Mean years of schooling long run in Malawi
Malawi: Mean years of schooling long run was 5.41 in 2020. ◆ Volatile
Mean years of schooling long run in Malawi, 1870–2020
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2020, mean years of schooling long run in Malawi stood at 5.41. That is the highest value across all 31 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 8.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, mean years of schooling long run in Malawi peaked at 5.41 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.01, in 1870.
That places Malawi 103rd out of 111 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Mean years of schooling long run in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1870 | 0.01 | — |
| 1875 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1880 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1885 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1890 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1895 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1900 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.02 | +100.0% |
| 1910 | 0.13 | +550.0% |
| 1915 | 0.23 | +76.9% |
| 1920 | 0.31 | +34.8% |
| 1925 | 0.42 | +35.5% |
| 1930 | 0.51 | +21.4% |
| 1935 | 0.62 | +21.6% |
| 1940 | 0.72 | +16.1% |
| 1945 | 0.84 | +16.7% |
| 1950 | 0.98 | +16.7% |
| 1955 | 1.06 | +8.2% |
| 1960 | 1.12 | +5.7% |
| 1965 | 1.3 | +16.1% |
| 1970 | 1.63 | +25.4% |
| 1975 | 1.96 | +20.2% |
| 1980 | 2.5 | +27.6% |
| 1985 | 2.96 | +18.4% |
| 1990 | 3.14 | +6.1% |
| 1995 | 3.3 | +5.1% |
| 2000 | 3.73 | +13.0% |
| 2005 | 4.67 | +25.2% |
| 2010 | 5.01 | +7.3% |
| 2015 | 4.86 | -3.0% |
| 2020 | 5.41 | +11.3% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 5.41 is above the median for low income countries, which is 4.99, 1.1× the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 5.41 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 6.27, 86% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Mean years of schooling long run 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1910 | +550.0% | 0.02 | 0.13 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1870s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 2 |
| 1890s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 2 |
| 1900s | 0.015 | 0.01 | 0.02 | 2 |
| 1910s | 0.18 | 0.13 | 0.23 | 2 |
| 1920s | 0.365 | 0.31 | 0.42 | 2 |
| 1930s | 0.565 | 0.51 | 0.62 | 2 |
| 1940s | 0.78 | 0.72 | 0.84 | 2 |
| 1950s | 1.02 | 0.98 | 1.06 | 2 |
| 1960s | 1.21 | 1.12 | 1.3 | 2 |
| 1970s | 1.79 | 1.63 | 1.96 | 2 |
| 1980s | 2.73 | 2.5 | 2.96 | 2 |
| 1990s | 3.22 | 3.14 | 3.3 | 2 |
| 2000s | 4.2 | 3.73 | 4.67 | 2 |
| 2010s | 4.94 | 4.86 | 5.01 | 2 |
| 2020s | 5.41 | 5.41 | 5.41 | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 100 Liberia 5.8 compare
- 101 Afghanistan 5.69 compare
- 102 Yemen 5.56 compare
- 104 Sierra Leone 4.99 compare
- 105 Gambia 4.92 compare
- 106 Democratic Republic of Congo 4.85 compare
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 mean years of schooling long run in Malawi?
- Mean years of schooling long run in Malawi was 5.41 in 2020, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest mean years of schooling long run recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 5.41 in 2020.
- What is the lowest mean years of schooling long run recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.01 in 1870.
- How does Malawi rank for mean years of schooling long run?
- Malawi ranks 103rd out of 111 countries with data for 2020.
- Is mean years of schooling long run rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Mean years of schooling long run. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 31 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).