Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Suriname
Suriname: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 83.8% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Suriname, 1977–2024
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 Suriname stood at 83.8%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 38.7% on the previous year and up 0.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Suriname peaked at 96.0% in 1978 and was at its lowest, 60.4%, in 2023.
That places Suriname 173rd out of 209 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Suriname, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 94.5% | — |
| 1978 | 96.0% | +1.5% |
| 1985 | 93.5% | -2.5% |
| 1987 | 88.6% | -5.3% |
| 1988 | 88.5% | -0.1% |
| 1989 | 93.0% | +5.1% |
| 2005 | 82.0% | -11.9% |
| 2006 | 81.9% | -0.1% |
| 2007 | 78.1% | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 82.1% | +5.1% |
| 2009 | 84.0% | +2.3% |
| 2010 | 81.9% | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 81.4% | -0.7% |
| 2012 | 82.1% | +0.9% |
| 2013 | 82.7% | +0.7% |
| 2014 | 83.1% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 86.0% | +3.4% |
| 2016 | 86.3% | +0.4% |
| 2017 | 80.9% | -6.2% |
| 2018 | 80.9% | -0.0% |
| 2019 | 83.6% | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 82.1% | -1.8% |
| 2021 | 78.2% | -4.7% |
| 2022 | 70.2% | -10.2% |
| 2023 | 60.4% | -14.0% |
| 2024 | 83.8% | +38.7% |
Suriname compared with similar countries
- Suriname's 83.8% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 96.0%, 87% of the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Suriname's 83.8% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 95.1%, 88% of the median. (38 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Suriname 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | +38.7% | 60.4% | 83.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 95.2% | 94.5% | 96.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 90.9% | 88.5% | 93.5% | 4 |
| 2000s | 81.6% | 78.1% | 84.0% | 5 |
| 2010s | 82.9% | 80.9% | 86.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 74.9% | 60.4% | 83.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Suriname
More education data for Suriname
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4,520 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 9,366 (2021)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 9,117 (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 8,643 (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 63,941 (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 60,612 (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 10.8 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.0955 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Suriname?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Suriname was 83.8% 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 Suriname?
- The highest recorded value was 96.0% in 1978.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Suriname?
- The lowest recorded value was 60.4% in 2023.
- How does Suriname rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Suriname ranks 173rd out of 209 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Suriname?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Suriname 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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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.