Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malawi
Malawi: Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age was 26.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malawi, 2000–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 26.5% for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.3% on the previous year and up 13.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malawi peaked at 38.3% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 18.6%, in 2012.
That places Malawi 43rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 26 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2000 | 38.1% | — |
| 2001 | 38.3% | +0.5% |
| 2002 | 36.3% | -5.2% |
| 2003 | 33.5% | -7.7% |
| 2004 | 30.8% | -8.1% |
| 2005 | 28.8% | -6.5% |
| 2006 | 27.4% | -4.9% |
| 2007 | 26.1% | -4.7% |
| 2008 | 24.6% | -5.7% |
| 2009 | 22.6% | -8.1% |
| 2010 | 20.5% | -9.3% |
| 2011 | 19.1% | -6.8% |
| 2012 | 18.6% | -2.6% |
| 2013 | 19.4% | +4.3% |
| 2014 | 21.6% | +11.3% |
| 2015 | 23.4% | +8.3% |
| 2016 | 24.1% | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 24.4% | +1.2% |
| 2018 | 24.8% | +1.6% |
| 2019 | 26.2% | +5.6% |
| 2020 | 28.1% | +7.3% |
| 2021 | 29.3% | +4.3% |
| 2022 | 29.4% | +0.3% |
| 2023 | 28.5% | -3.1% |
| 2024 | 27.4% | -3.9% |
| 2025 | 26.5% | -3.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 30.6% | 22.6% | 38.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.2% | 18.6% | 26.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 28.2% | 26.5% | 29.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 40 Uganda 30.7% compare
- 41 Guyana 30.5% compare
- 42 El Salvador 26.7% compare
- 44 Micronesia, Federated States of 26.3% compare
- 45 Nigeria 22.9% compare
- 46 Solomon Islands 22.8% compare
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 rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malawi?
- Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malawi was 26.5% in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 38.3% in 2001.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.6% in 2012.
- How does Malawi rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Malawi ranks 43rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
- Is out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics, published as part of Out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age, both sexes (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 26 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release