School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica

Costa Rica: School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes was 1.91 years in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
1.91 years
Change on year
down 2.4%
World rank
77th
of 191 countries
All-time high
1.96 years
in 2018
All-time low
0.1264 years
in 1970
Years of data
48
1970–2019

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica, 1970–2019

00.511.52197019942019

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.

Analysis

In 2019, school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica stood at 1.91 years.

That represents a change of down 2.4% on the previous year and up 24.2% over ten years.

Over the whole period, school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica peaked at 1.96 years in 2018 and was at its lowest, 0.1264 years, in 1970.

That places Costa Rica 77th out of 191 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica, year by year

Annual values for School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years) in Costa Rica, 1970 to 2019.
Year years Change
1970 0.1264 years —
1971 0.1557 years +23.2%
1972 0.2263 years +45.3%
1973 0.2658 years +17.4%
1974 0.2794 years +5.1%
1975 0.2817 years +0.8%
1976 0.3286 years +16.7%
1977 0.3466 years +5.4%
1978 0.356 years +2.7%
1979 0.3642 years +2.3%
1980 0.3844 years +5.5%
1981 0.4048 years +5.3%
1982 0.4433 years +9.5%
1983 0.4737 years +6.9%
1984 0.4277 years -9.7%
1985 0.5188 years +21.3%
1986 0.5366 years +3.4%
1987 0.5268 years -1.8%
1988 0.5443 years +3.3%
1989 0.5642 years +3.7%
1990 0.5877 years +4.2%
1991 0.642 years +9.2%
1992 0.637 years -0.8%
1993 0.6405 years +0.6%
1994 0.65 years +1.5%
1995 0.6864 years +5.6%
1996 0.7154 years +4.2%
1997 0.8406 years +17.5%
1998 0.8019 years -4.6%
1999 0.9093 years +13.4%
2000 0.9058 years -0.4%
2001 1.16 years +27.5%
2002 1.22 years +5.3%
2004 1.31 years +7.8%
2005 1.42 years +8.6%
2006 1.47 years +3.4%
2008 1.5 years +1.9%
2009 1.54 years +2.7%
2010 1.54 years +0.3%
2011 1.56 years +0.9%
2012 1.55 years -0.5%
2013 1.59 years +2.4%
2014 1.61 years +1.5%
2015 1.59 years -1.6%
2016 1.56 years -1.6%
2017 1.61 years +3.2%
2018 1.96 years +21.6%
2019 1.91 years -2.4%

Costa Rica compared with similar countries

  • Costa Rica's 1.91 years is below the median for high income countries, which is 2.26 years, 85% of the median. (72 countries reporting)
  • Costa Rica's 1.91 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 1.88 years, 1.0× the median. (37 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.

YearChange FromTo
1972 +45.3% 0.1557 years 0.2263 years

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1970s 0.2731 years 0.1264 years 0.3642 years 10
1980s 0.4824 years 0.3844 years 0.5642 years 10
1990s 0.7111 years 0.5877 years 0.9093 years 10
2000s 1.31 years 0.9058 years 1.54 years 8
2010s 1.65 years 1.54 years 1.96 years 10

Countries ranked near Costa Rica

  1. 74 Ecuador 1.99 years compare
  2. 75 Malaysia 1.96 years compare
  3. 76 Mauritius 1.95 years compare
  4. 78 Guyana 1.91 years compare
  5. 79 Seychelles 1.91 years compare
  6. 80 Brunei 1.9 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Costa Rica

All data for Costa Rica →

Frequently asked questions

What is school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica?
School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica was 1.91 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes recorded in Costa Rica?
The highest recorded value was 1.96 years in 2018.
What is the lowest school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes recorded in Costa Rica?
The lowest recorded value was 0.1264 years in 1970.
How does Costa Rica rank for school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes?
Costa Rica ranks 77th out of 191 countries with data for 2019.
Is school life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes rising or falling in Costa Rica?
Over the last ten years it is up 24.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Costa Rica data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes in Costa Rica. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 29 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/school-life-expectancy-pre-primary-both-sexes-years/costa-rica/

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About this data

Indicator
School life expectancy, pre-primary, both sexes (years)
Unit
years
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
236 places, 7,887 data points, 1970–2020
Last refreshed

Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.