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Photo: Jujutacular derivative work: Jjtkk · CC BY-SA 3.0 · via Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale
Topic 04 of 12 · Country Index 2026
Mexico: Education & Knowledge
How far does a country's schooling carry its children?
Mexico is placed 59th of 182 countries on education & knowledge in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics. Readings behind it: Primary Completion Rate 98.16 (2025); Upper Secondary Completion Rate 61.6 (2025).
Education & Knowledge
59th
of 182 countries placed
Placed from 3 of 4 key statistics
01The evidence
The 4 key statistics that decide it
Only these place Mexico on education & knowledge — one vote each. Every value is the publisher’s own, read at the edition the Country Index 2026 used; the grey ticks are every other country in that edition, lowest on the left.
Key 1 of 4
Primary Completion Rate
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: Whether children who start school actually finish it — the other three keys measure access, an early start and money, and none of them says anyone completed anything.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
98.16
Primary completion rate (%)
Higher is better
Mexico: 98.16. Across the 165 countries in this edition, values run from 7.94 (South Sudan) to 100 (South Korea); the world median is 97.43.
- World median
- 97.43
- Best in Central America
- 98.94 Costa Rica
- Land neighbours
- Belize 90.24 · Guatemala 87.05 · United States 99.99
Each grey tick is one of 165 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 2 of 4
Upper Secondary Completion Rate
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: How far a schooling system carries the young people who get through primary — the only key here that measures anything past childhood.
2025 edition · data for 2025 · CC BY-SA 4.0
61.6
Upper secondary completion rate (%)
Higher is better
Mexico: 61.6. Across the 164 countries in this edition, values run from 2.13 (South Sudan) to 99.27 (South Korea); the world median is 64.87.
- World median
- 64.87
- Best in Central America
- 64.22 Panama
- Land neighbours
- Belize 19.45 · Guatemala 40.82 · United States 93.5
Each grey tick is one of 164 countries in the 2025 edition.
Key 3 of 4
Government Spending on Education
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: What a state chooses to spend on education, as a share of its economy — the input, where the other two keys measure reach.
2023 edition · data for 2023 · CC BY-SA 4.0
No reading
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP)
Higher is better
UIS publishes no 2023 figure for Mexico, so the standing rests on the other keys.
Across the 123 countries in this edition, values run from 0 (Somalia) to 16.39 (Kiribati); the world median is 3.709.
- World median
- 3.709
- Best in Central America
- 5.312 Costa Rica
- Land neighbours
- Belize 4.231 · Guatemala 3.109
Each grey tick is one of 123 countries in the 2023 edition.
Key 4 of 4
Out-of-School Rate, Primary
UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS)
Why it is a key: Primary-age children who are not in school at all: the floor of an education system.
2024 edition · data for 2024 · CC BY-SA 4.0
0.363
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%)
Lower is better
Mexico: 0.363. Across the 121 countries in this edition, values run from 0.004 (United Arab Emirates) to 64.73 (South Sudan); the world median is 3.691.
- World median
- 3.691
- Best in Central America
- 0.363 Mexico
- Land neighbours
- Belize 10.68 · Guatemala 8.432
Each grey tick is one of 121 countries in the 2024 edition.
02Over time
Which way Mexico is moving
Each key’s published value, edition by edition, beside the world median. The Country Index 2026 is the first edition of the standing, so the standing itself has no history to chart yet.
Primary Completion Rate
Primary completion rate (%) · higher is better
MexicoWorld median
Mexico rose from 90.87 in 2000 to 98.16 in 2025; the world median went from 87.29 to 97.43.
Every year’s figures
Year Mexico World median 2025 98.2 97.43 2024 98.0 97.65 2023 97.9 97.58 2022 97.7 97.45 2021 97.6 97.32 2020 97.4 97.26 2019 97.2 97.07 2018 97.0 96.81 2017 96.8 96.49 2016 96.6 96.04 2015 96.5 95.51 2014 96.3 94.90 2013 96.1 94.15 2012 95.9 93.84 2011 95.6 93.65 2010 95.4 93.44 2009 95.2 93.15 2008 94.9 92.76 2007 94.5 92.34 2006 94.2 91.93 2005 93.9 91.50 2004 93.4 90.87 2003 92.8 89.95 2002 92.1 88.72 2001 91.5 87.98 2000 90.9 87.29 Upper Secondary Completion Rate
Upper secondary completion rate (%) · higher is better
MexicoWorld median
Mexico rose from 35.52 in 2000 to 61.6 in 2025; the world median went from 38 to 64.87.
