV surveys. We consider the SFRD from the field sample as representative of the overall galaxy population since the clustered estimate is biased by overdensities around the targeted [C II].