Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Cuba
Cuba: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 95.3% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Cuba, 1820–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children in primary school age who are in school in Cuba is 95.3%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 1.4% on the previous year and down 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Cuba peaked at 100.0% in 1965 and was at its lowest, 0.7%, in 1820.
Cuba ranks 118th of 209 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 81 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Cuba, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 0.7% | — |
| 1825 | 0.9% | +29.0% |
| 1830 | 1.1% | +29.2% |
| 1835 | 1.5% | +28.7% |
| 1840 | 1.9% | +28.4% |
| 1845 | 2.4% | +28.4% |
| 1850 | 3.1% | +28.7% |
| 1855 | 4.0% | +28.0% |
| 1860 | 5.1% | +27.9% |
| 1865 | 6.5% | +27.2% |
| 1870 | 8.3% | +26.9% |
| 1875 | 10.5% | +26.3% |
| 1880 | 13.2% | +25.5% |
| 1885 | 20.2% | +53.5% |
| 1890 | 27.2% | +34.9% |
| 1895 | 36.4% | +33.6% |
| 1900 | 45.5% | +25.2% |
| 1905 | 42.0% | -7.8% |
| 1910 | 38.4% | -8.4% |
| 1915 | 46.7% | +21.5% |
| 1920 | 55.0% | +17.7% |
| 1925 | 53.3% | -2.9% |
| 1930 | 51.7% | -3.0% |
| 1935 | 53.5% | +3.4% |
| 1940 | 55.2% | +3.3% |
| 1945 | 62.7% | +13.5% |
| 1950 | 70.1% | +11.9% |
| 1955 | 71.7% | +2.3% |
| 1960 | 66.2% | -7.6% |
| 1965 | 100.0% | +51.0% |
| 1970 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 94.4% | -5.6% |
| 1973 | 97.2% | +3.0% |
| 1974 | 98.0% | +0.8% |
| 1975 | 100.0% | +2.1% |
| 1979 | 96.7% | -3.3% |
| 1980 | 96.8% | +0.1% |
| 1981 | 95.8% | -1.0% |
| 1982 | 96.6% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 98.0% | +1.5% |
| 1984 | 97.4% | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 95.7% | -1.7% |
| 1986 | 95.4% | -0.4% |
| 1987 | 96.2% | +0.9% |
| 1988 | 96.4% | +0.2% |
| 1989 | 95.6% | -0.8% |
| 1990 | 94.9% | -0.8% |
| 1991 | 94.9% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 96.2% | +1.3% |
| 1993 | 95.6% | -0.6% |
| 1994 | 96.3% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 96.2% | -0.1% |
| 1996 | 98.7% | +2.6% |
| 1997 | 99.3% | +0.6% |
| 1998 | 99.5% | +0.2% |
| 1999 | 99.6% | +0.1% |
| 2000 | 99.8% | +0.2% |
| 2001 | 99.9% | +0.2% |
| 2002 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 2003 | 99.6% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 99.3% | -0.2% |
| 2005 | 99.2% | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 98.8% | -0.4% |
| 2007 | 99.4% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 98.4% | -1.0% |
| 2009 | 98.8% | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 98.4% | -0.4% |
| 2011 | 97.6% | -0.8% |
| 2012 | 98.0% | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 99.3% | +1.3% |
| 2014 | 97.9% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 97.6% | -0.4% |
| 2016 | 97.7% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 97.6% | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 97.8% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 98.1% | +0.3% |
| 2020 | 98.7% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 98.7% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 96.6% | -2.1% |
| 2023 | 96.6% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 95.3% | -1.4% |
Cuba compared with similar countries
- Cuba's 95.3% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.0%, 99% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Cuba's 95.3% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 95.1%, 1.0× the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Cuba 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.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1885 | +53.5% | 13.2% | 20.2% |
| 1965 | +51.0% | 66.2% | 100.0% |
| 1890 | +34.9% | 20.2% | 27.2% |
| 1895 | +33.6% | 27.2% | 36.4% |
| 1830 | +29.2% | 0.9% | 1.1% |
| 1825 | +29.0% | 0.7% | 0.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 0.8% | 0.7% | 0.9% | 2 |
| 1830s | 1.3% | 1.1% | 1.5% | 2 |
| 1840s | 2.2% | 1.9% | 2.4% | 2 |
| 1850s | 3.6% | 3.1% | 4.0% | 2 |
| 1860s | 5.8% | 5.1% | 6.5% | 2 |
| 1870s | 9.4% | 8.3% | 10.5% | 2 |
| 1880s | 16.7% | 13.2% | 20.2% | 2 |
| 1890s | 31.8% | 27.2% | 36.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 43.7% | 42.0% | 45.5% | 2 |
| 1910s | 42.6% | 38.4% | 46.7% | 2 |
| 1920s | 54.2% | 53.3% | 55.0% | 2 |
| 1930s | 52.6% | 51.7% | 53.5% | 2 |
| 1940s | 59.0% | 55.2% | 62.7% | 2 |
| 1950s | 70.9% | 70.1% | 71.7% | 2 |
| 1960s | 83.1% | 66.2% | 100.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 97.7% | 94.4% | 100.0% | 6 |
| 1980s | 96.4% | 95.4% | 98.0% | 10 |
| 1990s | 97.1% | 94.9% | 99.6% | 10 |
| 2000s | 99.3% | 98.4% | 99.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 98.0% | 97.6% | 99.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 97.2% | 95.3% | 98.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Cuba
More education data for Cuba
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 95.72 (2024)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 95.32 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 78,576 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 4,635 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 171,121 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 162,406 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 662,491 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 698,052 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -3.62 % change on previous year (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Cuba?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Cuba was 95.3% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Cuba?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 1965.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Cuba?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.7% in 1820.
- How does Cuba rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Cuba ranks 118th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Cuba?
- Over the last ten years it is down 2.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Cuba data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.