Literacy rates among adults in Mexico
Mexico: Literacy rates among adults was 95.5% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Literacy rates among adults in Mexico, 1980–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for literacy rates among adults in Mexico is 95.5%, measured in 2024.
The figure is down 0.3% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates among adults in Mexico peaked at 95.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 83.0%, in 1980.
Mexico ranks 34th of 89 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 rates among adults in Mexico?
- Literacy rates among adults in Mexico was 95.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rates among adults recorded in Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 95.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest literacy rates among adults recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 83.0% in 1980.
- How does Mexico rank for literacy rates among adults?
- Mexico ranks 34th out of 89 countries with data for 2024.
- Is literacy rates among adults 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 Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rates among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of the population aged 15 years and older who can read and write.