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Coronavirus: Which countries have closed schools?

Coronavirus: Which countries have closed schools?

Latest Unesco data shows the majority of countries have shut schools nationwide due to the coronavirus

17th March 2020, 4:33pm

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As the government opts to keep schools open, at least for now, many teachers will be wondering how the UK’s policy differs from other nations hit by the coronavirus outbreak.

The majority of countries, including Italy and Japan, have decided to shut all schools; some have restricted closures to certain regions, such as the US; and others, like the UK, are continuing as normal - for the time being.

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To help keep track of the situation, Tes has compiled a list of countries that have decided to close all schools, and those that have decided to take a different approach, using the latest information from Unesco.

This list includes only countries for which Unesco has published data on school closures.

Countries that have closed ALL schools nationwide

Albania
Algeria
Argentina
Armenia
Austria*
Azerbaijan
Bahrain
Bangladesh
Bolivia*
Bosnia and Herzegovina
Bulgaria
Burkina Faso
Cambodia
Cayman Islands*
Chile
China* (including Hong Kong and Macau)
Colombia
Costa Rica
Côte d’Ivoire
Croatia
Cyprus
Czechia
Democratic People’s Republic of Korea (North Korea)
Denmark
Ecuador
Egypt
El Salvador
Equatorial Guinea
Estonia
Ethiopia
France
Gabon
Georgia
Germany*
Ghana
Greece
Grenada
Guatemala
Honduras*
Hungary
Iceland
Indonesia
Iran
Iraq
Ireland
Israel
Italy
Jamaica
Japan*
Jordan
Kazakhstan
Kenya
Kuwait
Kyrgyzstan
Latvia
Lebanon
Libya
Lithuania
Luxembourg
Malaysia*
Mauritania
Mexico*
Mongolia
Montenegro
Morocco
Namibia
Netherlands
North Macedonia
Norway
Pakistan
Palestine
Panama
Paraguay
Peru
Poland
Qatar
Republic of Korea* (South Korea)
Republic of Moldova
Romania*
Rwanda
Saint Lucia
Saudi Arabia
Senegal
Serbia
Slovakia
Slovenia
South Africa*
Spain
Sri Lanka
Sudan
Switzerland
Syrian Arab Republic
Thailand*
Trinidad and Tobago
Tunisia
Turkey
Ukraine
United Arab Emirates
Uzbekistan
Venezuela*
Yemen
Zambia*

(*) From the Unesco website:
Austria, Germany, Malaysia, Mexico, South Africa, Thailand, Yemen and Zambia: announced school closures which will take effect in the next days.
Bolivia, Cayman Islands, Equatorial Guinea, Venezuela: data on enrolment in tertiary education programmes is not available.
China: schools have started opening, but the majority remain closed.
Honduras: while all schools are closed, universities have the choice to remain open or not.
Iceland: primary schools can remain open if classes of under 20 children can be assured.
Japan: universities currently on school spring break, and hence closures not related to the coronavirus.
Republic of Korea: universities have postponed the beginning of the academic year by two weeks to 16 March. While classes are suspended, the campuses remain open.
Romania: most universities remain open.