Average years of schooling among adults in Malawi
Malawi: Average years of schooling among adults was 5.24 years in 2023. ▲ Rising
Average years of schooling among adults in Malawi, 1990–2023
Source: UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in years.
Analysis
In 2023, average years of schooling among adults in Malawi stood at 5.24 years.
The figure is up 5.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, average years of schooling among adults in Malawi peaked at 5.29 years in 2015 and was at its lowest, 2.28 years, 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.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 2.52 years | 2.28 years | 2.86 years | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.7 years | 3.01 years | 4.38 years | 10 |
| 2010s | 5.06 years | 4.53 years | 5.29 years | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.24 years | 5.24 years | 5.24 years | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More education data for Malawi
- Duration of pre-primary education 3 years (2025)
- Official entrance age to pre-primary education 3 years (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. average years of schooling 3.59 live births per woman (2024)
- School enrollment, primary, female 140.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is average years of schooling among adults in Malawi?
- Average years of schooling among adults in Malawi was 5.24 years in 2023, according to UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 5.29 years in 2015.
- What is the lowest average years of schooling among adults recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.28 years in 1990.
- How does Malawi rank for average years of schooling among adults?
- Malawi ranks 166th out of 192 countries with data for 2023.
- Is average years of schooling among adults 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 UNDP, Human Development Report (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Average years of schooling among adults. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Average number of years (excluding years spent repeating individual grades) adults over 25 years participated in formal education.