Completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) (%) in Malawi
Malawi: Completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) (%) was 18.6% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) in Malawi, 1981–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 18.6% for completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) in 2025. That is the highest value across all 45 years on record.
That represents a change of up 4.1% on the previous year and up 56.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) in Malawi peaked at 18.6% in 2025 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 1981.
That places Malawi 141st out of 164 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) (%) in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1981 | 1.9% | — |
| 1982 | 2.1% | +8.4% |
| 1983 | 2.2% | +8.5% |
| 1984 | 2.4% | +7.1% |
| 1985 | 2.6% | +6.8% |
| 1986 | 2.7% | +6.5% |
| 1987 | 2.9% | +6.8% |
| 1988 | 3.1% | +5.3% |
| 1989 | 3.3% | +6.2% |
| 1990 | 3.5% | +6.1% |
| 1991 | 3.7% | +6.5% |
| 1992 | 3.9% | +5.6% |
| 1993 | 4.2% | +7.1% |
| 1994 | 4.6% | +9.8% |
| 1995 | 5.0% | +10.4% |
| 1996 | 5.5% | +8.6% |
| 1997 | 5.9% | +7.9% |
| 1998 | 6.4% | +8.2% |
| 1999 | 7.0% | +8.6% |
| 2000 | 7.3% | +5.4% |
| 2001 | 7.6% | +3.8% |
| 2002 | 7.7% | +1.4% |
| 2003 | 7.9% | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 8.1% | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 8.3% | +2.8% |
| 2006 | 8.5% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 8.8% | +4.0% |
| 2008 | 9.1% | +3.9% |
| 2009 | 9.6% | +5.3% |
| 2010 | 10.0% | +4.1% |
| 2011 | 10.5% | +4.4% |
| 2012 | 10.8% | +3.0% |
| 2013 | 11.1% | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 11.4% | +3.1% |
| 2015 | 11.9% | +4.6% |
| 2016 | 12.5% | +4.9% |
| 2017 | 13.2% | +5.0% |
| 2018 | 14.0% | +6.2% |
| 2019 | 14.8% | +5.7% |
| 2020 | 15.5% | +4.9% |
| 2021 | 16.1% | +3.9% |
| 2022 | 16.7% | +3.8% |
| 2023 | 17.2% | +3.2% |
| 2024 | 17.9% | +4.0% |
| 2025 | 18.6% | +4.1% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 18.6% is above the median for low income countries, which is 13.8%, 1.3× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 18.6% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.0%, 98% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.6% | 1.9% | 3.3% | 9 |
| 1990s | 5.0% | 3.5% | 7.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 8.3% | 7.3% | 9.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 12.0% | 10.0% | 14.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.0% | 15.5% | 18.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More education data for Malawi
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.49 (2007)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.57 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) in Malawi?
- Completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) in Malawi was 18.6% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 18.6% in 2025.
- What is the lowest completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 1981.
- How does Malawi rank for completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data)?
- Malawi ranks 141st out of 164 countries with data for 2025.
- Is completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 56.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Completion rate, upper secondary education, female (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 45 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release