Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Malawi
Malawi: Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP was 2.7% in 2022. ▲ Rising
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Malawi, 1986–2022
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 2.7% for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in 2022.
That represents a change of up 8.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Malawi peaked at 3.9% in 2015 and was at its lowest, 2.2%, in 1988.
Malawi ranks 161st of 199 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 21 years of available data.
Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 2.2% | — |
| 1987 | 2.4% | +10.2% |
| 1988 | 2.2% | -10.0% |
| 1989 | 2.2% | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 2.2% | +3.0% |
| 1995 | 2.8% | +22.6% |
| 1996 | 3.7% | +34.2% |
| 1999 | 3.4% | -7.2% |
| 2000 | 3.6% | +5.1% |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -14.1% |
| 2003 | 2.2% | -28.7% |
| 2010 | 2.4% | +10.1% |
| 2011 | 2.9% | +17.3% |
| 2012 | 2.5% | -11.4% |
| 2013 | 3.7% | +47.2% |
| 2014 | 3.3% | -10.6% |
| 2015 | 3.9% | +15.9% |
| 2016 | 3.3% | -14.8% |
| 2017 | 2.8% | -15.6% |
| 2018 | 3.3% | +20.0% |
| 2022 | 2.7% | -17.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 2.2% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 4 |
| 1990s | 3.0% | 2.2% | 3.7% | 4 |
| 2000s | 3.0% | 2.2% | 3.6% | 3 |
| 2010s | 3.1% | 2.4% | 3.9% | 9 |
| 2020s | 2.7% | 2.7% | 2.7% | 1 |
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 government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Malawi?
- Government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp in Malawi was 2.7% in 2022, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 3.9% in 2015.
- What is the lowest government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.2% in 1988.
- How does Malawi rank for government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp?
- Malawi ranks 161st out of 199 countries with data for 2022.
- Is government expenditure on education as a percentage of gdp rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.7%. 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 Government expenditure on education as a percentage of GDP (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release