Official entrance age to compulsory education in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Official entrance age to compulsory education was 4 years in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
4 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
171st
of 205 countries
All-time high
4 years
in 1998
All-time low
4 years
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Costa Rica, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for official entrance age to compulsory education in Costa Rica is 4 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to compulsory education in Costa Rica peaked at 4 years in 1998 and was at its lowest, 4 years, in 1998.
Costa Rica ranks 171st of 205 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Official entrance age to compulsory education in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 4 years | — |
| 1999 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 4 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 4 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 4 years | 4 years | 4 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 171 Argentina 4 years compare
- 171 Aruba 4 years compare
- 171 Bolivia, Plurinational State of 4 years compare
- 171 Brazil 4 years compare
- 171 Bulgaria 4 years compare
- 171 Cayman Islands 4 years compare
- 171 Curacao 4 years compare
- 171 Ghana 4 years compare
- 171 Gibraltar 4 years compare
- 171 Hungary 4 years compare
- 171 Luxembourg 4 years compare
- 171 Maldives 4 years compare
- 171 Mexico 4 years compare
- 171 Naoero 4 years compare
- 171 Nepal 4 years compare
- 171 Panama 4 years compare
- 171 Sint Maarten (Dutch part) 4 years compare
- 171 Switzerland 4 years compare
- 171 Tonga 4 years compare
- 171 Turks and Caicos Islands 4 years compare
- 171 Uruguay 4 years compare
More education data for Costa Rica
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, both sexes (number) 2.17 % change on previous year (2019)
- Teachers in primary education, female (number), gaps filled 34,294 (2024)
- Teachers in primary education, male (number), gaps filled 8,765 (2024)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 119,754 (2019)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, female (number) 2.39 % change on previous year (2019)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number), gaps 102,057 (2019)
- Enrolment in tertiary education, all programmes, male (number) 1.91 % change on previous year (2019)
- Theoretical duration of primary education (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to compulsory education in Costa Rica?
- Official entrance age to compulsory education in Costa Rica was 4 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 4 years in 1998.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to compulsory education recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 4 years in 1998.
- How does Costa Rica rank for official entrance age to compulsory education?
- Costa Rica ranks 171st out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to compulsory education rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Official entrance age to compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
The official age for entering compulsory education is based on students starting at the earliest entrance age, studying full-time, and advancing without grade repetition or skipping.