Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Malawi
Malawi: Official entrance age to upper secondary education was 16 years in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
16 years
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
10th
of 215 countries
All-time high
16 years
in 1997
All-time low
14 years
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Malawi, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for official entrance age to upper secondary education in Malawi is 16 years, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, official entrance age to upper secondary education in Malawi peaked at 16 years in 1997 and was at its lowest, 14 years, in 1970.
That places Malawi 10th out of 215 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Malawi, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 14 years | — |
| 1971 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 14 years | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 16 years | +14.3% |
| 1998 | 14 years | -12.5% |
| 1999 | 16 years | +14.3% |
| 2000 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 16 years | +0.0% |
| 2025 | 16 years | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 14 years | 14 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 1980s | 14 years | 14 years | 14 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 14.4 years | 14 years | 16 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 16 years | 16 years | 16 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 16 years | 16 years | 16 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 16 years | 16 years | 16 years | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 10 Afghanistan 16 years compare
- 10 Andorra 16 years compare
- 10 American Samoa 16 years compare
- 10 Australia 16 years compare
- 10 Benin 16 years compare
- 10 Burkina Faso 16 years compare
- 10 Bhutan 16 years compare
- 10 Botswana 16 years compare
- 10 Central African Republic 16 years compare
- 10 Cote d'Ivoire 16 years compare
- 10 Cameroon 16 years compare
- 10 Congo 16 years compare
- 10 Curacao 16 years compare
- 10 Germany 16 years compare
- 10 Denmark 16 years compare
- 10 Estonia 16 years compare
- 10 Finland 16 years compare
- 10 Fiji 16 years compare
- 10 Gambia 16 years compare
- 10 Guatemala 16 years compare
- 10 Indonesia 16 years compare
- 10 Ireland 16 years compare
- 10 Iceland 16 years compare
- 10 Jordan 16 years compare
- 10 Kyrgyzstan 16 years compare
- 10 Liechtenstein 16 years compare
- 10 Lesotho 16 years compare
- 10 Latvia 16 years compare
- 10 Moldova 16 years compare
- 10 Maldives 16 years compare
- 10 Mali 16 years compare
- 10 Mozambique 16 years compare
- 10 Mauritania 16 years compare
- 10 Norway 16 years compare
- 10 Nauru 16 years compare
- 10 Oman 16 years compare
- 10 Philippines 16 years compare
- 10 Russia 16 years compare
- 10 Senegal 16 years compare
- 10 El Salvador 16 years compare
- 10 Suriname 16 years compare
- 10 Sweden 16 years compare
- 10 Eswatini 16 years compare
- 10 Chad 16 years compare
- 10 Togo 16 years compare
- 10 Tajikistan 16 years compare
- 10 Turkmenistan 16 years compare
- 10 Tonga 16 years compare
- 10 Tuvalu 16 years compare
- 10 Uzbekistan 16 years compare
- 10 Vanuatu 16 years compare
- 10 South Africa 16 years compare
- 10 Zambia 16 years compare
More education data for Malawi
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is official entrance age to upper secondary education in Malawi?
- Official entrance age to upper secondary education in Malawi was 16 years in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest official entrance age to upper secondary education recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 16 years in 1997.
- What is the lowest official entrance age to upper secondary education recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 14 years in 1970.
- How does Malawi rank for official entrance age to upper secondary education?
- Malawi ranks 10th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is official entrance age to upper secondary education rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. 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 Official entrance age to upper secondary education (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
February 2026 Data Release