Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling was 1.32 live births per woman in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
1.32 live births per woman
Change on year
down 0.9%
World rank
209th
of 236 countries
All-time high
6.73 live births per woman
in 1959
All-time low
1.32 live births per woman
in 2024
Years of data
75
1950–2024
Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Costa Rica, 1950–2024
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.
Analysis
In 2024, fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Costa Rica stood at 1.32 live births per woman. That is the lowest value across all 75 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.9% on the previous year and down 26.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Costa Rica peaked at 6.73 live births per woman in 1959 and was at its lowest, 1.32 live births per woman, in 2024.
Costa Rica ranks 209th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 75 years of available data.
Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | live births per woman | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 6.32 live births per woman | — |
| 1951 | 6.39 live births per woman | +1.2% |
| 1952 | 6.46 live births per woman | +1.0% |
| 1953 | 6.51 live births per woman | +0.8% |
| 1954 | 6.54 live births per woman | +0.5% |
| 1955 | 6.57 live births per woman | +0.5% |
| 1956 | 6.6 live births per woman | +0.5% |
| 1957 | 6.66 live births per woman | +0.9% |
| 1958 | 6.71 live births per woman | +0.8% |
| 1959 | 6.73 live births per woman | +0.3% |
| 1960 | 6.71 live births per woman | -0.3% |
| 1961 | 6.65 live births per woman | -0.9% |
| 1962 | 6.54 live births per woman | -1.6% |
| 1963 | 6.39 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1964 | 6.19 live births per woman | -3.1% |
| 1965 | 5.96 live births per woman | -3.8% |
| 1966 | 5.7 live births per woman | -4.4% |
| 1967 | 5.42 live births per woman | -4.9% |
| 1968 | 5.03 live births per woman | -7.2% |
| 1969 | 4.83 live births per woman | -3.8% |
| 1970 | 4.58 live births per woman | -5.2% |
| 1971 | 4.36 live births per woman | -4.9% |
| 1972 | 4.16 live births per woman | -4.7% |
| 1973 | 3.99 live births per woman | -4.0% |
| 1974 | 3.89 live births per woman | -2.5% |
| 1975 | 3.8 live births per woman | -2.3% |
| 1976 | 3.75 live births per woman | -1.5% |
| 1977 | 3.7 live births per woman | -1.2% |
| 1978 | 3.66 live births per woman | -1.1% |
| 1979 | 3.65 live births per woman | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 3.58 live births per woman | -1.9% |
| 1981 | 3.56 live births per woman | -0.8% |
| 1982 | 3.54 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 1983 | 3.52 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 1984 | 3.52 live births per woman | -0.2% |
| 1985 | 3.51 live births per woman | -0.2% |
| 1986 | 3.45 live births per woman | -1.6% |
| 1987 | 3.38 live births per woman | -2.0% |
| 1988 | 3.31 live births per woman | -2.1% |
| 1989 | 3.24 live births per woman | -2.3% |
| 1990 | 3.17 live births per woman | -2.2% |
| 1991 | 3.08 live births per woman | -2.9% |
| 1992 | 3 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1993 | 2.93 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1994 | 2.86 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1995 | 2.78 live births per woman | -2.7% |
| 1996 | 2.68 live births per woman | -3.5% |
| 1997 | 2.59 live births per woman | -3.4% |
| 1998 | 2.53 live births per woman | -2.4% |
| 1999 | 2.48 live births per woman | -1.8% |
| 2000 | 2.41 live births per woman | -2.7% |
| 2001 | 2.31 live births per woman | -4.2% |
| 2002 | 2.16 live births per woman | -6.5% |
| 2003 | 2.08 live births per woman | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 2.03 live births per woman | -2.7% |
| 2005 | 2.04 live births per woman | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 1.94 live births per woman | -5.0% |
| 2007 | 1.95 live births per woman | +0.9% |
| 2008 | 1.98 live births per woman | +1.3% |
| 2009 | 1.95 live births per woman | -1.4% |
| 2010 | 1.83 live births per woman | -6.5% |
| 2011 | 1.88 live births per woman | +2.7% |
| 2012 | 1.85 live births per woman | -1.4% |
| 2013 | 1.78 live births per woman | -3.9% |
| 2014 | 1.8 live births per woman | +1.2% |
| 2015 | 1.8 live births per woman | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 1.75 live births per woman | -2.8% |
| 2017 | 1.71 live births per woman | -1.8% |
| 2018 | 1.71 live births per woman | -0.5% |
| 2019 | 1.6 live births per woman | -6.2% |
| 2020 | 1.45 live births per woman | -9.5% |
| 2021 | 1.35 live births per woman | -6.6% |
| 2022 | 1.33 live births per woman | -1.3% |
| 2023 | 1.33 live births per woman | -0.4% |
| 2024 | 1.32 live births per woman | -0.9% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 1.32 live births per woman is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.51 live births per woman, 87% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 1.32 live births per woman is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.62 live births per woman, 81% of the median. (42 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6.55 live births per woman | 6.32 live births per woman | 6.73 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1960s | 5.94 live births per woman | 4.83 live births per woman | 6.71 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1970s | 3.96 live births per woman | 3.65 live births per woman | 4.58 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.46 live births per woman | 3.24 live births per woman | 3.58 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.81 live births per woman | 2.48 live births per woman | 3.17 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.09 live births per woman | 1.94 live births per woman | 2.41 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.77 live births per woman | 1.6 live births per woman | 1.88 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.36 live births per woman | 1.32 live births per woman | 1.45 live births per woman | 5 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More education data for Costa Rica
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 37,015 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 14,772 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 62,694 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 61,047 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 464,490 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 460,126 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.03 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0897 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Costa Rica?
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling in Costa Rica was 1.32 live births per woman in 2024, according to Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fertility rate vs. average years of schooling recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 6.73 live births per woman in 1959.
- What is the lowest fertility rate vs. average years of schooling recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.32 live births per woman in 2024.
- How does Costa Rica rank for fertility rate vs. average years of schooling?
- Costa Rica ranks 209th out of 236 countries with data for 2024.
- Is fertility rate vs. average years of schooling rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 26.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.