Women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate was 1.33 live births per woman in 2023. ▼ Falling
Women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate in Costa Rica, 1950–2023
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.
Analysis
Costa Rica recorded 1.33 live births per woman for women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
That represents a change of down 0.4% on the previous year and down 25.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate in Costa Rica peaked at 6.73 live births per woman in 1959 and was at its lowest, 1.33 live births per woman, in 2023.
Costa Rica ranks 208th of 236 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate 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% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 1.33 live births per woman is below the median for high income countries, which is 1.5 live births per woman, 88% of the median. (85 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 1.33 live births per woman is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.63 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 | 1.37 live births per woman | 1.33 live births per woman | 1.45 live births per woman | 4 |
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 women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate in Costa Rica?
- Women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate in Costa Rica was 1.33 live births per woman in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 6.73 live births per woman in 1959.
- What is the lowest women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.33 live births per woman in 2023.
- How does Costa Rica rank for women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate?
- Costa Rica ranks 208th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Women's educational attainment vs. fertility rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Total fertility rate: the average number of children a woman would have if she experienced the year's age-specific birth rates throughout her childbearing years.