Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in Malawi
Malawi: Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index was 1.02 index in 2024. ▲ Rising
Latest (2024)
1.02 index
Change on year
up 0.2%
World rank
30th
of 215 countries
All-time high
1.04 index
in 2021
All-time low
0.5972 index
in 1972
Years of data
50
1972–2024
Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in Malawi, 1972–2024
Source: UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in index.
Analysis
In 2024, primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in Malawi stood at 1.02 index.
The figure is up 0.2% on the previous year and up 2.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in Malawi peaked at 1.04 index in 2021 and was at its lowest, 0.5972 index, in 1972.
That places Malawi 30th out of 215 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 50 years of available data.
Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in Malawi, year by year
| Year | index | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1972 | 0.5972 index | — |
| 1973 | 0.6095 index | +2.1% |
| 1974 | 0.6373 index | +4.6% |
| 1975 | 0.6472 index | +1.6% |
| 1976 | 0.6654 index | +2.8% |
| 1977 | 0.6871 index | +3.3% |
| 1978 | 0.7022 index | +2.2% |
| 1979 | 0.7091 index | +1.0% |
| 1980 | 0.7189 index | +1.4% |
| 1981 | 0.7402 index | +3.0% |
| 1982 | 0.7574 index | +2.3% |
| 1983 | 0.7744 index | +2.2% |
| 1984 | 0.783 index | +1.1% |
| 1985 | 0.7846 index | +0.2% |
| 1986 | 0.8068 index | +2.8% |
| 1987 | 0.8244 index | +2.2% |
| 1988 | 0.8392 index | +1.8% |
| 1989 | 0.8408 index | +0.2% |
| 1990 | 0.8418 index | +0.1% |
| 1991 | 0.8502 index | +1.0% |
| 1992 | 0.8542 index | +0.5% |
| 1993 | 0.925 index | +8.3% |
| 1994 | 0.9441 index | +2.1% |
| 1995 | 0.898 index | -4.9% |
| 1996 | 0.9006 index | +0.3% |
| 1999 | 0.9318 index | +3.5% |
| 2000 | 0.941 index | +1.0% |
| 2001 | 0.9412 index | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.9318 index | -1.0% |
| 2004 | 0.9828 index | +5.5% |
| 2005 | 0.9807 index | -0.2% |
| 2006 | 0.9899 index | +0.9% |
| 2007 | 0.986 index | -0.4% |
| 2008 | 0.9798 index | -0.6% |
| 2009 | 0.9869 index | +0.7% |
| 2010 | 0.9971 index | +1.0% |
| 2011 | 1 index | +0.4% |
| 2012 | 0.9991 index | -0.2% |
| 2013 | 0.9958 index | -0.3% |
| 2014 | 0.9951 index | -0.1% |
| 2015 | 0.9952 index | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1 index | +0.6% |
| 2017 | 1.01 index | +0.5% |
| 2018 | 0.9866 index | -1.9% |
| 2019 | 1 index | +1.8% |
| 2020 | 1.01 index | +0.3% |
| 2021 | 1.04 index | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 1.03 index | -0.7% |
| 2023 | 1.02 index | -0.9% |
| 2024 | 1.02 index | +0.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 1.02 index is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.9495 index, 1.1× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 1.02 index is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.9709 index, 1.1× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 0.6569 index | 0.5972 index | 0.7091 index | 8 |
| 1980s | 0.787 index | 0.7189 index | 0.8408 index | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.8932 index | 0.8418 index | 0.9441 index | 8 |
| 2000s | 0.9689 index | 0.9318 index | 0.9899 index | 9 |
| 2010s | 0.9982 index | 0.9866 index | 1.01 index | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.02 index | 1.01 index | 1.04 index | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More health data for Malawi
- Un projection of annual infant deaths, annual growth rate -0.8368 % change on previous year (2100)
- Heat deaths vs projected death rates, annual growth rate 0.9312 % change on previous year (2090)
- Estimated changes in temperature-related death rates compared to projected death rates 856.3 deaths per 1,000 people (2090)
- Number of infants who die before age 1 6,399 deaths (2100)
- Neonatal tetanus - number of reported cases, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, annual growth rate 1.61 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, female, per capita 0.0714 units per person (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, annual growth rate 1.63 % change on previous year (2025)
- Population ages 00-04, male, per unit of GDP 0.0001 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in Malawi?
- Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index in Malawi was 1.02 index in 2024, according to UNESCO Institute for Statistics (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 1.04 index in 2021.
- What is the lowest primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.5972 index in 1972.
- How does Malawi rank for primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index?
- Malawi ranks 30th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 2.7%. 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 (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Primary school life expectancy, adjusted gender parity index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 50 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
An adjusted gender parity index of 1 indicates equality in the expected number of years a child of school entrance age is likely to spend in primary school between boys and girls. Values below 1 favor boys, and above 1 favor girls.