Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malawi
Malawi: Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates was 139.0% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malawi, 1971–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 139.0% for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in 2024.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and down 1.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malawi peaked at 152.6% in 1995 and was at its lowest, 42.5%, in 1971.
That places Malawi 4th out of 217 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 58.8% | 42.5% | 66.1% | 9 |
| 1980s | 65.5% | 60.7% | 70.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 111.5% | 73.0% | 152.6% | 9 |
| 2000s | 135.4% | 128.7% | 143.6% | 9 |
| 2010s | 138.3% | 136.0% | 140.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 133.0% | 126.6% | 139.0% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 1 Haiti 184.0% compare
- 2 Sierra Leone 162.1% compare
- 3 Rwanda 149.6% compare
- 5 Madagascar 132.7% compare
- 6 Nepal 128.6% compare
- 7 Turks and Caicos Islands 125.1% compare
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 primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malawi?
- Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates in Malawi was 139.0% in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 152.6% in 1995.
- What is the lowest primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.5% in 1971.
- How does Malawi rank for primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates?
- Malawi ranks 4th out of 217 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 1.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary, secondary and tertiary education enrollment and completion rates. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of children of any age group who are enrolled in primary education, expressed as a percentage of the total population of the official primary school age.