A vacuum pump comprises: a pump; a pump stator; a base having an exhaust-side space into which the gas discharged by the pump rotor and the pump stator flows and an exhaust port in communication with the exhaust-side space; and a groove pumping element that is provided in a ring shape around a rotational axis of the pump rotor on a downstream end face of the pump rotor or on an inner bottom of the base opposite to the downstream end face and discharges gas from an inner peripheral side of the pump rotor to the exhaust-side space, the groove pumping element being circumferentially provided with alternating grooves defining a concave portion and convex portions, and the groove pumping element being located outside an exhaust path through which gas flows into the exhaust-side space and is thereafter discharged to the exhaust port.