Mexico: Pupil-teacher ratio, tertiary

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 4.65 in 1979 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.75 in 1978. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2008 to 2017 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.19 a year. A straight line explains 56% of the movement over 9 observed years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

How it compares

In 2017, Mexico had the 34th highest value of the 45 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Mexico in the 2017 ranking

• Spain — 31st of 45: 12.03
• Latvia — 32nd of 45: 11.81
• Côte d'Ivoire — 33rd of 45: 11.67
• Estonia — 35th of 45: 11.35
• Bulgaria — 36th of 45: 11.25
• Portugal — 37th of 45: 10.46

What this measures

Tertiary school pupil-teacher ratio is the average number of pupils per teacher in tertiary school.

Limitations: The comparability of pupil-teacher ratios across countries is affected by the definition of teachers and by differences in class size by grade and in the number of hours taught, as well as the different practices countries employ such as part-time teachers, school shifts, and multi-grade classes. Moreover, the underlying enrollment levels are subject to a variety of reporting errors.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 40 values

Pupil-teacher ratio, tertiary in nearby economies

• Aruba — 8.57 (2016)
• Belize — 13.94 (2017)
• Brazil — 19.24 (2017)
• Colombia — 14.85 (2018)
• Cuba — 4.79 (2018)
• Ecuador — 16.59 (2015)
• El Salvador — 17.99 (2018)
• Honduras — 21.46 (2018)
• Panama — 11.54 (2016)
• Peru — 19.25 (2017)
• St. Kitts and Nevis — 7.64 (2015)
• St. Lucia

More education data for Mexico

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 13.19 million (2025)
• Secondary education, pupils — 13.99 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, private (% of total primary) — 10.18% (2025)
• Primary education, teachers — 571,832 (2023)
• School enrollment, primary (gross), gender parity index (GPI) — 1.01 (2020)
• School enrollment, primary and secondary (gross), gender parity index (GPI)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Mexico's pupil-teacher ratio, tertiary?

11.44 in 2017, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1972?

It is up 24.16% from 9.21 in 1972 (0.48% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 14.1 in 1979 and the lowest 9.05 in 2013.

How does Mexico rank?

34th highest of 45 economies with data for 2017.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.TER.ENRL.TC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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