School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes was 16.55 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Costa Rica, 1970–2019
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Costa Rica is 16.55 years, measured in 2019. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.0% on the previous year and up 15.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Costa Rica peaked at 16.55 years in 2019 and was at its lowest, 8.22 years, in 1971.
Costa Rica ranks 26th of 183 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 8.44 years | — |
| 1971 | 8.22 years | -2.6% |
| 1972 | 8.59 years | +4.4% |
| 1973 | 9.03 years | +5.2% |
| 1979 | 9.72 years | +7.7% |
| 1980 | 9.66 years | -0.6% |
| 1981 | 9.71 years | +0.5% |
| 1982 | 9.5 years | -2.1% |
| 1983 | 9.26 years | -2.6% |
| 1984 | 9.13 years | -1.4% |
| 1985 | 9.25 years | +1.3% |
| 1986 | 9.42 years | +1.9% |
| 1987 | 9.55 years | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 9.42 years | -1.3% |
| 1989 | 9.72 years | +3.1% |
| 1990 | 9.79 years | +0.8% |
| 1991 | 10.04 years | +2.5% |
| 1992 | 10.3 years | +2.6% |
| 2004 | 12.12 years | +17.7% |
| 2011 | 14.31 years | +18.1% |
| 2012 | 14.5 years | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 14.75 years | +1.7% |
| 2014 | 15.11 years | +2.4% |
| 2015 | 15.24 years | +0.8% |
| 2016 | 15.42 years | +1.2% |
| 2017 | 15.65 years | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 15.9 years | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 16.55 years | +4.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 8.8 years | 8.22 years | 9.72 years | 5 |
| 1980s | 9.46 years | 9.13 years | 9.72 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 10.04 years | 9.79 years | 10.3 years | 3 |
| 2000s | 12.12 years | 12.12 years | 12.12 years | 1 |
| 2010s | 15.27 years | 14.31 years | 16.55 years | 9 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
- 23 Chile 16.59 years compare
- 24 Malta 16.58 years compare
- 25 Lithuania 16.57 years compare
- 27 Republic of Korea 16.49 years compare
- 28 Macau, China 16.44 years compare
- 29 Puerto Rico 16.42 years compare
More education data for Costa Rica
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 460,126 (2024)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), annual growth -3.03 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Costa Rica?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Costa Rica was 16.55 years in 2019, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 16.55 years in 2019.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 8.22 years in 1971.
- How does Costa Rica rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Costa Rica ranks 26th out of 183 countries with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
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.