Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Uruguay

Uruguay: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 100.0% in 2023. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2023)
100.0%
Change on year
up 0.3%
World rank
4th
of 209 countries
All-time high
100.0%
in 2016
All-time low
2.2%
in 1820
Years of data
64
1820–2023

Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Uruguay, 1820–2023

020406080100182019212023

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Uruguay recorded 100.0% for share of children in primary school age who are in school in 2023.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.3% on the previous year and up 0.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Uruguay peaked at 100.0% in 2016 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 1820.

That places Uruguay 4th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1820s 2.4% 2.2% 2.7% 2
1830s 3.8% 3.4% 4.2% 2
1840s 5.8% 5.2% 6.5% 2
1850s 8.9% 8.0% 9.8% 2
1860s 13.3% 12.0% 14.6% 2
1870s 19.5% 17.7% 21.2% 2
1880s 26.5% 26.2% 26.7% 2
1890s 29.4% 27.9% 30.9% 2
1900s 32.3% 27.9% 36.7% 2
1910s 51.1% 49.4% 52.8% 2
1920s 54.8% 52.8% 56.9% 2
1930s 59.1% 58.0% 60.3% 2
1940s 66.8% 66.4% 67.2% 2
1950s 84.1% 83.1% 85.1% 2
1960s 81.9% 80.0% 83.8% 2
1970s 90.6% 88.5% 92.7% 2
1980s 87.9% 86.7% 89.2% 6
1990s 94.7% 93.8% 96.0% 7
2000s 97.2% 95.1% 99.7% 5
2010s 98.9% 95.4% 100.0% 10
2020s 99.7% 99.6% 100.0% 4

Countries ranked near Uruguay

  1. 1 United Arab Emirates 100.0% compare
  2. 2 Myanmar 100.0% compare
  3. 3 Azerbaijan 100.0% compare
  4. 5 South Korea 99.9% compare
  5. 6 Japan 99.9% compare
  6. 7 United Kingdom 99.9% compare

See the full ranking of 209 places →

More education data for Uruguay

All data for Uruguay →

Frequently asked questions

What is share of children in primary school age who are in school in Uruguay?
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Uruguay was 100.0% in 2023, 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 Uruguay?
The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2016.
What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Uruguay?
The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 1820.
How does Uruguay rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
Uruguay ranks 4th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Uruguay?
Over the last ten years it is up 0.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Uruguay 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

CSV · JSON — 64 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Share of children in primary school age who are in school
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
209 places, 8,478 data points, 1820–2025
Last refreshed

The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.