Proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water (%) in Malawi
Malawi: Proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water (%) was 95.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
95.3%
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
81st
of 117 countries
All-time high
95.3%
in 2023
All-time low
87.3%
in 2017
Years of data
5
2017–2023
Proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi, 2017–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 95.3% for proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water in 2023. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 9.2% over ten years.
That places Malawi 81st out of 117 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
Proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water (%) in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 87.3% | — |
| 2020 | 91.0% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 90.0% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 93.3% | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 95.3% | +2.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 95.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 74.5%, 1.3× the median. (9 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 95.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 74.5%, 1.3× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 87.3% | 87.3% | 87.3% | 1 |
| 2020s | 92.4% | 90.0% | 95.3% | 4 |
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 proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi?
- Proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi was 95.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 95.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 87.3% in 2017.
- How does Malawi rank for proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water?
- Malawi ranks 81st out of 117 countries with data for 2023.
- Is proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.2%. 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, published as part of Proportion of primary schools with access to basic drinking water (%). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release