Q COSTA RICA — Costa Rica ended 2025 with the lowest number of registered births in a decade—a drop that confirms the rapid demographic shift already beginning to be felt in schools.
The Tribunal Supremo de Elecciones (TSE)—Supreme Electoral Tribunal—Costa Rica’s top constitutional body responsible for running elections and managing the national civil registry, reported on Wednesday that the Civil Registry recorded 48,414 births during 2025.
In 2016, it had recorded 72,347.
The difference is 23,933 registrations, equivalent to a 33.1% decrease.
The data refer to births registered with the Civil Registry during each year, not necessarily to all children born within that same period.
Following the 72,347 registrations in 2016, the figure remained above 71,000 during 2017 and 2018. From then on, the decline accelerated: it fell to 66,758 in 2019 and to 59,286 in 2020.
That drop of 7,472 registrations between 2019 and 2020 was the largest year-over-year decrease recorded during the period analyzed.
The trend continued after the pandemic. Between 2021 and 2025, registered births fell by 9,473, equivalent to 16.4%.
Fewer Children and Rising Demographic Pressure
A recent report by El Observador, based on data from the National Institute of Statistics and Censuses (INEC), revealed that the country has 180,220 fewer children than it did ten years ago.
In 2016, Costa Rica had a population of 974,838 children aged 0 to 12. By 2026, that figure had dropped to 794,618, causing this group’s share of the total population to fall from 20% to 15.2%.
The INEC projects that by 2036, the population in this age group will decline to 607,548—equivalent to 11.3% of the country’s inhabitants.
This shift is already impacting the education system. Enrollment dropped by approximately 35,000 students between 2025 and 2026, as the Minister of Public Education, Leonardo Sánchez, explained in early September.
The minister also noted that the decline in student numbers led to the closure of some 14 or 15 schools during 2026, primarily single-teacher schools.
Postponing Motherhood
The decline in births coincides with a drop in fertility rates and the decision by many women to delay motherhood.
A report by the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC) estimated that Costa Rica recorded a total fertility rate of 1.32 children per woman in 2024. This figure is well below the generational replacement level, which stands at approximately 2.1 children per woman.
ECLAC classifies a rate of 1.3 children per woman or lower as “ultra-low,” meaning Costa Rica is just above that threshold.
Over the last decade, the average age at which women become mothers rose from 23.3 to 25.6 years, according to INEC data previously cited by El Observador.
Specialists consulted by this outlet attributed the postponement of motherhood to factors such as the cost of living, child-rearing expenses, difficulties in accessing housing, the unequal distribution of caregiving duties, and the priority women place on their education and professional development.
Over 600,000 Registrations
Between 2016 and 2025, the Civil Registry recorded 607,328 births: 309,288 boys and 298,040 girls. This represents a distribution of 51% and 49%, respectively.
San José accounted for the highest number of registrations during the decade, with 212,425, while Heredia recorded the lowest figure, with 42,014. These are absolute numbers, not rates calculated based on each province’s population.
The TSE also noted that January saw the highest number of registrations, while December saw the lowest. This figure reflects when the births were registered, not necessarily the month in which they occurred. As of July 2026, the Civil Registry had recorded 28,880 births: 14,889 males and 13,991 females. San José had the highest number of registrations, and Heredia the lowest.
This figure covers the first seven months of the year.