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.
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
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Population ages 15-64 57.3% (2025)
- Population ages 0-14 40.1% (2025)
- Lower secondary school starting age 12 years (2025)
- Primary school starting age 6 years (2025)
- School enrollment, primary 139.0% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 87,834 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. average years of schooling 3.59 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 140.7% (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.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 51 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of children of primary school age (typically 6–11 years) who are enrolled in primary education.