Malawi: Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort)

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 24.64 percentage points in 2007 and the biggest yearly fall was 22.53 percentage points in 1992. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.

Closest to Malawi in the 2018 ranking

• Timor-Leste — 3rd of 8: 93.27%
• Solomon Islands — 4th of 8: 82.38%
• United Arab Emirates — 5th of 8: 80.87%
• Pakistan — 7th of 8: 65.29%
• Madagascar — 8th of 8: 31.57%

What this measures

Persistence to grade 5 (percentage of cohort reaching grade 5) is the share of children enrolled in the first grade of primary school who eventually reach grade 5. The estimate is based on the reconstructed cohort method.

Limitations: The estimates have limitations in capturing real trend in that an observed rate will be applied to the underlying indicators such as repetition rate and promotion rate throughout the cohort life, and re-entrants, grade skipping, migration or transfers during a school year are not adequately captured.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 37 values

Persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort) in nearby economies

• Benin — 62.67% (2021)
• Burkina Faso — 43.4% (2022)
• Burundi — 59.9% (2019)
• Cabo Verde — 95.73% (2021)
• Cameroon — 74.47% (2023)
• Chad — 78.6% (2017)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 76.94% (2020)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 68.04% (2021)
• Eritrea — 79.98% (2017)
• Eswatini — 97.35% (2018)

More education data for Malawi

• Primary school starting age (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Lower secondary school starting age (years) — 12 (2025)
• Secondary education, duration (years) — 6 (2025)
• Primary education, pupils — 4.75 million (2024)
• School enrollment, primary (% gross) — 139.02% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, female (% gross) — 140.69% (2024)
• School enrollment, primary, male (% gross) — 137.34% (2024)
• Secondary education, pupils — 1.16 million (2023)
• School enrollment, secondary (% gross) — 36.64% (2023)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Malawi's persistence to grade 5, total (% of cohort)?

71.67% in 2018, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1973?

It is up 24.14 percentage points from 47.52% in 1973. The highest value was 71.67% in 2018 and the lowest 30.09% in 1982.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API..

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.PRS5.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Data API, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://databrowser.uis.unesco.org/resources, note: The data are obtained through the UIS API. Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.

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