Malawi: Pupil-teacher ratio, primary

Key figures

What the numbers say

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 3.57 in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 4.94 in 2013. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2009 to 2018 the straight-line trend is downward, about 2.3 a year. A straight line explains 92% of the movement over 8 observed years.

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

How it compares

In 2018, Malawi had the 3rd highest value of the 83 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.

Closest to Malawi in the 2018 ranking

• Rwanda — 1st of 83: 59.51
• Mozambique — 3rd of 83: 55.27
• Tanzania — 4th of 83: 50.63
• Afghanistan — 5th of 83: 48.79

What this measures

Primary school pupil-teacher ratio is the average number of pupils per teacher in primary school.

Limitations: The comparability of pupil-teacher ratios across countries is affected by the definition of teachers and by differences in class size by grade and in the number of hours taught, as well as the different practices countries employ such as part-time teachers, school shifts, and multi-grade classes. Moreover, the underlying enrollment levels are subject to a variety of reporting errors.

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

All 11 values

Pupil-teacher ratio, primary in nearby economies

• Angola — 50.03 (2015)
• Benin — 39.2 (2018)
• Botswana — 23.71 (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 39.72 (2018)
• Burundi — 42.52 (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 21.07 (2018)
• Cameroon — 44.83 (2018)
• Central African Republic — 83.41 (2016)
• Chad — 56.89 (2016)
• Comoros — 28.06 (2018)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 33.2 (2015)

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 pupil-teacher ratio, primary?

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

How has it changed since 1999?

It is down 7.18% from 63.22 in 1999 (0.39% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 80.68 in 2009 and the lowest 58.68 in 2018.

How does Malawi rank?

3rd highest of 83 economies with data for 2018.

Where does this data come from?

The World Bank's World Development Indicators, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS).

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.PRM.ENRL.TC.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Stat Bulk Data Download Service, UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), uri: https://uis.unesco.org/bdds, publisher: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (UIS) 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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