Every year’s figures
Year Mexico World median 2025 61.6 64.9 2024 60.9 65.0 2023 60.1 64.2 2022 59.4 63.6 2021 58.8 62.9 2020 58.0 62.2 2019 56.8 61.5 2018 55.3 60.9 2017 54.0 60.5 2016 52.9 60.1 2015 51.8 58.9 2014 50.6 57.0 2013 49.7 54.7 2012 49.0 52.4 2011 48.4 50.9 2010 47.5 49.5 2009 46.2 48.5 2008 44.7 47.4 2007 43.6 46.2 2006 42.6 45.0 2005 41.4 43.8 2004 40.0 42.9 2003 38.5 41.6 2002 37.5 40.3 2001 36.7 39.0 2000 35.5 38.0 Government Spending on Education
Government expenditure on education (% of GDP) · higher is better
MexicoWorld median
Mexico rose from 3.809 in 2000 to 4.06 in 2022; the world median went from 3.886 to 4.057.
Every year’s figures
Year Mexico World median 2023 — 3.7092 2022 4.060 4.0570 2021 4.238 4.2611 2020 4.500 4.4056 2019 — 4.1407 2018 4.139 4.2159 2017 4.398 4.1401 2016 4.758 4.2342 2015 5.051 4.2386 2014 5.068 4.2005 2013 4.509 4.3493 2012 4.883 4.0348 2011 4.904 3.9987 2010 4.937 4.1396 2009 4.949 4.6638 2008 4.606 4.4226 2007 4.479 4.1717 2006 4.493 4.0593 2005 4.634 4.0557 2004 4.512 3.9745 2003 4.833 4.1595 2002 4.243 4.0173 2001 4.031 4.1002 2000 3.809 3.8861 Out-of-School Rate, Primary
Out-of-school rate, primary age (%) · lower is better
MexicoWorld median
Mexico rose from 0.06 in 2000 to 0.363 in 2024; the world median went from 8.642 to 3.691.
Every year’s figures
Year Mexico World median 2024 0.363 3.691 2023 0.348 3.393 2022 0.342 3.002 2021 0.333 3.330 2020 0.291 2.678 2019 0.317 2.758 2018 0.256 2.439 2017 0.334 2.907 2016 0.313 2.954 2015 0.316 3.052 2014 0.315 3.904 2013 0.270 3.413 2012 0.234 3.408 2011 0.207 3.626 2010 0.163 3.491 2009 0.124 3.577 2008 0.096 3.878 2007 0.159 4.029 2006 0.190 4.338 2005 0.215 4.571 2004 0.296 3.791 2003 0.272 4.412 2002 0.251 4.144 2001 0.171 4.051 2000 0.060 8.642
03In context
Mexico beside its neighbours
A position reads best beside the countries around it. Every position below is a place among all 182 countries on education & knowledge, never a place within the region.
1st182ndNot placed · 42 countries with too few key statisticsNo data
Mexico and the countries it borders
The standing is each country’s place among all 182 placed on the topic; the other columns are the publishers’ own values, read at the edition the standing used.
| Country | Standing | Primary Completion RatePrimary completion rate (%) | Upper Secondary Completion RateUpper secondary completion rate (%) | Government Spending on EducationGovernment expenditure on education (% of GDP) | Out-of-School Rate, PrimaryOut-of-school rate, primary age (%) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States | 2nd | 99.99 | 93.5 | — | — |
| Mexico | 59th | 98.16 | 61.6 | — | 0.363 |
 Belize | 130th | 90.24 | 19.45 | 4.231 | 10.68 |
 Guatemala | 131st | 87.05 | 40.82 | 3.109 | 8.432 |
“—” means the publisher gives no reading for that country in that edition. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed.
