Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Malawi

Malawi: Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or was 38.6% in 2020. ▲ Rising

Latest (2020)
38.6%
Change on year
down 12.8%
World rank
83rd
of 97 countries
All-time high
46.1%
in 2015
All-time low
22.2%
in 1998
Years of data
6
1998–2020

Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Malawi, 1998–2020

010203040501998200920201998: 22.2 %2005: 31.1 %2011: 37.3 %2015: 46.1 %2017: 44.3 %2020: 38.6 %

Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.

Analysis

Malawi recorded 38.6% for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in 2020.

The figure is down 12.8% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Malawi peaked at 46.1% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 22.2%, in 1998.

That places Malawi 83rd out of 97 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 22.2% 22.2% 22.2% 1
2000s 31.1% 31.1% 31.1% 1
2010s 42.6% 37.3% 46.1% 3
2020s 38.6% 38.6% 38.6% 1

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 80 Angola 43.9% compare
  2. 81 Bhutan 42.5% compare
  3. 82 Guatemala 41.0% compare
  4. 84 Rwanda 35.8% compare
  5. 85 Uganda 33.2% compare
  6. 86 Nepal 31.3% compare

See the full ranking of 97 places →

More education data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Malawi?
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Malawi was 38.6% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 46.1% in 2015.
What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 22.2% in 1998.
How does Malawi rank for educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or?
Malawi ranks 83rd out of 97 countries with data for 2020.
Is educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 6 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Retrieved 22 August 2026, from https://education.statizoid.com/stat/educational-attainment-rate-completed-lower-secondary-education-or-higher-population-25-7/malawi/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://education.statizoid.com/stat/educational-attainment-rate-completed-lower-secondary-education-or-higher-population-25-7/malawi/">Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or in Malawi</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator
Educational attainment rate, completed lower secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, urban, female (%)
Unit
%
Source
UNESCO Institute for Statistics
Licence
CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics)
Coverage
97 places, 1,320 data points, 1970–2024
Last refreshed

February 2026 Data Release