Share of children who have completed primary school in Mexico
Mexico: Share of children who have completed primary school was 98.2% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of children who have completed primary school in Mexico, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2025, share of children who have completed primary school in Mexico stood at 98.2%. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
The figure is up 0.1% on the previous year and up 1.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children who have completed primary school in Mexico peaked at 98.2% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 80.0%, in 1981.
That places Mexico 76th out of 165 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 45 years of available data.
Share of children who have completed primary school in Mexico, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 80.0% | — |
| 1982 | 80.8% | +1.0% |
| 1983 | 81.7% | +1.1% |
| 1984 | 82.4% | +0.9% |
| 1985 | 83.0% | +0.8% |
| 1986 | 83.5% | +0.6% |
| 1987 | 84.0% | +0.6% |
| 1988 | 84.5% | +0.5% |
| 1989 | 84.8% | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 85.1% | +0.3% |
| 1991 | 85.3% | +0.3% |
| 1992 | 85.6% | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 86.1% | +0.5% |
| 1994 | 86.6% | +0.6% |
| 1995 | 87.2% | +0.7% |
| 1996 | 87.8% | +0.7% |
| 1997 | 88.5% | +0.9% |
| 1998 | 89.4% | +1.0% |
| 1999 | 90.2% | +0.9% |
| 2000 | 90.9% | +0.8% |
| 2001 | 91.5% | +0.7% |
| 2002 | 92.1% | +0.7% |
| 2003 | 92.8% | +0.7% |
| 2004 | 93.4% | +0.6% |
| 2005 | 93.9% | +0.5% |
| 2006 | 94.2% | +0.4% |
| 2007 | 94.5% | +0.3% |
| 2008 | 94.9% | +0.3% |
| 2009 | 95.2% | +0.3% |
| 2010 | 95.4% | +0.2% |
| 2011 | 95.6% | +0.3% |
| 2012 | 95.9% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 96.1% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 96.3% | +0.2% |
| 2015 | 96.5% | +0.2% |
| 2016 | 96.6% | +0.1% |
| 2017 | 96.8% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 97.0% | +0.2% |
| 2019 | 97.2% | +0.2% |
| 2020 | 97.4% | +0.2% |
| 2021 | 97.6% | +0.2% |
| 2022 | 97.7% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 97.9% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 98.0% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 98.2% | +0.1% |
Mexico compared with similar countries
- Mexico's 98.2% is below the median for upper middle income countries, which is 98.7%, 99% of the median. (50 countries reporting)
- Mexico's 98.2% is above the median for Latin America & Caribbean, which is 96.7%, 1.0× the median. (27 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 82.7% | 80.0% | 84.8% | 9 |
| 1990s | 87.2% | 85.1% | 90.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 93.3% | 90.9% | 95.2% | 10 |
| 2010s | 96.3% | 95.4% | 97.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 97.8% | 97.4% | 98.2% | 6 |
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 children who have completed primary school in Mexico?
- Share of children who have completed primary school in Mexico was 98.2% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Mexico?
- The highest recorded value was 98.2% in 2025.
- What is the lowest share of children who have completed primary school recorded in Mexico?
- The lowest recorded value was 80.0% in 1981.
- How does Mexico rank for share of children who have completed primary school?
- Mexico ranks 76th out of 165 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of children who have completed primary school rising or falling in Mexico?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.7%. 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 Share of children who have completed primary school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children who are three to five years older than the official age for the last grade of primary education who have successfully completed it. This broader age band is used to include children who started school late or had to resit particular years.