Across Central America
Every country in the sub-region, by its place among all 182.
Placed either side on education & knowledge
The countries immediately above and below Mexico in the topic’s list.
04Context, no vote
Where Mexico is ahead of the world, and behind
15 more statistics filed under education & knowledge, published in full and deliberately given no vote in the standing. Select a row for the publisher, the rank and the links.
Ahead of the world median6
Statistics on which Mexico does better than the middle country measured.
Secondary School EnrolmentUIS · 2024 · world median 93.19103.0993.19▲ Improved since 2014
Mexico: 103.09 · world median 93.19 · Gross secondary enrolment ratio (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 19.87 to 158.55; higher is better.
Position 29th of 109 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Expected Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 13.3414.4713.34▲ Improved since 2013
Mexico: 14.47 · world median 13.34 · Expected years of schooling. UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.635 to 21.69; higher is better.
Position 77th of 195 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Youth Literacy RateUIS · 2024 · world median 98.2298.9298.22No earlier reading
Mexico: 98.92 · world median 98.22 · 15–24 year-olds who can read and write (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 36.7 to 100; higher is better.
Adult Literacy RateUIS · 2024 · world median 93.9995.5593.99No earlier reading
Mexico: 95.55 · world median 93.99 · Adults 15+ who can read and write (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 26.83 to 100; higher is better.
Position 77th of 172 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
School Life ExpectancyUIS · 2024 · world median 14.5914.8714.59▲ Improved since 2014
Mexico: 14.87 · world median 14.59 · School life expectancy, primary to tertiary (years). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 7.478 to 21.01; higher is better.
Position 37th of 77 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Pre-Primary Net Enrolment RateUIS · 2024 · world median 65.9366.0665.93▼ Worsened since 2014
Mexico: 66.06 · world median 65.93 · Net enrolment rate, pre-primary (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 1.779 to 99.85; higher is better.
Position 60th of 120 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Behind the world median9
Statistics on which Mexico does worse than the middle country measured.
Tertiary Enrolment RatioUIS · 2024 · world median 52.7748.252.77▲ Improved since 2014
Mexico: 48.2 · world median 52.77 · Gross enrolment ratio, tertiary (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 2.566 to 141.86; higher is better.
Position 49th of 95 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Mean Years of SchoolingUNDP Human Development Report Office · 2023 · world median 9.9339.359.933No real change since 2013
Mexico: 9.35 · world median 9.933 · Mean years of schooling (adults 25+). UNDP Human Development Report Office, 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 1.412 to 14.3; higher is better.
Position 106th of 193 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
PISA Reading PerformanceOECD · 2022 · world median 440.35415.36440.35▲ Improved since 2012
Mexico: 415.36 · world median 440.35 · Mean reading score. OECD, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 328.84 to 542.55; higher is better.
Position 48th of 79 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
PISA Mathematics PerformanceOECD · 2022 · world median 442.09395.03442.09▲ Improved since 2012
Mexico: 395.03 · world median 442.09 · Mean mathematics score. OECD, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 336.4 to 574.66; higher is better.
Position 55th of 79 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
PISA Science PerformanceOECD · 2022 · world median 446.93409.89446.93▲ Improved since 2012
Mexico: 409.89 · world median 446.93 · Mean science score. OECD, 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 347.1 to 561.43; higher is better.
Position 56th of 79 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Inbound Mobility Rate, TertiaryUIS · 2024 · world median 5.4942.0435.494▲ Improved since 2015
Mexico: 2.043 · world median 5.494 · Inbound mobility rate, tertiary (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2024 edition, data for 2024.
Published values in that edition run from 0 to 87.12; higher is better.
Position 54th of 75 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Research and Development SpendingUIS · 2023 · world median 0.8140.2670.814▼ Worsened since 2013
Mexico: 0.267 · world median 0.814 · Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 0.006 to 6.346; higher is better.
Position 62nd of 84 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Government Funding per Primary StudentUIS · 2022 · world median 17.8112.9417.81▼ Worsened since 2012
Mexico: 12.94 · world median 17.81 · Government funding per primary student (% of GDP per capita). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2022 edition, data for 2022.
