Duration of compulsory education (years) in Mexico
Mexico: Duration of compulsory education (years) was 14 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Duration of compulsory education in Mexico, 1998–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Mexico recorded 14 years for duration of compulsory education in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in Mexico peaked at 14 years in 2012 and was at its lowest, 9 years, in 1998.
That places Mexico 8th out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 28 years of available data.
Duration of compulsory education (years) in Mexico, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 9 years | — |
| 1999 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 9 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 11 years | +22.2% |
| 2002 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 11 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 14 years | +27.3% |
| 2013 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 14 years | +0.0% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 14 years is above the median for upper middle income countries, which is 10 years, 1.4× the median. (56 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 14 years is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 12 years, 1.2× the median. (40 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 9 years | 9 years | 9 years | 2 |
| 2000s | 10.8 years | 9 years | 11 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 13.4 years | 11 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 14 years | 14 years | 14 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More education data for Mexico
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 92.12 (1980)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.64 (2024)
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 868,550 (2023)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 96,349 (2025)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, male (number), gaps filled 2.14 million (2024)
- Enrolment in pre-primary education, female (number), gaps filled 2.11 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 13.99 million (2024)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 13.19 million (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is duration of compulsory education in Mexico?
- Duration of compulsory education in Mexico was 14 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 14 years in 2012.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 9 years in 1998.
- How does Mexico rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Mexico ranks 8th out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Duration of compulsory education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release