Adolescents out of school, female in Malawi
Malawi: Adolescents out of school, female was 23.0% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Adolescents out of school, female in Malawi, 2002–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of female lower secondary school age.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 23.0% for adolescents out of school, female in 2024.
That represents a change of down 7.7% on the previous year and up 5.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, adolescents out of school, female in Malawi peaked at 33.9% in 2005 and was at its lowest, 16.8%, in 2020.
Malawi ranks 37th of 160 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 22 years of available data.
Adolescents out of school, female in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of female lower secondary school age | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 19.4% | — |
| 2004 | 25.5% | +31.1% |
| 2005 | 33.9% | +33.0% |
| 2006 | 30.4% | -10.3% |
| 2007 | 23.8% | -21.7% |
| 2008 | 19.6% | -17.8% |
| 2009 | 20.7% | +5.7% |
| 2010 | 22.6% | +9.2% |
| 2011 | 20.6% | -8.9% |
| 2012 | 21.6% | +5.2% |
| 2013 | 20.2% | -6.5% |
| 2014 | 21.8% | +7.5% |
| 2015 | 22.2% | +1.9% |
| 2016 | 24.1% | +8.7% |
| 2017 | 17.0% | -29.4% |
| 2018 | 17.8% | +4.7% |
| 2019 | 22.8% | +28.2% |
| 2020 | 16.8% | -26.4% |
| 2021 | 29.7% | +76.8% |
| 2022 | 28.3% | -4.8% |
| 2023 | 24.9% | -12.1% |
| 2024 | 23.0% | -7.7% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 23.0% is below the median for low income countries, which is 43.3%, 53% of the median. (17 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 23.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 28.7%, 80% of the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 24.8% | 19.4% | 33.9% | 7 |
| 2010s | 21.1% | 17.0% | 24.1% | 10 |
| 2020s | 24.5% | 16.8% | 29.7% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More education data for Malawi
- Teachers in secondary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 14,528 (2019)
- Repeaters in primary education, all grades, both sexes (number), gaps 1.25 million (2024)
- Secondary education, pupils, gaps filled 1.16 million (2023)
- Primary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Primary education, pupils, gaps filled 4.75 million (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, annual growth rate 2.7 % change on previous year (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per unit of GDP 0.0004 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary education, pupils, per capita 0.2193 units per person (2024)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.75 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is adolescents out of school, female in Malawi?
- Adolescents out of school, female in Malawi was 23.0% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest adolescents out of school, female recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 33.9% in 2005.
- What is the lowest adolescents out of school, female recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.8% in 2020.
- How does Malawi rank for adolescents out of school, female?
- Malawi ranks 37th out of 160 countries with data for 2024.
- Is adolescents out of school, female rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Adolescents out of school, female (% of female lower secondary school age). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Adolescents out of school are the percentage of lower secondary school age adolescents who are not enrolled in school.