Share of schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi
Malawi: Share of schools with access to basic drinking water was 95.3% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
95.3%
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
81st
of 117 countries
All-time high
95.3%
in 2023
All-time low
87.3%
in 2017
Years of data
5
2017–2023
Share of schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi, 2017–2023
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2023, share of schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi stood at 95.3%. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 9.2% over ten years.
That places Malawi 81st out of 117 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
Share of schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2017 | 87.3% | — |
| 2020 | 91.0% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 90.0% | -1.1% |
| 2022 | 93.3% | +3.6% |
| 2023 | 95.3% | +2.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 95.3% is above the median for low income countries, which is 74.5%, 1.3× the median. (9 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 95.3% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 74.5%, 1.3× the median. (19 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 87.3% | 87.3% | 87.3% | 1 |
| 2020s | 92.4% | 90.0% | 95.3% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
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 share of schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi?
- Share of schools with access to basic drinking water in Malawi was 95.3% in 2023, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of schools with access to basic drinking water recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 95.3% in 2023.
- What is the lowest share of schools with access to basic drinking water recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 87.3% in 2017.
- How does Malawi rank for share of schools with access to basic drinking water?
- Malawi ranks 81st out of 117 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of schools with access to basic drinking water rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 9.2%. 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 – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of schools with access to basic drinking water. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Proportion of schools with access to basic drinking water, by education level (%).