<p>One of the electrocatalysts explored to improve the sluggish kinetics of the oxygen reduction reaction (ORR) and the oxygen evolution reaction (OER) is MnO₂ for its economic and environmental attributes. Nevertheless, low conductivity, degradation on repeated cycling and lower activity compared to the benchmark catalyst are some of the issues that require the attention of the scientific community. One of the promising strategies explored is tuning its surface oxygen vacancies (OVs). The surface OVs of MnO₂ are usually tuned by heat treatment or doping. In this study, Cu is chosen as the dopant as it exhibits favourable electrical properties and possesses a low Gibbs free energy in the ORR volcano plot. Also, copper is environmentally friendly, abundant and cost-effective. The effect of doping Cu²⁺-ions on the structural properties of MnO₂ is studied by XRD and Raman spectroscopy. The doping-induced surface OVs are quantified by XPS and EPR spectroscopy. The effect of doping Cu²⁺-ions on the textural properties of MnO₂ is studied by N₂ sorption and electron microscopy. On increasing the dopant concentration to 2 wt%, the kinetics of oxygen reactions increases and then declines on further increase. MnO₂ doped with 2 wt% Cu²⁺-ions exhibits superior ORR (substantial increase in the onset potential and current density) and OER (overpotential decreases from 520 to 310&#xa0;mV) activities, outperforming the commercial benchmark ORR (Pt/C) and OER (RuO₂) catalysts. The dopant-induced enhancement in the surface area, pore volume, surface OVs and Mn³⁺/Mn⁴⁺ ratio provides easy access to the electrolyte and adsorption sites for the O₂ molecules or hydroxide ions, thereby improving the ORR and OER activities of 2 wt% Cu²⁺-doped MnO₂.</p>