Sub-Saharan Africa · Low income
Malawi: key statistics
Malawi has 22.2m people (2025) and a GDP per person of $672. Below: 80 indicators with the latest year, world rank and change over ten years.
- Capital
- Lilongwe
- Region
- Sub-Saharan Africa
- Income group
- Low income
- Currency
- Malawian kwacha MWK
- Languages
- English, Chewa, Tumbuka
- ISO codes
- MWMWI
- Land neighbours
- Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia
Population22.2m2025 · rank 60 of 217GDP$14.9bn2025 · rank 148 of 211GDP per capita$6722025 · rank 205 of 211Life expectancy67.6 yrs2024 · rank 171 of 217Internet users19.0%2024 · rank 178 of 188Fertility3.592024 · rank 41 of 217CO₂ per person0.22 t2024 · rank 179 of 203Inflation28.4%2025 · rank 9 of 180
topic profiles
Malawi, topic by topic
Each profile brings together the indicators of one topic with world and regional rank, values since 2000, group averages and a comparison with neighbours.
Population
Malawi
GDP per capita
MalawiSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Life expectancy
MalawiSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
Internet users
MalawiSub-Saharan AfricaWorld
all indicators
Malawi by topic
World rank counts countries with a value in the recent window; regional rank is within Sub-Saharan Africa.
PopulationFull population profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 22.2m | 2025 | 60/217 | 18/48 | +30% | 8.2bn | |
| Population growth | 2.56% | 2025 | 23/217 | 14/48 | −0.2 pp | 0.91% | |
| Urban share | 17.6% | 2025 | 214/217 | 48/48 | +1.8 pp | 57.8% | |
| Fertility | 3.59 | 2024 | 41/217 | 38/48 | −21% | 2.19 | |
| Aged 65+ | 2.6% | 2025 | 207/217 | 42/48 | −0.5 pp | 10.4% | |
| Aged 0–14 | 40.1% | 2025 | 25/217 | 23/48 | −5.3 pp | 24.4% | |
| Density | 229.7 | 2024 | 61/216 | 10/48 | +30% | 62.1 | |
| Birth rate | 31.1 | 2024 | 26/217 | 24/48 | −15% | 16.3 | |
| Area | 118,484 km² | 2024 | 101/216 | 32/48 | ±0.0% | 140,539,257 km² |
EconomyFull economy profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $14.9bn | 2025 | 148/211 | 30/46 | +62% | $118tn | |
| GDP per capita | $672 | 2025 | 205/211 | 41/46 | +24% | $14,406 | |
| GDP per capita, PPP | $1,899 | 2025 | 195/199 | 42/46 | +35% | $25,704 | |
| GNI per capita | $600 | 2025 | 196/201 | 42/46 | +18% | $14,244 | |
| GDP growth | 1.9% | 2025 | 148/210 | 40/46 | −0.9 pp | 2.9% | |
| GDP per capita growth | -0.7% | 2025 | 187/210 | 42/46 | −0.7 pp | 2.0% | |
| Agriculture share | 30.0% | 2025 | 12/198 | 10/45 | +7.0 pp | 4.0% | |
| Industry share | 14.3% | 2025 | 165/201 | 42/45 | −3.3 pp | 25.0% | |
| Services share | 48.7% | 2025 | 154/201 | 23/45 | −4.5 pp | 63.3% | |
| Investment | 15.7% | 2025 | 152/175 | 33/43 | — | 26.3% | |
| Savings | 3.9% | 2025 | 155/163 | 36/39 | — | 26.0% |
Prices & public financeFull prices & public finance profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inflation | 28.4% | 2025 | 9/180 | 5/44 | +6.5 pp | 3.0% | |
| Real interest rate | 10.0% | 2024 | 23/136 | 9/36 | −9.3 pp | — | |
| Lending rate | 37.1% | 2024 | 5/136 | 3/36 | −7.2 pp | — | |
| Exchange rate | 1,161.09 | 2023 | 26/210 | 10/47 | +219% | — | |
| Government debt | 61.8% | 2023 | 28/78 | 5/15 | +36.9 pp | — | |
| Tax revenue | 15.6% | 2024 | 77/142 | 12/32 | +4.6 pp | 13.9% | |
| Government expense | 20.2% | 2022 | 99/142 | 13/32 | +8.3 pp | 28.5% | |
| External debt | 35.2% | 2024 | 80/119 | 29/43 | +16.0 pp | — | |
| Military spending | 1.15% | 2025 | 106/156 | 27/45 | +0.7 pp | 2.48% |
Trade & investmentFull trade & investment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Exports | 10.6% | 2025 | 175/184 | 41/43 | — | 29.5% | |
| Imports | 28.8% | 2025 | 138/184 | 27/43 | — | 28.5% | |
| Trade openness | 39.4% | 2025 | 163/184 | 35/43 | — | 68.5% | |
| Current account | -14.0% | 2025 | 167/185 | 39/42 | −2.4 pp | — | |
| FDI inflows | 3.6% | 2025 | 60/197 | 17/46 | +0.4 pp | 1.4% | |
| Remittances | 2.0% | 2025 | 97/178 | 25/41 | +1.6 pp | 0.8% | |
