Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in Malawi
Malawi: Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 was 35.5% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Latest (2024)
35.5%
Change on year
up 10.6%
World rank
10th
of 185 countries
All-time high
47.7%
in 2007
All-time low
32.1%
in 2023
Years of data
21
2004–2024
Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in Malawi, 2004–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in Malawi is 35.5%, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of up 10.6% on the previous year and down 4.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in Malawi peaked at 47.7% in 2007 and was at its lowest, 32.1%, in 2023.
Malawi ranks 10th of 185 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2004 | 43.4% | — |
| 2005 | 42.2% | -2.8% |
| 2006 | 43.1% | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 47.7% | +10.6% |
| 2008 | 46.2% | -3.2% |
| 2009 | 44.7% | -3.3% |
| 2010 | 40.7% | -8.8% |
| 2011 | 40.3% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 39.0% | -3.3% |
| 2013 | 35.9% | -7.8% |
| 2014 | 37.3% | +3.7% |
| 2015 | 35.9% | -3.8% |
| 2016 | 35.9% | +0.2% |
| 2017 | 36.0% | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 35.6% | -1.3% |
| 2019 | 36.3% | +2.2% |
| 2020 | 36.5% | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 34.9% | -4.4% |
| 2022 | 35.9% | +3.0% |
| 2023 | 32.1% | -10.5% |
| 2024 | 35.5% | +10.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 35.5% is above the median for low income countries, which is 27.5%, 1.3× the median. (19 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 35.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 21.6%, 1.6× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 44.6% | 42.2% | 47.7% | 6 |
| 2010s | 37.3% | 35.6% | 40.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 35.0% | 32.1% | 36.5% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 7 Papua New Guinea 39.3% compare
- 8 Equatorial Guinea 38.7% compare
- 9 Central African Republic 38.2% compare
- 11 Uganda 33.9% compare
- 12 Mozambique 32.2% compare
- 13 Mauritania 31.2% 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 percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in Malawi?
- Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 in Malawi was 35.5% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 47.7% in 2007.
- What is the lowest percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 32.1% in 2023.
- How does Malawi rank for percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2?
- Malawi ranks 10th out of 185 countries with data for 2024.
- Is percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.7%. 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 Percentage of pupils enrolled in primary education who are at least 2 years over-age for their current grade, both sexes (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release