School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Malawi
Malawi: School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes was 11.18 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Malawi, 1972–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Malawi is 11.18 years, measured in 2019.
That represents a change of down 0.6% on the previous year and up 9.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Malawi peaked at 11.63 years in 2014 and was at its lowest, 3.47 years, in 1972.
Malawi ranks 119th of 197 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Malawi, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 3.47 years | — |
| 1973 | 3.73 years | +7.7% |
| 1974 | 4.01 years | +7.3% |
| 1975 | 4.42 years | +10.3% |
| 1976 | 4.48 years | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 4.49 years | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 4.42 years | -1.4% |
| 1979 | 4.48 years | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 4.82 years | +7.7% |
| 1981 | 4.87 years | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 5.15 years | +5.8% |
| 1983 | 4.92 years | -4.4% |
| 1984 | 4.66 years | -5.3% |
| 1985 | 4.74 years | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 4.71 years | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 4.82 years | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 4.77 years | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 5.13 years | +7.7% |
| 1990 | 5.5 years | +7.2% |
| 1991 | 5.72 years | +3.9% |
| 1992 | 6.82 years | +19.3% |
| 1993 | 7.12 years | +4.4% |
| 1994 | 7.41 years | +4.0% |
| 1995 | 10.87 years | +46.8% |
| 1996 | 10.66 years | -2.0% |
| 1998 | 10.28 years | -3.5% |
| 1999 | 10.96 years | +6.6% |
| 2000 | 10.26 years | -6.3% |
| 2001 | 10.59 years | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 10.54 years | -0.5% |
| 2004 | 9.88 years | -6.2% |
| 2005 | 9.76 years | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 9.86 years | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 9.71 years | -1.5% |
| 2008 | 10.29 years | +6.0% |
| 2009 | 10.22 years | -0.7% |
| 2010 | 10.67 years | +4.4% |
| 2011 | 10.85 years | +1.7% |
| 2012 | 10.9 years | +0.5% |
| 2013 | 11.42 years | +4.7% |
| 2014 | 11.63 years | +1.9% |
| 2015 | 11.6 years | -0.3% |
| 2016 | 11.39 years | -1.8% |
| 2017 | 11.41 years | +0.2% |
| 2018 | 11.24 years | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 11.18 years | -0.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.19 years | 3.47 years | 4.49 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 4.86 years | 4.66 years | 5.15 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.37 years | 5.5 years | 10.96 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 10.12 years | 9.71 years | 10.59 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 11.23 years | 10.67 years | 11.63 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 116 Belarus 11.28 years compare
- 117 China 11.21 years compare
- 118 Philippines 11.19 years compare
- 120 British Virgin Islands 11.15 years compare
- 121 Barbados 11.14 years compare
- 122 Palestine, State of 11.12 years compare
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 life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Malawi?
- School life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes in Malawi was 11.18 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 11.63 years in 2014.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.47 years in 1972.
- How does Malawi rank for school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes?
- Malawi ranks 119th out of 197 countries with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.4%. 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 life expectancy, primary and secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Number of years a person of school entrance age can expect to spend within the specified level of education. For a child of a certain age a, the school life expectancy is calculated as the sum of the age specific enrolment rates for the levels of education specified. The part of the enrolment that is not distributed by age is divided by the school-age population for the level of education they are enrolled in, and multiplied by the duration of that level of education. The result is then added to the sum of the age-specific enrolment rates. A relatively high SLE indicates greater probability for children to spend more years in education and higher overall retention within the education system. It must be noted that the expected number of years does not necessarily coincide with the expected number of grades of education completed, because of repetition. Since school life expectancy is an average based on participation in different levels of education, the expected number of years of schooling may be pulled down by the magnitude of children who never go to school. Those children who are in school may benefit from many more years of education than the average.