Malawi — Education spending
Government Education Spending (% of GDP) for Malawi, 1986–2022.
Education spending for Malawi was 2.75% in 2022, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 21 years, from 1986 to 2022. The highest recorded value was 3.85% in 2015. The lowest was 2.18% in 1988 (about 1.3× the low point). Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to 0.62% per year.
Malawi ranks 145 of 172 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 84%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 3.61%, so Malawi sits below it. It peaked in 2015 and has fallen 29% since. Over the last decade (2012–2022) the figure moved up 9%. Within Sub-Saharan Africa it ranks 31 of 41 economies; Sierra Leone (2.62%) is just below it. Its sharpest one-year move was up 47% in 2013. That is 14% below this series' own ten-year average.
Data highlights
Doubling roughly every 112 years at that pace.
World ranking. Slipped: 52nd of 60 in 1986 → 42nd of 50 in 1990 → 69th of 116 in 2000 → 112th of 130 in 2010 → 118th of 150 in 2022.
Key figures
Full history — 1986 to 2022
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2022 | 2.75% | -0.6 pp |
| 2018 | 3.32% | +0.6 pp |
| 2017 | 2.77% | -0.5 pp |
| 2016 | 3.28% | -0.6 pp |
| 2015 | 3.85% | +0.5 pp |
| 2014 | 3.33% | -0.4 pp |
| 2013 | 3.72% | +1.2 pp |
| 2012 | 2.53% | -0.3 pp |
| 2011 | 2.85% | +0.4 pp |
| 2010 | 2.43% | +0.2 pp |
| 2003 | 2.21% | -0.9 pp |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -0.5 pp |
| 2000 | 3.61% | +0.2 pp |
| 1999 | 3.43% | -0.3 pp |
| 1996 | 3.7% | +0.9 pp |
| 1995 | 2.75% | +0.5 pp |
| 1990 | 2.25% | +0.1 pp |
| 1989 | 2.18% | +0.0 pp |
| 1988 | 2.18% | -0.2 pp |
| 1987 | 2.42% | +0.2 pp |
| 1986 | 2.2% | — |
Frequently asked questions
What was Malawi’s Education spending in 1987?
2.42% (1987). The full year-by-year table above lists every published year, most recent first.
Are changes in this series measured in percentage points?
Yes. The series is a share expressed in % of GDP, so year-over-year movements in the Change column are percentage points (pp), not percent.
Is Malawi’s Education spending growing or shrinking?
Between 1986 and 2022 the series was growing overall: +25.1% in total — about 0.6% a year compounded.
Where does this data come from?
World Bank Open Data (CC BY-4.0), indicator SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS. Values are reproduced as published; this page only computes summary statistics such as change, CAGR and extremes.
What are the most recent published figures?
The last five published years: 2022: 2.75%; 2018: 3.32%; 2017: 2.77%; 2016: 3.28%; 2015: 3.85%. Earlier years are in the full-history table below.
Related data
SE.XPD.TOTL.GD.ZS — Government Education Spending (% of GDP). Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.