Duration of compulsory education in Malawi
Malawi: Duration of compulsory education was 8 in 2025. ▬ Flat
Latest (2025)
8
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
161st
of 205 countries
All-time high
8
in 1998
All-time low
8
in 1998
Years of data
28
1998–2025
Duration of compulsory education in Malawi, 1998–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 8 for duration of compulsory education in 2025. That is the highest value across all 28 years on record.
That represents a change of unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, duration of compulsory education in Malawi peaked at 8 in 1998 and was at its lowest, 8, in 1998.
Malawi ranks 161st of 205 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
Duration of compulsory education in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1998 | 8 | — |
| 1999 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 8 | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 8 | +0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 8 is below the median for low income countries, which is 8.5, 94% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 8 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 8, 1.0× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 2 |
| 2000s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 2010s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 10 |
| 2020s | 8 | 8 | 8 | 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 duration of compulsory education in Malawi?
- Duration of compulsory education in Malawi was 8 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest duration of compulsory education recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 8 in 1998.
- What is the lowest duration of compulsory education recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 8 in 1998.
- How does Malawi rank for duration of compulsory education?
- Malawi ranks 161st out of 205 countries with data for 2025.
- Is duration of compulsory education rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Duration of compulsory education. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).