Lower secondary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in Malawi
Malawi: Lower secondary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) was 24.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Lower secondary completion rate, total in Malawi, 1974–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of relevant age group.
Analysis
The most recent figure for lower secondary completion rate, total in Malawi is 24.4%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 9.5% on the previous year and up 6.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, lower secondary completion rate, total in Malawi peaked at 47.6% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 17.5%, in 1974.
Malawi ranks 181st of 187 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 41 years of available data.
Lower secondary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of relevant age group | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 17.5% | — |
| 1975 | 20.4% | +16.7% |
| 1976 | 21.7% | +6.2% |
| 1977 | 24.5% | +12.8% |
| 1978 | 25.1% | +2.7% |
| 1979 | 21.6% | -13.7% |
| 1980 | 29.0% | +33.8% |
| 1981 | 27.8% | -3.9% |
| 1982 | 31.0% | +11.5% |
| 1983 | 30.9% | -0.5% |
| 1984 | 32.3% | +4.8% |
| 1985 | 32.0% | -1.0% |
| 1986 | 30.3% | -5.3% |
| 1987 | 28.0% | -7.9% |
| 1988 | 27.8% | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 27.7% | -0.1% |
| 1990 | 28.1% | +1.2% |
| 1991 | 30.2% | +7.5% |
| 1992 | 22.3% | -25.9% |
| 1993 | 34.1% | +52.4% |
| 1994 | 24.6% | -27.9% |
| 1995 | 47.6% | +93.6% |
| 1996 | 45.6% | -4.1% |
| 1999 | 31.7% | -30.6% |
| 2005 | 17.7% | -44.1% |
| 2006 | 20.8% | +17.4% |
| 2007 | 18.7% | -10.2% |
| 2008 | 19.8% | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 20.5% | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 18.8% | -8.5% |
| 2011 | 19.7% | +5.0% |
| 2012 | 19.3% | -2.0% |
| 2013 | 22.0% | +13.9% |
| 2014 | 22.8% | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 23.5% | +3.2% |
| 2016 | 22.6% | -3.9% |
| 2017 | 21.7% | -4.1% |
| 2018 | 22.1% | +2.0% |
| 2021 | 21.0% | -5.0% |
| 2022 | 22.3% | +6.1% |
| 2024 | 24.4% | +9.5% |
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Lower secondary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in Malawi changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +93.6% | 24.6% | 47.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 21.8% | 17.5% | 25.1% | 6 |
| 1980s | 29.7% | 27.7% | 32.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 33.0% | 22.3% | 47.6% | 8 |
| 2000s | 19.5% | 17.7% | 20.8% | 5 |
| 2010s | 21.4% | 18.8% | 23.5% | 9 |
| 2020s | 22.5% | 21.0% | 24.4% | 3 |
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 lower secondary completion rate, total in Malawi?
- Lower secondary completion rate, total in Malawi was 24.4% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest lower secondary completion rate, total recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 47.6% in 1995.
- What is the lowest lower secondary completion rate, total recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 17.5% in 1974.
- How does Malawi rank for lower secondary completion rate, total?
- Malawi ranks 181st out of 187 countries with data for 2024.
- Is lower secondary completion rate, total rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of Lower secondary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Lower secondary education completion rate is measured as the gross intake ratio to the last grade of lower secondary education (general and pre-vocational). It is calculated as the number of new entrants in the last grade of lower secondary education, regardless of age, divided by the population at the entrance age for the last grade of lower secondary education.