Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malawi
Malawi: Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary was 380,955 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malawi, 2002–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 380,955 for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in 2023. That is the highest value across all 14 years on record.
The figure is up 133.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malawi peaked at 380,955 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 19,393, in 2002.
That places Malawi 23rd out of 170 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 14 years of available data.
Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2002 | 19,393 | — |
| 2004 | 93,738 | +383.4% |
| 2005 | 170,974 | +82.4% |
| 2006 | 174,628 | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 159,901 | -8.4% |
| 2008 | 109,749 | -31.4% |
| 2009 | 130,931 | +19.3% |
| 2013 | 163,361 | +24.8% |
| 2014 | 178,783 | +9.4% |
| 2015 | 191,307 | +7.0% |
| 2016 | 215,087 | +12.4% |
| 2018 | 220,952 | +2.7% |
| 2019 | 237,314 | +7.4% |
| 2023 | 380,955 | +60.5% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 380,955 is below the median for low income countries, which is 631,260, 60% of the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 380,955 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 251,598, 1.5× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2004 | +383.4% | 19,393 | 93,738 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 122,759 | 19,393 | 174,628 | 7 |
| 2010s | 201,134 | 163,361 | 237,314 | 6 |
| 2020s | 380,955 | 380,955 | 380,955 | 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 out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malawi?
- Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary in Malawi was 380,955 in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 380,955 in 2023.
- What is the lowest out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 19,393 in 2002.
- How does Malawi rank for out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary?
- Malawi ranks 23rd out of 170 countries with data for 2023.
- Is out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 133.2%. 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 Out-of-school children and adolescents of primary and lower secondary school age, male (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release