Literacy rate in Mexico
Mexico: Literacy rate was 95.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rate in Mexico, 1900–2024
Source: UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Mexico recorded 95.5% for literacy rate in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rate in Mexico peaked at 95.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 22.3%, in 1900.
Mexico ranks 52nd of 128 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 22.3% | 22.3% | 22.3% | 1 |
| 1910s | 27.7% | 27.7% | 27.7% | 1 |
| 1920s | 33.8% | 33.8% | 33.8% | 1 |
| 1930s | 38.5% | 38.5% | 38.5% | 1 |
| 1940s | 46.0% | 46.0% | 46.0% | 1 |
| 1950s | 62.5% | 62.5% | 62.5% | 1 |
| 1980s | 83.0% | 83.0% | 83.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 87.6% | 87.6% | 87.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 91.8% | 90.3% | 93.4% | 8 |
| 2010s | 94.4% | 93.1% | 95.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 95.5% | 95.1% | 95.8% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More education data for Mexico
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 67.4% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 24.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 102.3% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 571,832 (2023)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 1.89 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 102.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rate in Mexico?
- Literacy rate in Mexico was 95.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rate recorded in Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 95.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest literacy rate recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 22.3% in 1900.
- How does Mexico rank for literacy rate?
- Mexico ranks 52nd out of 128 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rate rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO (1957) and other sources – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rate. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of adults who can read and write a simple statement about their everyday life.