Years of schooling in Costa Rica
Costa Rica: Years of schooling was 8.84 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
8.84
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
116th
of 192 countries
All-time high
8.84
in 2021
All-time low
6.81
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Costa Rica, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, years of schooling in Costa Rica stood at 8.84. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
The figure is up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in Costa Rica peaked at 8.84 in 2021 and was at its lowest, 6.81, in 1990.
That places Costa Rica 116th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Years of schooling in Costa Rica, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 6.81 | — |
| 1991 | 6.9 | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 6.99 | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 7.08 | +1.3% |
| 1994 | 7.17 | +1.3% |
| 1995 | 7.26 | +1.3% |
| 1996 | 7.32 | +0.8% |
| 1997 | 7.38 | +0.8% |
| 1998 | 7.44 | +0.8% |
| 1999 | 7.5 | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 7.56 | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 7.66 | +1.3% |
| 2002 | 7.76 | +1.3% |
| 2003 | 7.86 | +1.3% |
| 2004 | 7.96 | +1.3% |
| 2005 | 8.05 | +1.2% |
| 2006 | 8.03 | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 8.01 | -0.3% |
| 2008 | 8.29 | +3.5% |
| 2009 | 8.36 | +0.8% |
| 2010 | 8.23 | -1.6% |
| 2011 | 8.35 | +1.5% |
| 2012 | 8.41 | +0.7% |
| 2013 | 8.58 | +2.0% |
| 2014 | 8.75 | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 8.58 | -1.9% |
| 2016 | 8.56 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 8.64 | +0.9% |
| 2018 | 8.72 | +0.9% |
| 2019 | 8.76 | +0.5% |
| 2020 | 8.8 | +0.5% |
| 2021 | 8.84 | +0.5% |
| 2022 | 8.84 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8.84 | +0.0% |
Costa Rica compared with similar countries
- Costa Rica's 8.84 is below the median for high income countries, which is 12.39, 71% of the median. (64 countries reporting)
- Costa Rica's 8.84 is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 9.68, 91% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 7.19 | 6.81 | 7.5 | 10 |
| 2000s | 7.95 | 7.56 | 8.36 | 10 |
| 2010s | 8.56 | 8.23 | 8.76 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.83 | 8.8 | 8.84 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Costa Rica
More education data for Costa Rica
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.16 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 95.51 (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is years of schooling in Costa Rica?
- Years of schooling in Costa Rica was 8.84 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Costa Rica?
- The highest recorded value was 8.84 in 2021.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Costa Rica?
- The lowest recorded value was 6.81 in 1990.
- How does Costa Rica rank for years of schooling?
- Costa Rica ranks 116th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in Costa Rica?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).