Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in Malawi
Malawi: Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) was 70.1% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Primary completion rate, total in Malawi, 1974–2024
Source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO). Measured in % of relevant age group.
Analysis
The most recent figure for primary completion rate, total in Malawi is 70.1%, measured in 2024.
The figure is up 2.6% on the previous year and down 9.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary completion rate, total in Malawi peaked at 86.0% in 2021 and was at its lowest, 21.3%, in 1974.
Malawi ranks 161st of 189 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 42 years of available data.
Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of relevant age group | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1974 | 21.3% | — |
| 1975 | 22.6% | +6.0% |
| 1976 | 24.9% | +10.2% |
| 1977 | 29.6% | +18.9% |
| 1978 | 30.8% | +3.9% |
| 1979 | 32.9% | +6.8% |
| 1980 | 33.1% | +0.8% |
| 1981 | 35.4% | +6.7% |
| 1982 | 34.6% | -2.1% |
| 1983 | 34.2% | -1.1% |
| 1984 | 32.6% | -4.6% |
| 1985 | 34.0% | +4.1% |
| 1986 | 33.7% | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 34.3% | +1.9% |
| 1988 | 28.2% | -17.7% |
| 1989 | 29.2% | +3.4% |
| 1990 | 30.8% | +5.5% |
| 1991 | 32.7% | +6.3% |
| 1992 | 34.7% | +6.0% |
| 1993 | 35.4% | +2.0% |
| 1994 | 37.6% | +6.4% |
| 1995 | 51.4% | +36.6% |
| 1996 | 61.1% | +18.8% |
| 1999 | 66.2% | +8.4% |
| 2000 | 64.4% | -2.8% |
| 2001 | 66.1% | +2.7% |
| 2002 | 69.5% | +5.1% |
| 2004 | 60.9% | -12.4% |
| 2005 | 60.9% | -0.0% |
| 2006 | 60.7% | -0.3% |
| 2007 | 61.9% | +1.9% |
| 2008 | 67.1% | +8.5% |
| 2009 | 68.1% | +1.5% |
| 2010 | 65.9% | -3.3% |
| 2011 | 70.2% | +6.6% |
| 2012 | 73.5% | +4.8% |
| 2013 | 77.6% | +5.6% |
| 2014 | 77.7% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 76.6% | -1.5% |
| 2021 | 86.0% | +12.4% |
| 2023 | 68.4% | -20.5% |
| 2024 | 70.1% | +2.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 70.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 60.1%, 1.2× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 70.1% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 70.7%, 99% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group) 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 | +36.6% | 37.6% | 51.4% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 27.0% | 21.3% | 32.9% | 6 |
| 1980s | 32.9% | 28.2% | 35.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 43.7% | 30.8% | 66.2% | 8 |
| 2000s | 64.4% | 60.7% | 69.5% | 9 |
| 2010s | 73.6% | 65.9% | 77.7% | 6 |
| 2020s | 74.8% | 68.4% | 86.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More aid effectiveness data for Malawi
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Austria 239,066 current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Belgium 3.64 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Canada 9.93 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, European Union institutions 152.37 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Switzerland 1.48 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Germany 61.90 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, France 2.22 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, United Kingdom 40.03 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Italy 1.48 million current US$ (2023)
- Net bilateral aid flows from DAC donors, Japan 43.98 million current US$ (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary completion rate, total in Malawi?
- Primary completion rate, total in Malawi was 70.1% in 2024, according to Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).
- What is the highest primary completion rate, total recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 86.0% in 2021.
- What is the lowest primary completion rate, total recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 21.3% in 1974.
- How does Malawi rank for primary completion rate, total?
- Malawi ranks 161st out of 189 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary completion rate, total rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 9.7%. 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 Primary completion rate, total (% of relevant age group). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Primary completion rate, or gross intake ratio to the last grade of primary education, is the number of new entrants (enrollments minus repeaters) in the last grade of primary education, regardless of age, divided by the population at the entrance age for the last grade of primary education. Data limitations preclude adjusting for students who drop out during the final year of primary education.