Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school was 99.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Costa Rica, 2011–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Costa Rica stood at 99.2%. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.1% on the previous year and up 31.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Costa Rica peaked at 99.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 68.8%, in 2012.
Costa Rica ranks 6th of 178 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2011 | 69.7% | — |
| 2012 | 68.8% | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 71.4% | +3.8% |
| 2014 | 75.2% | +5.4% |
| 2015 | 73.2% | -2.7% |
| 2016 | 71.9% | -1.9% |
| 2017 | 72.5% | +0.8% |
| 2018 | 85.6% | +18.1% |
| 2019 | 89.2% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 91.8% | +2.9% |
| 2021 | 92.8% | +1.1% |
| 2022 | 94.7% | +2.1% |
| 2023 | 99.1% | +4.6% |
| 2024 | 99.2% | +0.1% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 99.2% is above the median for high income countries, which is 87.1%, 1.1× the median. (68 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 99.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 68.8%, 1.4× the median. (37 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 75.3% | 68.8% | 89.2% | 9 |
| 2020s | 95.5% | 91.8% | 99.2% | 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 share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Costa Rica?
- Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school in Costa Rica was 99.2% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 99.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of children enrolled in pre-primary school recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 68.8% in 2012.
- How does Costa Rica rank for share of children enrolled in pre-primary school?
- Costa Rica ranks 6th out of 178 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children enrolled in pre-primary school rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 31.8%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children enrolled in pre-primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children of pre-primary school age (typically 3–5 years old) who are enrolled in pre-primary education.