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 23.7% 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
The most recent figure for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malawi is 23.7%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 3.3% on the previous year and up 1.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age in Malawi peaked at 38.6% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 19.6%, in 2012.
Malawi ranks 44th of 206 countries on this measure, 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 | 37.9% | — |
| 2001 | 38.6% | +1.8% |
| 2002 | 36.8% | -4.7% |
| 2003 | 34.2% | -7.1% |
| 2004 | 31.8% | -7.0% |
| 2005 | 30.1% | -5.3% |
| 2006 | 29.1% | -3.3% |
| 2007 | 28.0% | -3.8% |
| 2008 | 26.6% | -5.0% |
| 2009 | 24.6% | -7.5% |
| 2010 | 22.4% | -8.9% |
| 2011 | 20.7% | -7.6% |
| 2012 | 19.6% | -5.3% |
| 2013 | 19.9% | +1.5% |
| 2014 | 21.8% | +9.5% |
| 2015 | 23.4% | +7.3% |
| 2016 | 24.1% | +3.0% |
| 2017 | 24.2% | +0.4% |
| 2018 | 24.0% | -0.8% |
| 2019 | 25.0% | +4.2% |
| 2020 | 26.9% | +7.6% |
| 2021 | 28.0% | +4.1% |
| 2022 | 27.7% | -1.1% |
| 2023 | 26.1% | -5.8% |
| 2024 | 24.5% | -6.1% |
| 2025 | 23.7% | -3.3% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 31.8% | 24.6% | 38.6% | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.5% | 19.6% | 25.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.2% | 23.7% | 28.0% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 41 Senegal 27.8% compare
- 42 British Virgin Islands 25.5% compare
- 43 El Salvador 24.8% compare
- 45 Micronesia, Federated States of 23.3% compare
- 46 Pakistan 23.0% compare
- 47 Nigeria 22.7% 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 23.7% 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 38.6% 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 19.6% in 2012.
- How does Malawi rank for out-of-school rate for adolescents of lower secondary school age?
- Malawi ranks 44th 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 1.3%. 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, female (modelled data) (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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