Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years was 9.37 in 2024. ▲ Rising
Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Costa Rica, 1973–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 9.37 for mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in 2024. That is the highest value across all 24 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 3.7% on the previous year and up 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Costa Rica peaked at 9.37 in 2024 and was at its lowest, 4.55, in 1973.
Costa Rica ranks 82nd of 124 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 24 years of available data.
Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 4.55 | — |
| 2002 | 7.65 | +68.3% |
| 2003 | 7.76 | +1.4% |
| 2004 | 7.78 | +0.3% |
| 2005 | 7.95 | +2.2% |
| 2006 | 7.97 | +0.3% |
| 2007 | 8.01 | +0.5% |
| 2008 | 8.29 | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 8.36 | +0.9% |
| 2010 | 8.23 | -1.5% |
| 2011 | 8.35 | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 8.41 | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 8.41 | -0.0% |
| 2014 | 8.75 | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 8.58 | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 8.56 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 8.52 | -0.5% |
| 2018 | 8.72 | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 8.71 | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 8.8 | +1.1% |
| 2021 | 8.86 | +0.6% |
| 2022 | 8.9 | +0.5% |
| 2023 | 9.04 | +1.6% |
| 2024 | 9.37 | +3.7% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 9.37 is below the median for high income countries, which is 12.44, 75% of the median. (55 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 9.37 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 9.93, 94% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2002 | +68.3% | 4.55 | 7.65 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.55 | 4.55 | 4.55 | 1 |
| 2000s | 7.97 | 7.65 | 8.36 | 8 |
| 2010s | 8.53 | 8.23 | 8.75 | 10 |
| 2020s | 9 | 8.8 | 9.37 | 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 mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Costa Rica?
- Mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years in Costa Rica was 9.37 in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 9.37 in 2024.
- What is the lowest mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 4.55 in 1973.
- How does Costa Rica rank for mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years?
- Costa Rica ranks 82nd out of 124 countries with data for 2024.
- Is mean years of schooling (isced 1 or higher), population 25+ years rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 7.1%. 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, published as part of Mean years of schooling (ISCED 1 or higher), population 25+ years, both sexes. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 24 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release