At the end of the 2019 school year, there were approximately 37,000 private schools across Mexico’s basic and middle education system (preschool, elementary, middle, and high school). Collectively, these institutions had an enrollment of over 3.7 million students, representing 12% of the Mexican student body.
Fast forward five years, and the number of private schools operating in the country has declined by a net 3,000 schools, while enrollment has dropped by more than 8%.
In contrast, the number of public schools in Mexico has increased by 1.6% (+2,800 new schools), though enrollment in public institutions has also fallen, decreasing by 3.9% over the same period.
As can be seen in the chart above, the rapid rise of private institutions in Mexico’s education system occurred between 2002 and 2006, during which annual growth rates consistently surpassed double digits.
When zooming into the data, we can see that private institutions have a larger enrollment share within preschool and high-school students. However, both of these lost more than 2 percentage points in “market share” since 2019; primary and middle school, on the other hand, remained stable at 10%.
According to INEGI data, private education revenues (adjusted by inflation) have consistently been declining in Mexico since 2008; with schools that offer elementary or combined education services proving to be the most resilient.
This recent reversal to this trend can be partially attributed to the record-high increases in tuition fees (or overall private service costs) for parents, particularly at the elementary school level. The chart below highlights how the cost of private school services in Mexico has historically risen by 4% to 5% annually.
During the pandemic, schools were compelled to limit price hikes to a minimum. Now, the industry as a whole is attempting to recover by implementing price increases of over 6%.