Education in Minas Gerais, Brazil: official figures
Schools in Minas Gerais scored 6.6 out of 10 on the Ideb basic education index for the early primary years (grades 1 to 5) in 2025, joint 4th highest of the 26 states and the Federal District (Brazil: 6.3); the score was 6.3 in 2023 and 4.7 in 2005.
What is the Ideb score of Minas Gerais?
For the lower secondary years (grades 6 to 9), Minas Gerais' Ideb score was 5.5 in 2025, joint 4th highest of the 26 states and the Federal District (Brazil: 5.3), compared with 4.9 in 2023.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anisio Teixeira (INEP), Ministry of Education · saved copyHow good are high schools in Minas Gerais?
Minas Gerais' Ideb score for upper secondary school (ensino medio) was 4.6 in 2025, joint 8th highest of the 26 states and the Federal District (Brazil: 4.5); it was 3.7 in 2015. The Ideb combines pass rates with Saeb test results in Portuguese and mathematics.
Source: Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anisio Teixeira (INEP), Ministry of Education · saved copyWhat is the literacy rate in Minas Gerais?
4.3% of people aged 15 and over in Minas Gerais could not read and write a simple note in 2024, 12th lowest of the 26 states and the Federal District (Brazil: 5.3%); in 2019 the rate was 5.1%.
Source: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) · saved copyHow many people in Minas Gerais have a degree?
19.0% of adults aged 25 and over in Minas Gerais had completed higher education in 2024, 14th highest of the 26 states and the Federal District (Brazil: 20.4%), while 35.2% had no schooling or had not finished primary school (Brazil: 32.0%).
Source: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) · saved copyHow many years of schooling do young people in Minas Gerais have?
Young adults aged 18 to 29 in Minas Gerais had spent 11.9 years in education on average in 2024, and 73.2% had at least 12 years of schooling (Brazil: 11.9 years and 74.2%).
Source: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) · saved copyWhat is the high school graduation rate in Minas Gerais?
72.6% of young people in Minas Gerais had completed upper secondary school by the expected age range in 2024 (78.2% of women and 67.3% of men), 14th highest of the 26 states and the Federal District (Brazil: 75.1%).
Source: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) · saved copyHow many young people in Minas Gerais go to university?
In 2024, 82.7% of 15- to 17-year-olds in Minas Gerais were in upper secondary school or had finished it, and 25.9% of 18- to 24-year-olds were in or had completed higher education (adjusted net attendance; Brazil: 76.8% and 27.3%).
Source: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) · saved copyHow many young children in Minas Gerais go to nursery?
38.3% of children aged 0 to 3 in Minas Gerais attended a creche (day nursery) in 2024, 8th highest of the 26 states and the Federal District (Brazil: 39.7%), and 95.7% of 4- and 5-year-olds attended pre-school.
Source: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) · saved copyHow big are school classes in Minas Gerais?
Public school classes in Minas Gerais had an average of 20.1 pupils in the early primary years, 25.5 in the lower secondary years and 28.0 in upper secondary school in 2024 (School Census; Brazil: 22.3, 26.6 and 29.3).
Source: Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE) · saved copyHow Minas Gerais compares with other states
Ideb, early primary years (grades 1-5) (2025)
Minas Gerais ranks 5 of 27, highest first. All school networks; scale 0-10.
| Rank | Region | Ideb, early primary years (grades 1-5) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Ceara | 6.8 |
| 3 | Santa Catarina | 6.7 |
| 4 | Sao Paulo | 6.6 |
| 5 | Minas Gerais | 6.6 |
| 6 | Espirito Santo | 6.6 |
| 7 | Goias | 6.5 |
| 8 | Alagoas | 6.4 |
Ideb, lower secondary years (grades 6-9) (2025)
Minas Gerais ranks 5 of 27, highest first. All school networks; scale 0-10.
| Rank | Region | Ideb, lower secondary years (grades 6-9) |
|---|---|---|
| 2 | Ceara | 5.7 |
| 3 | Goias | 5.7 |
| 4 | Sao Paulo | 5.5 |
| 5 | Minas Gerais | 5.5 |
| 6 | Rio Grande do Sul | 5.4 |
| 7 | Santa Catarina | 5.4 |
| 8 | Espirito Santo | 5.4 |
Ideb, upper secondary school (2025)
Minas Gerais ranks 8 of 27, highest first. All school networks; scale 0-10.
| Rank | Region | Ideb, upper secondary school |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Goias | 4.8 |
| 6 | Sao Paulo | 4.7 |
| 7 | Pernambuco | 4.7 |
| 8 | Minas Gerais | 4.6 |
| 9 | Para | 4.6 |
| 10 | Ceara | 4.5 |
| 11 | Santa Catarina | 4.5 |
Illiteracy rate, people aged 15 and over (%) (2024)
Minas Gerais ranks 16 of 27, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Illiteracy rate, people aged 15 and over (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 13 | Amapa | 5.4% |
| 14 | Rondonia | 5.2% |
| 15 | Amazonas | 4.8% |
| 16 | Minas Gerais | 4.3% |
| 17 | Espirito Santo | 3.9% |
| 18 | Roraima | 3.8% |
| 19 | Mato Grosso | 3.8% |
Adults 25+ with a completed degree (%) (2024)
Minas Gerais ranks 14 of 27, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Adults 25+ with a completed degree (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Rio Grande do Sul | 20.4% |
| 12 | Espirito Santo | 20.1% |
| 13 | Tocantins | 19.6% |
| 14 | Minas Gerais | 19.0% |
| 15 | Acre | 18.6% |
| 16 | Amazonas | 18.2% |
| 17 | Rio Grande do Norte | 17.2% |
Upper secondary completion rate (%) (2024)
Minas Gerais ranks 14 of 27, highest first.
| Rank | Region | Upper secondary completion rate (%) |
|---|---|---|
| 11 | Mato Grosso do Sul | 74.1% |
| 12 | Pernambuco | 73.0% |
| 13 | Santa Catarina | 72.8% |
| 14 | Minas Gerais | 72.6% |
| 15 | Maranhao | 72.1% |
| 16 | Rio Grande do Sul | 71.2% |
| 17 | Mato Grosso | 71.1% |
More on Minas Gerais: overview · economy and jobs · health · poverty and living standards · government budget · Brazil
Sources
- Instituto Nacional de Estudos e Pesquisas Educacionais Anisio Teixeira (INEP), Ministry of Education: Ideb 2025: results for regions and federative units (early primary, lower secondary and upper secondary, all school networks), 2005-2025, read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a8ecdb2cef93…)
- Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica (IBGE): Sintese de Indicadores Sociais 2025, chapter 4 tables (education): Tables 4.1, 4.3, 4.9, 4.11, 4.14, 4.21, 4.22 (PNAD Continua 2024; School Census 2024), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fc0eefb8a6ad…)
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