it has been crucial in building one of the most stable democracies most skillsbased labour markets and establishing the highest levels of wellbeing in latin america education outcomes have stagnated in the last decade and together with widening inequality and slow growth this risks stalling the country s future inclusive growth this chapter provides an overview of how the education system in costa rica is organised and analyses the major trends in access quality and equity the final section examines the current governance and financing arrangements and how they can be harnessed to steer the system to higher levels of performance