Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritius
Mauritius: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritius, 1820–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2024, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritius stood at 99.2%.
That represents a change of up 1.0% on the previous year and up 5.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritius peaked at 99.6% in 2000 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 1820.
That places Mauritius 39th out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 82 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritius, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 1.0% | — |
| 1825 | 1.3% | +29.4% |
| 1830 | 1.7% | +29.5% |
| 1835 | 2.2% | +28.7% |
| 1840 | 2.8% | +29.1% |
| 1845 | 3.6% | +28.5% |
| 1850 | 4.7% | +28.5% |
| 1855 | 6.0% | +27.9% |
| 1860 | 7.6% | +27.3% |
| 1865 | 9.7% | +27.0% |
| 1870 | 12.2% | +26.1% |
| 1875 | 16.6% | +35.3% |
| 1880 | 20.9% | +26.0% |
| 1885 | 25.1% | +20.4% |
| 1890 | 29.4% | +16.9% |
| 1895 | 29.4% | +0.1% |
| 1900 | 29.4% | +0.1% |
| 1905 | 31.4% | +6.8% |
| 1910 | 33.4% | +6.3% |
| 1915 | 38.1% | +13.9% |
| 1920 | 44.8% | +17.5% |
| 1925 | 52.0% | +16.2% |
| 1930 | 50.1% | -3.7% |
| 1935 | 52.7% | +5.1% |
| 1940 | 52.5% | -0.3% |
| 1945 | 52.7% | +0.3% |
| 1950 | 75.5% | +43.3% |
| 1955 | 91.9% | +21.7% |
| 1960 | 76.7% | -16.6% |
| 1965 | 79.0% | +3.1% |
| 1970 | 72.8% | -7.9% |
| 1972 | 85.0% | +16.8% |
| 1973 | 84.3% | -0.8% |
| 1974 | 83.5% | -0.9% |
| 1975 | 83.5% | -0.1% |
| 1976 | 83.7% | +0.2% |
| 1977 | 89.4% | +6.8% |
| 1978 | 89.8% | +0.5% |
| 1979 | 89.5% | -0.3% |
| 1980 | 92.1% | +2.8% |
| 1981 | 94.6% | +2.7% |
| 1982 | 98.1% | +3.7% |
| 1983 | 97.9% | -0.3% |
| 1984 | 96.4% | -1.5% |
| 1985 | 97.2% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 91.9% | -5.4% |
| 1987 | 92.5% | +0.7% |
| 1988 | 91.9% | -0.6% |
| 1989 | 91.8% | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 90.4% | -1.5% |
| 1991 | 88.0% | -2.6% |
| 1993 | 90.5% | +2.8% |
| 1994 | 91.1% | +0.7% |
| 1995 | 91.3% | +0.2% |
| 1996 | 92.6% | +1.4% |
| 1997 | 93.4% | +1.0% |
| 1998 | 98.5% | +5.4% |
| 1999 | 99.3% | +0.8% |
| 2000 | 99.6% | +0.4% |
| 2001 | 99.4% | -0.2% |
| 2002 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 99.5% | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 98.1% | -1.4% |
| 2005 | 98.3% | +0.2% |
| 2006 | 98.2% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 97.7% | -0.5% |
| 2008 | 97.7% | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 96.8% | -0.9% |
| 2010 | 96.9% | +0.1% |
| 2011 | 96.4% | -0.5% |
| 2012 | 92.3% | -4.2% |
| 2013 | 94.1% | +1.9% |
| 2014 | 94.5% | +0.4% |
| 2015 | 94.7% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 95.0% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 95.3% | +0.3% |
| 2018 | 97.6% | +2.4% |
| 2019 | 95.8% | -1.8% |
| 2020 | 96.4% | +0.6% |
| 2021 | 93.9% | -2.5% |
| 2023 | 98.3% | +4.6% |
| 2024 | 99.2% | +1.0% |
Mauritius compared with similar countries
- Mauritius's 99.2% is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.0%, 1.0× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Mauritius's 99.2% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 84.5%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritius 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | +43.3% | 52.7% | 75.5% |
| 1875 | +35.3% | 12.2% | 16.6% |
| 1830 | +29.5% | 1.3% | 1.7% |
| 1825 | +29.4% | 1.0% | 1.3% |
| 1840 | +29.1% | 2.2% | 2.8% |
| 1835 | +28.7% | 1.7% | 2.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 1.2% | 1.0% | 1.3% | 2 |
| 1830s | 2.0% | 1.7% | 2.2% | 2 |
| 1840s | 3.2% | 2.8% | 3.6% | 2 |
| 1850s | 5.3% | 4.7% | 6.0% | 2 |
| 1860s | 8.7% | 7.6% | 9.7% | 2 |
| 1870s | 14.4% | 12.2% | 16.6% | 2 |
| 1880s | 23.0% | 20.9% | 25.1% | 2 |
| 1890s | 29.4% | 29.4% | 29.4% | 2 |
| 1900s | 30.4% | 29.4% | 31.4% | 2 |
| 1910s | 35.8% | 33.4% | 38.1% | 2 |
| 1920s | 48.4% | 44.8% | 52.0% | 2 |
| 1930s | 51.4% | 50.1% | 52.7% | 2 |
| 1940s | 52.6% | 52.5% | 52.7% | 2 |
| 1950s | 83.7% | 75.5% | 91.9% | 2 |
| 1960s | 77.8% | 76.7% | 79.0% | 2 |
| 1970s | 84.6% | 72.8% | 89.8% | 9 |
| 1980s | 94.4% | 91.8% | 98.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 92.8% | 88.0% | 99.3% | 9 |
| 2000s | 98.5% | 96.8% | 99.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 95.3% | 92.3% | 97.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 96.9% | 93.9% | 99.2% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Mauritius
More education data for Mauritius
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 9,330 (2024)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 21 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 13,956 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 13,539 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 100,395 (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 84,530 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate -5.02 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0679 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritius?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Mauritius was 99.2% 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 Mauritius?
- The highest recorded value was 99.6% in 2000.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Mauritius?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 1820.
- How does Mauritius rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Mauritius ranks 39th out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Mauritius?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mauritius 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.
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About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.