Malawi: Secondary education, general pupils

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2018, Malawi's secondary education, general pupils rose 4.2% on 2017 (from 998,940 to 1.04 million).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1984 to 2017), the average change was +5.8% and a typical year strayed about 10.3% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.2 standard deviations below that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.

On record, the biggest yearly rise was 48.7% in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 12.5% in 2000. 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 upward, about 43,999 a year. A straight line explains 97% of the movement over 10 observed years.

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

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 1.18 million for 2021. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2016 to 2018 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 25,133, against 42,257 for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2018, Malawi had the 27th highest value of the 85 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

• Burkina Faso — 23rd of 85: 1.25 million
• Mozambique — 24th of 85: 1.2 million
• Senegal — 25th of 85: 1.06 million
• Tunisia — 27th of 85: 962,180
• Cambodia — 28th of 85: 955,656
• Mali — 29th of 85: 918,775

What this measures

Secondary general pupils are the number of secondary students enrolled in general education programs, including teacher training.

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

All 46 values

Secondary education, general pupils in nearby economies

• Angola — 1.75 million (2016)
• Benin — 965,124 (2016)
• Botswana — 169,489 (2015)
• Burkina Faso — 1.25 million (2018)
• Burundi — 606,024 (2018)
• Cabo Verde — 52,143 (2018)
• Cameroon — 1.73 million (2016)
• Central African Republic — 132,695 (2017)
• Chad — 527,321 (2016)
• Comoros — 73,695 (2018)
• Congo, Dem. Rep.

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
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Malawi's secondary education, general pupils?

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

How has it changed since 1971?

It is up 1,685% from 58,329 in 1971 (6.32% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was 1.04 million in 2018 and the lowest 58,329 in 1971.

How does Malawi rank?

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator SE.SEC.ENRL.GC, 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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