Years of schooling in Malawi
Malawi: Years of schooling was 5.24 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
5.24
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
166th
of 192 countries
All-time high
5.29
in 2015
All-time low
2.28
in 1990
Years of data
34
1990–2023
Years of schooling in Malawi, 1990–2023
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2023, years of schooling in Malawi stood at 5.24.
The figure is up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, years of schooling in Malawi peaked at 5.29 in 2015 and was at its lowest, 2.28, in 1990.
That places Malawi 166th out of 192 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 34 years of available data.
Years of schooling in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 2.28 | — |
| 1991 | 2.33 | +2.1% |
| 1992 | 2.38 | +2.1% |
| 1993 | 2.42 | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 2.47 | +2.0% |
| 1995 | 2.52 | +2.0% |
| 1996 | 2.58 | +2.5% |
| 1997 | 2.65 | +2.4% |
| 1998 | 2.71 | +2.4% |
| 1999 | 2.86 | +5.6% |
| 2000 | 3.01 | +5.3% |
| 2001 | 3.17 | +5.0% |
| 2002 | 3.32 | +4.8% |
| 2003 | 3.47 | +4.6% |
| 2004 | 3.62 | +4.4% |
| 2005 | 3.77 | +4.2% |
| 2006 | 3.93 | +4.0% |
| 2007 | 4.08 | +3.9% |
| 2008 | 4.23 | +3.7% |
| 2009 | 4.38 | +3.6% |
| 2010 | 4.53 | +3.5% |
| 2011 | 4.69 | +3.4% |
| 2012 | 4.84 | +3.2% |
| 2013 | 4.99 | +3.1% |
| 2014 | 5.14 | +3.0% |
| 2015 | 5.29 | +3.0% |
| 2016 | 5.28 | -0.2% |
| 2017 | 5.27 | -0.2% |
| 2018 | 5.26 | -0.2% |
| 2019 | 5.25 | -0.2% |
| 2020 | 5.24 | -0.2% |
| 2021 | 5.24 | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 5.24 | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 5.24 | +0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 5.24 is above the median for low income countries, which is 4.59, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 5.24 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 5.96, 88% of the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.52 | 2.28 | 2.86 | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.7 | 3.01 | 4.38 | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.06 | 4.53 | 5.29 | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.24 | 5.24 | 5.24 | 4 |
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 years of schooling in Malawi?
- Years of schooling in Malawi was 5.24 in 2023, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest years of schooling recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 5.29 in 2015.
- What is the lowest years of schooling recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.28 in 1990.
- How does Malawi rank for years of schooling?
- Malawi ranks 166th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is years of schooling rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 5.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Years of schooling. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).