Published values in that edition run from 3.771 to 34.57; higher is better.
Position 52nd of 68 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
Upper Secondary AttainmentUIS · 2023 · world median 65.7640.8665.76▲ Improved since 2013
Mexico: 40.86 · world median 65.76 · Adults 25+ who completed upper secondary or higher (%). UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), 2023 edition, data for 2023.
Published values in that edition run from 5.26 to 97.89; higher is better.
Position 73rd of 95 — derived here by ordering the published values, 1st = best. The publisher ranks no country on this.
No current reading for Mexico
Government Spending on Education (last 2022). Listed rather than hidden, so the page can be checked against it.
05Country Index 2026
Education & Knowledge among Mexico’s 12 topics
Education & Knowledge is Mexico’s 3rd best-placed topic of 12. Strongest first; each marker sits at the position divided by that topic’s field, so fields of different sizes compare fairly.
- Mobility & Connectivity33rd of 1473/3 keys
- Governance & Institutions62nd of 1935/5 keys
- Education & Knowledge59th of 1823/4 keys
- Gender & Equality61st of 1783/3 keys
- Work & Labour67th of 1824/4 keys
- Development & Human Capitaljoint 75th of 1943/3 keys
- Health & Wellbeingjoint 78th of 2014/4 keys
- Economy & Innovationjoint 67th of 1503/3 keys
- Peace & Security94th of 1773/3 keys
- Democracy & Civil Liberties132nd of 1983/3 keys
- Environment & Sustainability121st of 1613/3 keys
- Risk & Resilience181st of 1913/3 keys
06The top of the list
Who leads on education & knowledge
The three countries placed highest of 182, and the leaders Mexico can most readily be measured against.
1
South KoreaEastern Asia
1st of 182 · 3 of 4 keys
Photo: Unknown author · CC BY-SA 2.0, greyscale
2United StatesNorthern America
2nd of 182 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Stefano Brivio · CC BY 2.0, greyscale
=3
CroatiaSouthern Europe
Joint 3rd of 182 · 2 of 4 keys
Photo: Wolfgang Steinkläubl · CC BY-SA 3.0, greyscale
Placed highest nearby
Highest placed on all 4 keys
Uzbekistan5th4/4 keysHighest in Americas
United States2nd2/4 keysHighest in Central America
Mexico59th3/4 keys
Positions out of 182 placed on the topic. A country needs readings on enough keys to be placed, and the top of the list is often held on fewer of them.
07Questions
Mexico on education & knowledge: questions answered
Every answer is built from the numbers on this page, so none can say something the page does not.
How does Mexico rank on education & knowledge?
Mexico is placed 59th of 182 countries on Education & Knowledge in the Country Index 2026, from 3 of its 4 key statistics (Primary Completion Rate, Upper Secondary Completion Rate and Out-of-School Rate, Primary). The position is this site’s ordering of published statistics, not a rank any publisher printed.
What is the latest Primary Completion Rate figure for Mexico?
98.16 in 2025 (primary completion rate (%)), according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The world median in the same edition was 97.43.
What is the latest Upper Secondary Completion Rate figure for Mexico?
61.6 in 2025 (upper secondary completion rate (%)), according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS). The world median in the same edition was 64.87.
How does Mexico compare with United States on education & knowledge?
United States is placed 2nd of 182, and Mexico 59th. Primary Completion Rate: United States 99.99, Mexico 98.16; Upper Secondary Completion Rate: United States 93.5, Mexico 61.6.
How have Mexico’s education & knowledge figures changed?
Primary Completion Rate rose from 90.87 in 2000 to 98.16 in 2025; Upper Secondary Completion Rate rose from 35.52 in 2000 to 61.6 in 2025; Government Spending on Education rose from 3.809 in 2000 to 4.06 in 2022; Out-of-School Rate, Primary rose from 0.06 in 2000 to 0.363 in 2024.
Which education & knowledge statistics are missing for Mexico?
No current reading is published for Mexico on Government Spending on Education. They are listed rather than hidden, so the evidence on the page can be checked against it.
