School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Malawi
Malawi: School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) was 10.91 years in 2011. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malawi, 1973–2011
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in years.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 10.91 years for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in 2011.
The figure is up 1.4% on the previous year and up 2.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malawi peaked at 11.04 years in 1999 and was at its lowest, 3.76 years, in 1973.
That places Malawi 138th out of 183 countries with data for 2011, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Malawi, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 3.76 years | — |
| 1974 | 4.03 years | +7.3% |
| 1975 | 4.44 years | +10.3% |
| 1976 | 4.5 years | +1.3% |
| 1977 | 4.51 years | +0.1% |
| 1978 | 4.44 years | -1.4% |
| 1979 | 4.5 years | +1.2% |
| 1980 | 4.84 years | +7.7% |
| 1981 | 4.89 years | +1.0% |
| 1982 | 5.17 years | +5.8% |
| 1983 | 4.95 years | -4.4% |
| 1984 | 4.69 years | -5.3% |
| 1985 | 4.77 years | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 4.74 years | -0.7% |
| 1987 | 4.84 years | +2.3% |
| 1988 | 4.79 years | -1.1% |
| 1989 | 5.16 years | +7.7% |
| 1990 | 5.53 years | +7.2% |
| 1991 | 5.75 years | +3.9% |
| 1992 | 6.85 years | +19.2% |
| 1993 | 7.15 years | +4.4% |
| 1994 | 7.44 years | +4.0% |
| 1995 | 10.9 years | +46.6% |
| 1996 | 10.69 years | -2.0% |
| 1999 | 11.04 years | +3.3% |
| 2000 | 10.34 years | -6.3% |
| 2001 | 10.67 years | +3.2% |
| 2002 | 10.62 years | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 9.97 years | -6.1% |
| 2005 | 9.85 years | -1.2% |
| 2006 | 9.94 years | +1.0% |
| 2007 | 9.79 years | -1.5% |
| 2010 | 10.76 years | +9.9% |
| 2011 | 10.91 years | +1.4% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 10.91 years is above the median for low income countries, which is 9.21 years, 1.2× the median. (20 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 10.91 years is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 10.73 years, 1.0× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years) (both) in Malawi changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | +46.6% | 7.44 years | 10.9 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 4.31 years | 3.76 years | 4.51 years | 7 |
| 1980s | 4.88 years | 4.69 years | 5.17 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.17 years | 5.53 years | 11.04 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 10.17 years | 9.79 years | 10.67 years | 7 |
| 2010s | 10.84 years | 10.76 years | 10.91 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More education data for Malawi
- Gender gap education levels, gaps filled 98.49 (2007)
- Primary enrollment selected countries, gaps filled 99.57 (2023)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malawi?
- School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes in Malawi was 10.91 years in 2011, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 11.04 years in 1999.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.76 years in 1973.
- How does Malawi rank for school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes?
- Malawi ranks 138th out of 183 countries with data for 2011.
- Is school life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), published as part of School life expectancy, primary to tertiary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Expected years of schooling is the number of years a child of school entrance age is expected to spend at school, or university, including years spent on repetition. It is the sum of the age-specific enrolment ratios for primary, secondary, post-secondary non-tertiary and tertiary education.