Literacy rates of younger vs older population in Malawi
Malawi: Literacy rates of younger vs older population was 36.64 in 2020. ▲ Rising
Latest (2020)
36.64
Change on year
down 12.2%
World rank
67th
of 85 countries
All-time high
41.71
in 2018
All-time low
24.77
in 1987
Years of data
5
1987–2020
Literacy rates of younger vs older population in Malawi, 1987–2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, literacy rates of younger vs older population in Malawi stood at 36.64.
That represents a change of down 12.2% on the previous year and down 1.4% over five years.
Over the whole period, literacy rates of younger vs older population in Malawi peaked at 41.71 in 2018 and was at its lowest, 24.77, in 1987.
That places Malawi 67th out of 85 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Literacy rates of younger vs older population in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 24.77 | — |
| 1998 | 35.69 | +44.1% |
| 2017 | 37.16 | +4.1% |
| 2018 | 41.71 | +12.2% |
| 2020 | 36.64 | -12.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 24.77 | 24.77 | 24.77 | 1 |
| 1990s | 35.69 | 35.69 | 35.69 | 1 |
| 2010s | 39.43 | 37.16 | 41.71 | 2 |
| 2020s | 36.64 | 36.64 | 36.64 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More education data for Malawi
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0497 % change on previous year (2014)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is literacy rates of younger vs older population in Malawi?
- Literacy rates of younger vs older population in Malawi was 36.64 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest literacy rates of younger vs older population recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 41.71 in 2018.
- What is the lowest literacy rates of younger vs older population recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 24.77 in 1987.
- How does Malawi rank for literacy rates of younger vs older population?
- Malawi ranks 67th out of 85 countries with data for 2020.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Literacy rates of younger vs older population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).