Country profile

Malawi

Sub-Saharan Africa Low income21.66M inhabitants

Last updated December 22, 2025

Composite GEFRI Score

Critically unprepared

Malawi is critically unprepared for education futures (11th percentile worldwide). Core capabilities are weak across most dimensions, and essential systems face significant constraints. Higher scores indicate a system that is better prepared to anticipate and shape the future of learning.

23.03Composite score

Global percentile: 11th
Global rank: #159
Regional rank: #31
Viewing data for

Infrastructure

16.25

3rd percentileGlobal avg. 56.42

Human Capital

25.16

10th percentileGlobal avg. 46.98

Innovation

24.59

12th percentileGlobal avg. 42.60

Governance

39.15

35th percentileGlobal avg. 47.71

Access & Parity

10.00

31st percentileGlobal avg. 50.60

Country profile

Malawi trails global peers in Human Capital (25, 10th percentile), Innovation (25, 12th percentile), and Infrastructure (16, 3rd percentile). A coordinated reform effort is needed to strengthen education futures readiness.

Uneven scores across dimensions highlight areas that need targeted coordination. Limited electricity or internet coverage still constrains classrooms, preventing large-scale digital instruction. Literacy or tertiary enrollment gaps thin the talent pipeline and limit the country’s capacity to develop future-ready skills.

Sparse R&D investment and a small research workforce slow experimentation and delay new ideas from reaching learners. Policy execution and regulatory capacity remain weak, leaving reforms fragmented and hard to sustain. Gender parity leans toward boys in secondary pathways, signalling persistent barriers for girls.

Regionally, Infrastructure lags peers the most, signalling where investment could have the highest impact.

Note: Most indicators rely on observed data, offering a dependable evidence base for decisions.

Key insights

Falls below many peers at the 11th percentile.
Places 159th worldwide.
Holds a regional position of 31st within Sub-Saharan Africa .
Scores range from Governance (39.1) to Access & Parity (10.0), reflecting variation across dimensions.
Trails regional peers most clearly in Infrastructure.

Regional peers: Sub-Saharan Africa

Composite GEFRI score

Global rank	Regional rank	Country	Score
67	1	South Africa	57.14
68	2	Mauritius	56.87
—	—	SeychellesMicrostate	55.72
74	3	Botswana	55.44
108	4	Namibia	43.86
111	5	Ghana	40.92
113	6	Cabo Verde	39.81
115	7	Sierra Leone	38.84
—	—	Sao Tome and PrincipeFCSMicrostate	38.53
119	8	Eswatini	37.54
127	9	Senegal	35.31
128	10	Gabon	34.39
130	11	Rwanda	33.46
132	12	Kenya	33.01
136	13	Cote d'Ivoire	31.71
138	14	Gambia, The	30.79
140	15	Lesotho	29.76
141	16	Equatorial Guinea	29.48
142	17	Benin	29.14
143	18	Zambia	28.93
144	19	ZimbabweFCS	28.92
146	20	Tanzania	28.51
147	21	Togo	28.14
148	22	CameroonFCS	27.69
150	23	Mauritania	25.98
151	24	ComorosFCS	25.84
152	25	Angola	25.63
154	26	Congo, Rep.FCS	24.72
155	27	MozambiqueFCS	24.40
156	28	NigeriaFCS	24.09
157	29	EthiopiaFCS	24.04
158	30	Madagascar	23.66
159	31	Malawi	23.03
160	32	MaliFCS	23.02
161	33	Burkina FasoFCS	22.80
162	34	Uganda	22.60
164	35	Guinea	22.13
166	36	Liberia	21.10
167	37	NigerFCS	20.37
168	38	SudanFCS	20.10
169	39	BurundiFCS	18.87
170	40	Guinea-BissauFCS	18.69
171	41	EritreaFCS	18.19
172	42	Congo, Dem. Rep.FCS	17.22
174	43	ChadFCS	15.73
175	44	South SudanFCS	15.65
176	45	Somalia, Fed. Rep.FCS	14.75
177	46	Central African RepublicFCS	13.33