Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malawi
Malawi: Share of children in primary school age who are in school was 99.6% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malawi, 1820–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malawi stood at 99.6%. That is the highest value across all 51 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.7% on the previous year and up 0.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malawi peaked at 99.6% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 1820.
That places Malawi 24th out of 209 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1820 | 0.0% | — |
| 1825 | 0.0% | — |
| 1830 | 0.0% | — |
| 1835 | 0.0% | — |
| 1840 | 0.0% | — |
| 1845 | 0.0% | — |
| 1850 | 0.0% | — |
| 1855 | 0.0% | — |
| 1860 | 0.0% | — |
| 1865 | 0.0% | +300.0% |
| 1870 | 0.1% | +100.0% |
| 1875 | 0.1% | +87.5% |
| 1880 | 0.3% | +73.3% |
| 1885 | 0.4% | +69.2% |
| 1890 | 0.7% | +65.9% |
| 1895 | 1.2% | +61.6% |
| 1900 | 1.9% | +58.5% |
| 1905 | 2.9% | +56.7% |
| 1910 | 4.5% | +54.3% |
| 1915 | 6.8% | +51.5% |
| 1920 | 10.2% | +48.8% |
| 1925 | 14.8% | +45.5% |
| 1930 | 21.0% | +41.6% |
| 1935 | 28.8% | +37.1% |
| 1940 | 38.0% | +32.0% |
| 1945 | 48.1% | +26.6% |
| 1950 | 60.0% | +24.6% |
| 1955 | 58.1% | -3.1% |
| 1960 | 48.3% | -16.8% |
| 1965 | 31.7% | -34.3% |
| 1970 | 32.5% | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 40.0% | +23.2% |
| 1980 | 44.0% | +10.0% |
| 1999 | 98.0% | +122.6% |
| 2002 | 97.7% | -0.2% |
| 2004 | 99.2% | +1.5% |
| 2005 | 99.2% | +0.1% |
| 2006 | 98.7% | -0.5% |
| 2007 | 96.7% | -2.0% |
| 2008 | 98.7% | +2.1% |
| 2009 | 99.0% | +0.3% |
| 2013 | 99.3% | +0.3% |
| 2014 | 99.4% | +0.1% |
| 2015 | 99.2% | -0.2% |
| 2016 | 99.0% | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 98.8% | -0.1% |
| 2018 | 98.4% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 99.3% | +0.9% |
| 2021 | 97.8% | -1.5% |
| 2022 | 97.9% | +0.2% |
| 2023 | 99.6% | +1.7% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 99.6% is above the median for low income countries, which is 69.5%, 1.4× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 99.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 84.5%, 1.2× the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children in primary school age who are in school 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1865 | +300.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1820s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1830s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1840s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1850s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1860s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 1870s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | 2 |
| 1880s | 0.3% | 0.3% | 0.4% | 2 |
| 1890s | 1.0% | 0.7% | 1.2% | 2 |
| 1900s | 2.4% | 1.9% | 2.9% | 2 |
| 1910s | 5.7% | 4.5% | 6.8% | 2 |
| 1920s | 12.5% | 10.2% | 14.8% | 2 |
| 1930s | 24.9% | 21.0% | 28.8% | 2 |
| 1940s | 43.1% | 38.0% | 48.1% | 2 |
| 1950s | 59.0% | 58.1% | 60.0% | 2 |
| 1960s | 40.0% | 31.7% | 48.3% | 2 |
| 1970s | 36.2% | 32.5% | 40.0% | 2 |
| 1980s | 44.0% | 44.0% | 44.0% | 1 |
| 1990s | 98.0% | 98.0% | 98.0% | 1 |
| 2000s | 98.5% | 96.7% | 99.2% | 7 |
| 2010s | 99.0% | 98.4% | 99.4% | 7 |
| 2020s | 98.4% | 97.8% | 99.6% | 3 |
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 share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malawi?
- Share of children in primary school age who are in school in Malawi was 99.6% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 99.6% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of children in primary school age who are in school recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 1820.
- How does Malawi rank for share of children in primary school age who are in school?
- Malawi ranks 24th out of 209 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of children in primary school age who are in school rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026); Lee and Lee (2016) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children in primary school age who are in school. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.