Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malawi
Malawi: Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or was 12.1% in 2020. β Volatile
Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malawi, 1977β2020
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2020, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malawi stood at 12.1%.
That represents a change of down 6.4% on the previous year and up 15.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malawi peaked at 13.0% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 1.2%, in 1977.
That places Malawi 130th out of 142 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1.2% | 1 |
| 1980s | 2.5% | 2.5% | 2.5% | 1 |
| 1990s | 5.2% | 5.2% | 5.2% | 1 |
| 2000s | 8.0% | 8.0% | 8.0% | 1 |
| 2010s | 11.9% | 10.5% | 13.0% | 4 |
| 2020s | 12.1% | 12.1% | 12.1% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More education data for Malawi
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 87,834 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 139.0% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers, per capita 0.0041 units per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malawi?
- Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or in Malawi was 12.1% in 2020, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 13.0% in 2017.
- What is the lowest educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.2% in 1977.
- How does Malawi rank for educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or?
- Malawi ranks 130th out of 142 countries with data for 2020.
- Is educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 15.9%. 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 Educational attainment rate, completed upper secondary education or higher, population 25+ years, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 9 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release