School age population, primary education, both sexes in Malawi
Malawi: School age population, primary education, both sexes was 3.44 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
3.44 million
Change on year
up 0.6%
World rank
46th
of 222 countries
All-time high
3.44 million
in 2025
All-time low
717,965
in 1970
Years of data
56
1970–2025
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Malawi, 1970–2025
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school age population, primary education, both sexes in Malawi is 3.44 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 56 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.6% on the previous year and up 14.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school age population, primary education, both sexes in Malawi peaked at 3.44 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 717,965, in 1970.
That places Malawi 46th out of 222 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 56 years of available data.
School age population, primary education, both sexes in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1970 | 717,965 | — |
| 1971 | 740,864 | +3.2% |
| 1972 | 763,720 | +3.1% |
| 1973 | 787,428 | +3.1% |
| 1974 | 812,074 | +3.1% |
| 1975 | 838,127 | +3.2% |
| 1976 | 864,858 | +3.2% |
| 1977 | 893,579 | +3.3% |
| 1978 | 924,188 | +3.4% |
| 1979 | 958,243 | +3.7% |
| 1980 | 995,092 | +3.8% |
| 1981 | 1.03 million | +3.9% |
| 1982 | 1.08 million | +4.0% |
| 1983 | 1.12 million | +4.1% |
| 1984 | 1.17 million | +4.2% |
| 1985 | 1.22 million | +4.3% |
| 1986 | 1.27 million | +4.4% |
| 1987 | 1.32 million | +4.4% |
| 1988 | 1.40 million | +5.5% |
| 1989 | 1.49 million | +6.3% |
| 1990 | 1.57 million | +5.6% |
| 1991 | 1.63 million | +3.9% |
| 1992 | 1.68 million | +3.1% |
| 1993 | 1.73 million | +3.0% |
| 1994 | 1.73 million | -0.1% |
| 1995 | 1.70 million | -1.9% |
| 1996 | 1.74 million | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 2.30 million | +32.3% |
| 1998 | 1.83 million | -20.3% |
| 1999 | 1.89 million | +3.0% |
| 2000 | 1.94 million | +2.6% |
| 2001 | 1.98 million | +2.4% |
| 2002 | 2.03 million | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 2.08 million | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 2.12 million | +2.3% |
| 2005 | 2.18 million | +2.5% |
| 2006 | 2.23 million | +2.5% |
| 2007 | 2.29 million | +2.5% |
| 2008 | 2.35 million | +2.8% |
| 2009 | 2.43 million | +3.4% |
| 2010 | 2.51 million | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 2.60 million | +3.5% |
| 2012 | 2.70 million | +3.7% |
| 2013 | 2.80 million | +3.9% |
| 2014 | 2.91 million | +3.8% |
| 2015 | 3.01 million | +3.5% |
| 2016 | 3.11 million | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 3.18 million | +2.5% |
| 2018 | 3.25 million | +2.0% |
| 2019 | 3.30 million | +1.5% |
| 2020 | 3.34 million | +1.2% |
| 2021 | 3.37 million | +0.9% |
| 2022 | 3.39 million | +0.6% |
| 2023 | 3.40 million | +0.4% |
| 2024 | 3.42 million | +0.5% |
| 2025 | 3.44 million | +0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 830,105 | 717,965 | 958,243 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1.21 million | 995,092 | 1.49 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.78 million | 1.57 million | 2.30 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.16 million | 1.94 million | 2.43 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.94 million | 2.51 million | 3.30 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.39 million | 3.34 million | 3.44 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More education data for Malawi
- 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 (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre primary education 3 (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)
- Primary secondary enrollment completion rates, gaps filled 139.02 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary 139.0% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school age population, primary education, both sexes in Malawi?
- School age population, primary education, both sexes in Malawi was 3.44 million in 2025, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 3.44 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest school age population, primary education, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 717,965 in 1970.
- How does Malawi rank for school age population, primary education, both sexes?
- Malawi ranks 46th out of 222 countries with data for 2025.
- Is school age population, primary education, both sexes rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 14.1%. 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, 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