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How Far Does School Reach in Mexico? What Official Figures Say

August 12, 2026 · 5 min read

On average, a person in Mexico has completed the equivalent of high school second year: 9.7 years of study, according to the latest INEGI census. But that average hides a very different country depending on the state, gender, and when school was left behind.

Let's start with the question that almost no one asks

INEGI turns 'how far did you go in school' into a single comparable number: the average years of schooling, the years of study completed on average by the population aged 15 and over.

According to the 2020 Population and Housing Census, that national average is 9.7 years: the average person finished secondary school but not high school. In the 2000 census, it was 7.5 years, not even completing primary school, so progress over two decades is real: 2.2 more years of school on average.

But the average hides a lot. Further down, you'll see that that 9.7 can be 11.5 in Mexico City and just 8 in Chiapas.

How many students are in classrooms across the country today?

For the 2024-2025 cycle, SEP reported 34.8 million students in the entire national education system, both public and private. Here's how they are distributed:

— Basic education (preschool, primary, and secondary): 23,907,339 students, in 231,000 schools, with 1,231,733 teachers.

— Upper secondary education (high school, baccalaureate, vocational): 5,508,572 students, in 21,249 institutions.

— Higher education (university, bachelor's, technical college): 5,393,387 students, in about 8,966 institutions.

For every 100 students in primary or secondary school today, there are just 23 in high school and 23 in university. Note: it's not that 'only 23% make it,' but different generations coexist at the same time, not the same cohort progressing, but it still gives an idea of each stage's size.

Out of every 100 who start, how many drop out?

Dropout rate measures how many students, out of every 100 enrolled in a cycle, do not re-enroll in the next. According to SEP, in the 2023-2024 cycle:

— Primary: 0.6 out of 100.

— Secondary: 3.7 out of 100.

— Upper secondary (high school): 11.3 out of 100, almost 1 in 9, the stage with the highest dropout.

— Higher education: 8.1%, with a downward trend in recent cycles.

High school is the bottleneck. Mejoredu, the organization that evaluated education in Mexico until it was dissolved in May 2025, found that dropout there isn't just about money: academic pressure, lack of emotional support, and feeling that school no longer relates to you all play a role. The highest dropout occurs in 5th grade of primary, 2nd grade of secondary, and 1st grade of upper secondary, right when the school changes or demands increase.

Educational lag: the task the country left unfinished

Educational lag doesn't look at today's children but at adults who won't return: people over 15 who never finished primary or secondary, or who never learned to read and write.

INEA estimated that by the end of 2024, there were 27.5 million people with educational lag: 4.1 million who cannot read or write, 7.5 million without primary education, and 15.9 million without secondary. INEGI, using a different methodology, arrives at a similar number: over 24 million people over 15 years old without complete basic education, 18.6% of that group, slightly less than the 19.4% in 2022. Methods differ, but the size of the gap is the same: tens of millions of people.

Put simply: it's almost as if the entire populations of Mexico City, Jalisco, and Nuevo León together never finished secondary school.

Is education the same across all of Mexico?

No. Mexico City has the highest average years of schooling in the country: 11.5 years, meaning high school completed. At the other end is Chiapas, with just 8 years on average, not even secondary school, closely followed by Oaxaca. There's nearly a four-year difference depending on where you're born, which translates into different job opportunities and access to nearby, quality schools.

Do men or women go further in school?

Nationwide, the average years of schooling are nearly equal: 9.3 years for men and 9.0 for women. But that average includes people aged 20 to 80: among the younger, aged 15 to 34, women already surpass men in years of schooling. The remaining gap is mostly among older generations, where many women left school earlier than their brothers.

A clear and current gap exists in dropout rates, and it's the opposite of what one might expect: men drop out more. In upper secondary, 13.6 out of 100 men enrolled drop out, compared to 9.2 out of 100 women. In secondary school, it's 4.5 versus 2.8. The gap widens with age: from 0.6 points in primary to 4.4 points in high school.

So, what do all these figures together tell us?

That Mexico has truly progressed; gaining two more years of schooling on average over two decades is significant, and at the same time, the country moves at two speeds: one where finishing high school is normal, and another where secondary education isn't completed. High school remains the stage where most people drop out, educational lag weighs on tens of millions of adults who left the system, and where you're born, or whether you're male or female, still greatly influences your chances.

One thing is clear: these figures are not just statistics; they explain why, at the school gate, not all children start on equal footing.