Costa Rica
Last updated July 1, 2026
Composite GEFRI Score
Governance is a strength, but Access & Parity lags
Costa Rica demonstrates early-stage readiness to meet the challenges and opportunities of education in a rapidly changing world (45th percentile worldwide). Investments are generating initial gains, yet substantial gaps persist in several dimensions.
- Global percentile
- 45th
- Global rank
- #99
- Regional rank
- #14
- Viewing data for
Country profile
Costa Rica remains in the emerging-readiness range, with progress visible but major gaps still limiting future readiness. Most dimension scores sit close to global norms, without a single dimension standing far above the rest.
Wide gaps between dimensions reveal structural weaknesses that slow coordinated progress. High internet adoption enables broad participation in digital learning and innovation.
Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Girls outperform boys in secondary pathways, adding pressure to address male dropout risks.
Regionally, School Access and Gender Parity lags peers the most, signalling where investment could have the highest impact.
Most indicators are observed rather than imputed, so estimation uncertainty is limited.
Key insights
Places 99th worldwide.
Holds a regional position of 14th within Latin America & Caribbean.
Scores range from Governance (65.1) to Access & Parity (10.0), reflecting variation across dimensions.
Trails regional peers most clearly in Access & Parity.
Regional peers: Latin America & Caribbean
Composite GEFRI Score