School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Malawi
Malawi: School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes was 2.26 years in 2019. ▲ Rising
School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Malawi, 1972–2019
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics. Measured in years.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 2.26 years for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 8.0% on the previous year and up 12.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Malawi peaked at 2.54 years in 2015 and was at its lowest, 0.6264 years, in 1974.
That places Malawi 186th out of 198 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 46 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.7232 years | 0.6264 years | 0.8406 years | 8 |
| 1980s | 1.01 years | 0.9543 years | 1.05 years | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.42 years | 1 years | 2.32 years | 9 |
| 2000s | 1.86 years | 1.7 years | 2 years | 9 |
| 2010s | 2.33 years | 2.07 years | 2.54 years | 10 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More reference data data for Malawi
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.606 °C (2026)
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.0372 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.3659 °C (2026)
- Consumer price index 1,313 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.9529 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.5269 °C (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Annual precipitation 1,549 millimeters (2025)
- Civil liberties rating 3 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Malawi?
- School life expectancy, secondary, both sexes in Malawi was 2.26 years in 2019, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics.
- What is the highest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 2.54 years in 2015.
- What is the lowest school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.6264 years in 1974.
- How does Malawi rank for school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes?
- Malawi ranks 186th out of 198 countries with data for 2019.
- Is school life expectancy, secondary, both sexes rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 12.9%. 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, secondary, both sexes (years). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 46 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.