School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Malawi
Malawi: School age population, one year before the official primary entry was 299,448 in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
299,448
Change on year
up 1.9%
World rank
48th
of 222 countries
All-time high
299,448
in 2025
All-time low
68,034
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Malawi, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
In 2025, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Malawi stood at 299,448. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
The figure is up 1.9% on the previous year and up 9.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Malawi peaked at 299,448 in 2025 and was at its lowest, 68,034, in 1970.
Malawi ranks 48th 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, one year before the official primary entry in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 68,034 | — |
| 1971 | 69,914 | +2.8% |
| 1972 | 72,210 | +3.3% |
| 1973 | 74,493 | +3.2% |
| 1974 | 77,089 | +3.5% |
| 1975 | 79,467 | +3.1% |
| 1976 | 82,114 | +3.3% |
| 1977 | 84,818 | +3.3% |
| 1978 | 87,771 | +3.5% |
| 1979 | 91,243 | +4.0% |
| 1980 | 94,732 | +3.8% |
| 1981 | 98,632 | +4.1% |
| 1982 | 102,732 | +4.2% |
| 1983 | 106,941 | +4.1% |
| 1984 | 112,034 | +4.8% |
| 1985 | 117,537 | +4.9% |
| 1986 | 123,588 | +5.1% |
| 1987 | 128,089 | +3.6% |
| 1988 | 135,118 | +5.5% |
| 1989 | 139,965 | +3.6% |
| 1990 | 146,003 | +4.3% |
| 1991 | 151,295 | +3.6% |
| 1992 | 155,474 | +2.8% |
| 1993 | 161,288 | +3.7% |
| 1994 | 164,753 | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 160,945 | -2.3% |
| 1996 | 164,307 | +2.1% |
| 1997 | 168,356 | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 172,288 | +2.3% |
| 1999 | 176,121 | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 179,474 | +1.9% |
| 2001 | 182,950 | +1.9% |
| 2002 | 186,284 | +1.8% |
| 2003 | 191,627 | +2.9% |
| 2004 | 197,700 | +3.2% |
| 2005 | 202,669 | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 206,378 | +1.8% |
| 2007 | 212,336 | +2.9% |
| 2008 | 219,463 | +3.4% |
| 2009 | 228,361 | +4.1% |
| 2010 | 238,063 | +4.2% |
| 2011 | 248,005 | +4.2% |
| 2012 | 256,752 | +3.5% |
| 2013 | 263,942 | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 269,794 | +2.2% |
| 2015 | 274,464 | +1.7% |
| 2016 | 277,411 | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 280,355 | +1.1% |
| 2018 | 281,985 | +0.6% |
| 2019 | 285,368 | +1.2% |
| 2020 | 285,547 | +0.1% |
| 2021 | 285,137 | -0.1% |
| 2022 | 285,270 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 289,288 | +1.4% |
| 2024 | 293,807 | +1.6% |
| 2025 | 299,448 | +1.9% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 78,715 | 68,034 | 91,243 | 10 |
| 1980s | 115,937 | 94,732 | 139,965 | 10 |
| 1990s | 162,083 | 146,003 | 176,121 | 10 |
| 2000s | 200,724 | 179,474 | 228,361 | 10 |
| 2010s | 267,614 | 238,063 | 285,368 | 10 |
| 2020s | 289,750 | 285,137 | 299,448 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More education data for Malawi
- Theoretical duration of pre-primary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (pre-primary to post-secondary non) 0.0494 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of lower secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of upper secondary education (years), annual 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Theoretical duration of secondary education (years), annual growth 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), gaps filled 2,021 tertiary education (2022)
- Start of the academic school year (tertiary education), annual growth 0.0497 % change on previous year (2014)
- Primary education, teachers, gaps filled 87,834 (2024)
- Duration of pre primary education, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, one year before the official primary entry in Malawi?
- School age population, one year before the official primary entry in Malawi was 299,448 in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 299,448 in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, one year before the official primary entry recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 68,034 in 1970.
- How does Malawi rank for school age population, one year before the official primary entry?
- Malawi ranks 48th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, one year before the official primary entry rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.1%. 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, one year before the official primary entry age, male (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