08Keep reading
Explore further
Mexico, topic by topic
- Governance & Institutions62nd of 193
- Economy & Innovation=67th of 150
- Work & Labour67th of 182
- Health & Wellbeing=78th of 201
- Development & Human Capital=75th of 194
- Environment & Sustainability121st of 161
- Gender & Equality61st of 178
- Democracy & Civil Liberties132nd of 198
- Peace & Security94th of 177
- Risk & Resilience181st of 191
- Mobility & Connectivity33rd of 147
- The full Mexico profile
Nearby, on education & knowledge
The key statistics, for every country
09Method
Method, sources and how to cite
What this topic does not measure
How much children actually learn is only partly covered. International test scores exist for a limited group of countries, and they are published here as context rather than used as a key, because a key must describe most of the world. Universities, research and adult literacy also appear as context.
How the Education & Knowledge standing is decided, step by step
A standing is a place in a list, not a mark out of anything. This one is part of the Country Index 2026, and it is worked out like this.
- A few key indicators decide it; the rest are context. 4 indicators on this topic are keys and 15 are charted alongside them without a vote. That split is the point: if every statistic voted, importing five more of one kind would quietly change what the topic is about.
- Each key is read at one edition. ⚠ The keys behind this standing do not all describe the same year — they run from 2023 to 2025, because publishers release on their own schedules. Read the standing as “how this country places now”, not as a snapshot of one year.
- Every country’s published value is turned into a place within that one key’s own field, and then expressed as a share of that field — how far down this key’s list the country sits, rather than how many countries are above it. Keys where a higher published number is worse (terrorism, hunger, disaster risk) are turned round first, so the good end is always the same end.
- Dividing by the field first is the whole reason this works. A place carries the size of its list inside it: 22nd of 44 and 108th of 215 are the same showing, and averaging the numbers 22 and 108 says loudly that they are not. Fields on this site run from about 44 countries to about 215, so averaging raw places would reward a country for happening to be measured in small ones. Dividing each place by its own field removes the size and leaves only the showing.
- The shares are averaged, plainly. One key, one vote — no key is weighted above another, because any weighting would be this site’s opinion presented as a measurement. Countries are then put in order by that average, and the average itself is never published. It is our arithmetic with nothing anchoring it, so printing it would invite it to be read as a measurement somebody made. The position it produces, the band, and the keys it was built from are all published instead — every one of them checkable against the tables on this page.
- A country needs 2 of this topic’s 4 keys — half, rounded up, and never fewer than 2. A standing built from one reading, printed beside one built from four, is two different things sharing a column heading. 182 countries clear the bar here.
- A key has to earn its vote every edition. It must measure at least 120 countries (below that it starts measuring who was surveyed rather than the world), it must not have more than 10% of its field tied at either end, and it must not repeat another key in the same topic — Spearman correlation above 0.92 counts as repeating. A topic needs at least 2 surviving keys to place anyone at all; this one has 4.
- A standing is relative, and the grouping is ours. It says where a country places against the others measured alongside it, so it moves when they move. The publishers listed on this page did not agree to be read together, and each measures its subject its own way: the underlying numbers are theirs, the ordering on top is this site’s — the same method as the rest of the Country Index, applied to one subject instead of all of them.
The key statistics and their licences
- Primary Completion Rate — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Upper Secondary Completion Rate — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Government Spending on Education — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
- Out-of-School Rate, Primary — UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS), CC BY-SA 4.0
The other 15 statistics on this page come from 3 publishers, each named beside its numbers, with every edition and licence on the datasets pages.
The standing itself is part of the Country Index 2026, published under CC BY-SA 4.0.
Photographs
Mexico’s banner and the countries placed highest, from their profiles: Wikimedia Commons, shown in greyscale, each used under the licence named.
- Mexico (banner) — Jujutacular derivative work: Jjtkk, CC BY-SA 3.0
- South Korea — Unknown author, CC BY-SA 2.0
- United States — Stefano Brivio, CC BY 2.0
- Croatia — Wolfgang Steinkläubl, CC BY-SA 3.0
Cite this page
Nations Inquiry (2026). Mexico: Education & Knowledge — standing and statistics, Country Index 2026. https://nationsinquiry.com/countries/mexico/education