School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malawi
Malawi: School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes was 0.0412 years in 2011. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malawi, 1973–2011
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2011, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malawi stood at 0.0412 years. That is the highest value across all 35 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 13.6% on the previous year and up 108.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malawi peaked at 0.0412 years in 2011 and was at its lowest, 0.016 years, in 1999.
That places Malawi 183rd out of 183 countries with data for 2011, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 35 years of available data.
School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malawi, year by year
| Year | years | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1973 | 0.0223 years | — |
| 1974 | 0.023 years | +3.1% |
| 1975 | 0.0234 years | +1.8% |
| 1976 | 0.0206 years | -12.0% |
| 1977 | 0.021 years | +2.1% |
| 1978 | 0.0196 years | -6.8% |
| 1979 | 0.0211 years | +7.9% |
| 1980 | 0.0237 years | +11.9% |
| 1981 | 0.0234 years | -0.9% |
| 1982 | 0.0236 years | +0.6% |
| 1983 | 0.0232 years | -1.6% |
| 1984 | 0.0234 years | +1.0% |
| 1985 | 0.0237 years | +1.2% |
| 1986 | 0.0233 years | -1.6% |
| 1987 | 0.0236 years | +1.2% |
| 1988 | 0.0226 years | -4.3% |
| 1989 | 0.0233 years | +3.2% |
| 1990 | 0.0274 years | +17.3% |
| 1991 | 0.0279 years | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 0.028 years | +0.3% |
| 1993 | 0.0282 years | +0.8% |
| 1994 | 0.0296 years | +5.0% |
| 1995 | 0.0294 years | -0.7% |
| 1996 | 0.0301 years | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 0.016 years | -46.8% |
| 2000 | 0.0176 years | +9.8% |
| 2001 | 0.0198 years | +12.4% |
| 2002 | 0.0213 years | +7.6% |
| 2003 | 0.0218 years | +2.3% |
| 2004 | 0.0256 years | +17.6% |
| 2005 | 0.0247 years | -3.5% |
| 2006 | 0.0256 years | +3.4% |
| 2007 | 0.0251 years | -1.9% |
| 2010 | 0.0363 years | +44.5% |
| 2011 | 0.0412 years | +13.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.0412 years is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.3014 years, 14% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.0412 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.4497 years, 9% of the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | -46.8% | 0.0301 years | 0.016 years |
| 2010 | +44.5% | 0.0251 years | 0.0363 years |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.0216 years | 0.0196 years | 0.0234 years | 7 |
| 1980s | 0.0234 years | 0.0226 years | 0.0237 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0271 years | 0.016 years | 0.0301 years | 8 |
| 2000s | 0.0227 years | 0.0176 years | 0.0256 years | 8 |
| 2010s | 0.0387 years | 0.0363 years | 0.0412 years | 2 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 180 Sierra Leone 0.0979 years compare
- 181 Papua New Guinea 0.0889 years compare
- 182 Haiti 0.0527 years compare
More education data for Malawi
- 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)
- Secondary education, duration (years), annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Enrolment in primary education, both sexes (number), gaps filled 4.75 million (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malawi?
- School life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes in Malawi was 0.0412 years in 2011, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0412 years in 2011.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.016 years in 1999.
- How does Malawi rank for school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes?
- Malawi ranks 183rd out of 183 countries with data for 2011.
- Is school life expectancy, tertiary, both sexes rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 108.1%. 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 life expectancy, tertiary, 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.