Costa Rica vs World: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes

Costa Rica
16.55 years
in 2019
World
12.35 years
in 2019
Costa Rica rank
26th
World rank
25th

School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes over time

  • Costa Rica
  • World
051015197019942019

How they compare

Costa Rica currently reports 16.55 years against 12.35 years in World, a difference of 4.2 years.

That makes Costa Rica's figure about 1.3 times World's.

Across all 28 years both countries report, Costa Rica has been ahead every year.

Costa Rica ranks 26th and World ranks 25th of 183 countries.

Costa Rica has averaged higher in every one of the 5 decades both report.

Head to head by decade

Decade Costa Rica World Difference Ahead
1970s 8.8 years 7.89 years 0.9114 years Costa Rica
1980s 9.46 years 8.79 years 0.6726 years Costa Rica
1990s 10.04 years 9.11 years 0.9351 years Costa Rica
2000s 12.12 years 10.47 years 1.65 years Costa Rica
2010s 15.27 years 12.12 years 3.15 years Costa Rica

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes, Costa Rica or World?
Costa Rica, at 16.55 years against 12.35 years in World as of 2019.
What is the difference in school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes between Costa Rica and World?
4.2 years, with Costa Rica ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for Costa Rica and World?
28 years are reported by both, from 1970 to 2019.
How do Costa Rica and World rank globally for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
Costa Rica ranks 26th and World ranks 25th of 183 countries.
Where does this data come from?
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

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Costa Rica vs World: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes. Statizoid, drawing on Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Retrieved 09 September 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/compare/school-life-expectancy-primary-to-tertiary-both-sexes-years/costa-rica/world/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
228 places, 7,038 data points, 1970–2019
Last refreshed

Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.