Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mexico
Mexico: Share of the population with at least some formal education was 96.7% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
96.7%
World rank
60th
of 111 countries
All-time high
96.7%
in 2020
All-time low
11.8%
in 1870
Years of data
31
1870–2020
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mexico, 1870–2020
Source: Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Mexico recorded 96.7% for share of the population with at least some formal education in 2020. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population with at least some formal education in Mexico peaked at 96.7% in 2020 and was at its lowest, 11.8%, in 1870.
That places Mexico 60th out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 31 years of available data.
Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mexico, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 11.8% | — |
| 1875 | 14.3% | +21.2% |
| 1880 | 17.2% | +20.3% |
| 1885 | 19.8% | +15.1% |
| 1890 | 22.2% | +12.1% |
| 1895 | 24.3% | +9.5% |
| 1900 | 26.4% | +8.6% |
| 1905 | 32.0% | +21.2% |
| 1910 | 37.4% | +16.9% |
| 1915 | 40.3% | +7.8% |
| 1920 | 36.6% | -9.2% |
| 1925 | 39.1% | +6.8% |
| 1930 | 41.0% | +4.9% |
| 1935 | 49.4% | +20.5% |
| 1940 | 57.3% | +16.0% |
| 1945 | 56.5% | -1.4% |
| 1950 | 54.7% | -3.2% |
| 1955 | 57.6% | +5.3% |
| 1960 | 60.3% | +4.7% |
| 1965 | 64.8% | +7.5% |
| 1970 | 69.3% | +6.9% |
| 1975 | 71.0% | +2.5% |
| 1980 | 74.1% | +4.4% |
| 1985 | 80.4% | +8.5% |
| 1990 | 85.8% | +6.7% |
| 1995 | 89.2% | +4.0% |
| 2000 | 92.1% | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 94.9% | +3.0% |
| 2010 | 95.2% | +0.3% |
| 2015 | 95.8% | +0.6% |
| 2020 | 96.7% | +0.9% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 96.7% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 97.4%, 99% of the median. (30 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 96.7% is below the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 97.1%, 100% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 13.1% | 11.8% | 14.3% | 2 |
| 1880s | 18.5% | 17.2% | 19.8% | 2 |
| 1890s | 23.2% | 22.2% | 24.3% | 2 |
| 1900s | 29.2% | 26.4% | 32.0% | 2 |
| 1910s | 38.8% | 37.4% | 40.3% | 2 |
| 1920s | 37.9% | 36.6% | 39.1% | 2 |
| 1930s | 45.2% | 41.0% | 49.4% | 2 |
| 1940s | 56.9% | 56.5% | 57.3% | 2 |
| 1950s | 56.2% | 54.7% | 57.6% | 2 |
| 1960s | 62.5% | 60.3% | 64.8% | 2 |
| 1970s | 70.2% | 69.3% | 71.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 77.2% | 74.1% | 80.4% | 2 |
| 1990s | 87.5% | 85.8% | 89.2% | 2 |
| 2000s | 93.5% | 92.1% | 94.9% | 2 |
| 2010s | 95.5% | 95.2% | 95.8% | 2 |
| 2020s | 96.7% | 96.7% | 96.7% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Mexico
More education data for Mexico
- 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)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.1 units per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population with at least some formal education in Mexico?
- Share of the population with at least some formal education in Mexico was 96.7% in 2020, according to Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 96.7% in 2020.
- What is the lowest share of the population with at least some formal education recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 11.8% in 1870.
- How does Mexico rank for share of the population with at least some formal education?
- Mexico ranks 60th out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of the population with at least some formal education rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Mexico data come from?
- The figures come from Barro and Lee (2015); Lee and Lee (2016) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population with at least some formal education. 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
Based on the population aged 15 years and older.