Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Malawi
Malawi: Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female was 70.4% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Malawi, 1999–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 70.4% for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.2% on the previous year and up 13.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Malawi peaked at 88.2% in 2004 and was at its lowest, 62.0%, in 2014.
That places Malawi 12th out of 179 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1999 | 82.9% | — |
| 2002 | 87.1% | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 88.2% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 80.2% | -9.0% |
| 2006 | 78.3% | -2.4% |
| 2007 | 78.0% | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 76.6% | -1.7% |
| 2009 | 73.8% | -3.7% |
| 2010 | 74.8% | +1.4% |
| 2011 | 74.3% | -0.6% |
| 2012 | 75.3% | +1.3% |
| 2013 | 72.5% | -3.7% |
| 2014 | 62.0% | -14.5% |
| 2015 | 62.6% | +0.9% |
| 2016 | 64.3% | +2.8% |
| 2017 | 69.6% | +8.3% |
| 2018 | 69.6% | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 76.6% | +10.0% |
| 2020 | 70.9% | -7.5% |
| 2021 | 76.6% | +8.1% |
| 2022 | 71.3% | -6.9% |
| 2023 | 72.0% | +0.9% |
| 2024 | 70.4% | -2.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 70.4% is above the median for low income countries, which is 69.0%, 1.0× the median. (17 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 70.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 53.7%, 1.3× the median. (35 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 82.9% | 82.9% | 82.9% | 1 |
| 2000s | 80.3% | 73.8% | 88.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 70.2% | 62.0% | 76.6% | 10 |
| 2020s | 72.2% | 70.4% | 76.6% | 5 |
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 rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Malawi?
- Out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female in Malawi was 70.4% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 88.2% in 2004.
- What is the lowest out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 62.0% in 2014.
- How does Malawi rank for out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female?
- Malawi ranks 12th out of 179 countries with data for 2024.
- Is out-of-school rate for youth of upper secondary school age, female rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 13.5%. 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 youth of upper secondary school age, female (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release