School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Malawi
Malawi: School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes was 568,934 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
568,934
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
46th
of 222 countries
All-time high
568,934
in 2025
All-time low
107,362
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Malawi, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 568,934 for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 1.1% on the previous year and up 25.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Malawi peaked at 568,934 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 107,362, in 1970.
Malawi ranks 46th of 222 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 107,362 | — |
| 1971 | 111,265 | +3.6% |
| 1972 | 115,072 | +3.4% |
| 1973 | 118,845 | +3.3% |
| 1974 | 122,769 | +3.3% |
| 1975 | 126,926 | +3.4% |
| 1976 | 130,369 | +2.7% |
| 1977 | 134,282 | +3.0% |
| 1978 | 139,051 | +3.6% |
| 1979 | 144,062 | +3.6% |
| 1980 | 149,693 | +3.9% |
| 1981 | 155,012 | +3.6% |
| 1982 | 160,989 | +3.9% |
| 1983 | 167,280 | +3.9% |
| 1984 | 174,183 | +4.1% |
| 1985 | 181,476 | +4.2% |
| 1986 | 188,727 | +4.0% |
| 1987 | 196,578 | +4.2% |
| 1988 | 206,509 | +5.1% |
| 1989 | 218,865 | +6.0% |
| 1990 | 233,487 | +6.7% |
| 1991 | 245,826 | +5.3% |
| 1992 | 257,992 | +4.9% |
| 1993 | 267,853 | +3.8% |
| 1994 | 268,331 | +0.2% |
| 1995 | 259,551 | -3.3% |
| 1996 | 264,086 | +1.7% |
| 1997 | 254,181 | -3.8% |
| 1998 | 276,005 | +8.6% |
| 1999 | 284,343 | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 296,720 | +4.4% |
| 2001 | 301,914 | +1.8% |
| 2002 | 309,741 | +2.6% |
| 2003 | 318,683 | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 327,242 | +2.7% |
| 2005 | 335,013 | +2.4% |
| 2006 | 342,452 | +2.2% |
| 2007 | 350,028 | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 357,697 | +2.2% |
| 2009 | 370,942 | +3.7% |
| 2010 | 385,851 | +4.0% |
| 2011 | 397,735 | +3.1% |
| 2012 | 407,337 | +2.4% |
| 2013 | 421,150 | +3.4% |
| 2014 | 436,996 | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 455,201 | +4.2% |
| 2016 | 474,984 | +4.3% |
| 2017 | 495,170 | +4.2% |
| 2018 | 513,060 | +3.6% |
| 2019 | 527,741 | +2.9% |
| 2020 | 539,511 | +2.2% |
| 2021 | 548,456 | +1.7% |
| 2022 | 553,883 | +1.0% |
| 2023 | 559,529 | +1.0% |
| 2024 | 562,554 | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 568,934 | +1.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 125,000 | 107,362 | 144,062 | 10 |
| 1980s | 179,931 | 149,693 | 218,865 | 10 |
| 1990s | 261,166 | 233,487 | 284,343 | 10 |
| 2000s | 331,043 | 296,720 | 370,942 | 10 |
| 2010s | 451,522 | 385,851 | 527,741 | 10 |
| 2020s | 555,478 | 539,511 | 568,934 | 6 |
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 school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Malawi?
- School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes in Malawi was 568,934 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 568,934 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 107,362 in 1970.
- How does Malawi rank for school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes?
- Malawi ranks 46th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 25.0%. 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 School age population, last grade of primary education, both sexes (number). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 56 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release