| Tourist arrivals | 871,000 | 2018 | 105/196 | 12/42 | +17% | 2.4bn |
LabourFull labour profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Unemployment | 5.1% | 2025 | 99/187 | 26/47 | +0.1 pp | 4.8% | |
| Youth unemployment | 6.9% | 2025 | 145/187 | 28/47 | +0.2 pp | 13.4% | |
| Participation rate | 62.6% | 2025 | 86/187 | 26/47 | −4.4 pp | 61.0% | |
| Women's participation | 58.2% | 2025 | 60/187 | 23/47 | −4.0 pp | 48.9% |
Aid, poverty & equalityFull aid, poverty & equality profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Net ODA received | $1.7bn | 2023 | 24/145 | 12/48 | +53% | $259bn | |
| ODA, % of GNI | 13.1% | 2023 | 20/139 | 8/47 | −1.2 pp | 0.2% | |
| ODA per person | $82.0 | 2023 | 58/145 | 18/48 | +17% | $32.2 | |
| Extreme poverty | 75.4% | 2019 | 4/151 | 4/44 | +1.0 pp | 10.1% | |
| Poverty, $4.20/day | 87.3% | 2019 | 4/151 | 4/44 | +0.6 pp | 18.2% | |
| National poverty rate | 47.3% | 2024 | 21/145 | 18/45 | −3.4 pp | — | |
| Gini index | 38.5 | 2019 | 49/151 | 22/44 | −3.5% | — | |
| Undernourishment | 24.5% | 2024 | 16/167 | 11/44 | +9.0 pp | 8.1% | |
| Women in parliament | 21.4% | 2025 | 117/190 | 27/46 | +4.8 pp | 27.2% |
EducationFull education profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 70.2% | 2020 | 115/141 | 22/41 | +6.0 pp | 87.7% | |
| Female literacy | 62.7% | 2020 | 120/147 | 21/41 | +8.7 pp | 84.6% | |
| Primary enrolment | 139.0% | 2024 | 3/191 | 3/41 | −1.7 pp | 102.2% | |
| Secondary enrolment | 36.6% | 2023 | 168/176 | 26/34 | −1.2 pp | 77.3% | |
| Tertiary enrolment | 2.7% | 2022 | 171/172 | 34/34 | +1.9 pp | 43.6% | |
| Primary completion | 70.1% | 2024 | 149/168 | 21/36 | −7.6 pp | 88.0% | |
| Pupils per teacher | 58.7 | 2018 | 3/173 | 3/40 | −25% | 23.4 | |
| Education spending | 2.7% | 2022 | 153/184 | 31/43 | +0.2 pp | 3.6% |
HealthFull health profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Life expectancy | 67.6 yrs | 2024 | 171/217 | 13/48 | +9.6% | 73.5 yrs | |
| Infant mortality | 38.0 | 2024 | 29/196 | 24/48 | −7.5% | 27.7 | |
| Under-5 mortality | 48.8 | 2024 | 30/196 | 25/48 | −19% | 37.4 | |
| Maternal mortality | 225 | 2023 | 36/194 | 32/48 | −45% | 197 | |
| Health spending | 6.5% | 2023 | 96/193 | 13/48 | −1.7 pp | 10.1% | |
| Health spending per person | $41.3 | 2023 | 178/193 | 36/48 | +4.4% | $1,317 | |
| Physicians | 0.05 | 2022 | 178/180 | 44/46 | +200% | 1.86 | |
| Measles vaccination | 89% | 2024 | 106/193 | 13/48 | +4.0 pp | 84% | |
| HIV prevalence | 6.2% | 2024 | 9/153 | 9/44 | −3.7 pp | 0.7% | |
| Child stunting | 35.5% | 2020 | 19/154 | 12/46 | −11.8 pp | — | |
| Basic water | 73.1% | 2024 | 182/206 | 24/46 | +7.9 pp | 91.5% | |
| Basic sanitation | 49.2% | 2024 | 166/203 | 14/46 | +17.4 pp | 82.2% |
Digital & energy accessFull digital & energy access profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Internet users | 19.0% | 2024 | 178/188 | 38/46 | +13.1 pp | 73.6% | |
| Mobile subscriptions | 69.3 | 2024 | 183/210 | 36/48 | +104% | 111.5 | |
| Fixed broadband | 0.1 | 2024 | 196/208 | 39/48 | +68% | 20.1 | |
| Electricity access | 15.6% | 2024 | 213/215 | 46/48 | +3.7 pp | 91.9% | |
| Clean cooking | 2.0% | 2024 | 185/192 | 41/48 | ±0.0 pp | 75.4% |
EnvironmentFull environment profile
| Indicator | Value | Year | World rank | In region | 10-year change | World | Since 2000 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CO₂ per person | 0.22 t | 2024 | 179/203 | 32/47 | −26% | 4.69 t | |
| Renewable energy | 62.9% | 2022 | 33/212 | 29/48 | −17.3 pp | 19.7% | |
| Renewable power | 80.1% | 2021 | 29/206 | 13/48 | −18.7 pp | 27.8% | |
| Forest cover | 22.0% | 2024 | 127/214 | 25/48 | −4.5 pp | 31.1% | |
| Arable land | 42.4% | 2024 | 12/206 | 6/48 | +4.2 pp | 10.7% | |
| Water withdrawals | 8.4% | 2022 | 94/177 | 16/47 | ±0.0 pp | 9.0% |
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
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