School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Malawi
Malawi: School life expectancy, primary, both sexes was 8.39 years in 2024. β² Rising
School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Malawi, 1971β2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
The most recent figure for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Malawi is 8.39 years, measured in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and down 4.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Malawi peaked at 9.16 years in 1995 and was at its lowest, 2.55 years, in 1971.
That places Malawi 7th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 52 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 3.53 years | 2.55 years | 3.96 years | 9 |
| 1980s | 3.93 years | 3.64 years | 4.21 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.74 years | 4.38 years | 9.16 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 8.34 years | 8.02 years | 8.72 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 8.58 years | 8.42 years | 8.77 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.07 years | 7.67 years | 8.39 years | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 4 American Samoa 7.19 years compare
- 4 Namibia 8.68 years compare
- 5 Saint Kitts and Nevis 8.59 years compare
- 6 Mozambique 8.56 years compare
- 6 South Africa 7.12 years compare
- 8 Zambia 8.22 years compare
- 9 Eswatini 8.16 years compare
- 10 Antigua and Barbuda 7.9 years compare
More education data for Malawi
- 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)
- School enrollment, primary 139.0% (2024)
- Primary education, teachers 87,834 (2024)
- Fertility rate vs mean years of schooling 3.59 (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 140.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Malawi?
- School life expectancy, primary, both sexes in Malawi was 8.39 years in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 9.16 years in 1995.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.55 years in 1971.
- How does Malawi rank for school life expectancy, primary, both sexes?
- Malawi ranks 7th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is school life expectancy, primary, both sexes rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 4.3%. 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, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV Β· JSON β 52 observations, free to reuse under CC BY-SA 3.0 IGO (UNESCO Institute for Statistics).
About this data
February 2026 Data Release