ECONDEX

Economic and development data for every country, explained with the numbers checked.

Malawi

Sub-Saharan Africa. Low income. Capital: Lilongwe. Population 22,216,120 (2025).

Key trends

GDP per person (PPP) (constant international $)
1,152 1,415 1,677 1995 2025 1,623
GDP growth (%)
−4.5 5.9 16.3 1995 2025 1.9
Inflation, consumer prices (% annual)
9.1 45.5 81.8 1995 2025 28.4
Life expectancy at birth (years)
44.3 55.7 67.1 1995 2024 67.6

Indicators

Each country reports for different years, so check the year beside every figure. Rank 1 is the highest value among countries with recent data.

Economy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
GDP per person (PPP)constant international $ 1,623 2025 −33 +25 195 of 199
GDP growth% 1.9% 2025 +1.1 pp −0.9 pp 147 of 209
GDP per person growth% −0.7% 2025 +1.1 pp −0.7 pp 186 of 209
GNI per person (Atlas method)current US$ 600 2025 +40 +90 196 of 201
Trade% of GDP 39.4% 2025 −1.6 pp −5.9 pp 162 of 183
Foreign direct investment, net inflows% of GDP 3.6% 2025 +1.4 pp +0.4 pp 60 of 195
Central government debt% of GDP 61.8% 2023 +20.1 pp +36.9 pp 22 of 48

Prices and jobs

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Inflation, consumer prices% annual 28.4% 2025 +19.7 pp +6.5 pp 9 of 180
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate)% of labour force 5.1% 2025 −0.6 pp +0.1 pp 98 of 186

People and health

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Populationpeople 22,216,120 2025 +2,682,232 +5,130,533 60 of 217
Population growth% annual 2.6% 2025 −0.1 pp −0.2 pp 23 of 217
Urban population% of total 17.6% 2025 +1.3 pp +1.8 pp 214 of 217
Life expectancy at birthyears 67.6 2024 +2.6 +5.9 171 of 217
Infant mortalityper 1,000 live births 38.0 2024 −0.3 −3.1 29 of 196
Health spending% of GDP 6.5% 2023 −0.3 pp −1.7 pp 96 of 193

Education

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Adult literacy rate% of people aged 15+ 70.2% 2020 * −2.7 pp – –
Government spending on education% of GDP 2.7% 2022 0.0 pp +0.2 pp 140 of 171

Access and infrastructure

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Internet users% of population 19.0% 2024 +7.9 pp +13.1 pp 176 of 185
Access to electricity% of population 15.6% 2024 +4.4 pp +3.7 pp 213 of 215

Inequality and poverty

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Gini index (inequality)index, 0 to 100 38.5 2019 * −6.2 −7.0 –
Poverty headcount ratio% of population, at the World Bank international poverty line 75.4% 2019 * +3.7 pp +2.5 pp –

Environment and energy

IndicatorLatestYear 5-yr change10-yr change RankTrend
Renewable energy% of final energy consumption 62.9% 2022 −14.0 pp −17.3 pp 33 of 212

* Latest figure is too old to be included in rankings or peer medians.

Advanced metrics

Indicator Own history Versus peers (latest) Growth and catch-up
10-yr meanZ-score Income group medianRegion medianVolatility (σ) 10-yr CAGR% of high-income median10 yrs earlier
GDP per person (PPP) 1,642 −0.6 1,964 3,781 33 +0.2% 3% 4%
GDP growth 2.9% −0.6 5.0% 4.6% 1.7 – – –
GDP per person growth 0.2% −0.6 2.4% 2.5% 1.6 – – –
GNI per person (Atlas method) 547 +1.0 830 1,355 53 +1.6% 2% 2%
Trade 43.3% −2.7 50.2% 59.9% 1.4 – – –
Foreign direct investment, net inflows 1.6% +2.2 2.8% 2.0% 0.9 – – –
Central government debt 36.8% +2.4 58.1% 58.1% 10.4 – – –
Inflation, consumer prices 17.7% +1.2 5.9% 3.5% 8.6 – – –
Unemployment (modelled ILO estimate) 5.1% −0.3 4.4% 5.4% 0.3 – – –
Population 19,314,652 +1.9 24,074,580 14,957,094 1,535,601 +2.7% 758% 650%
Population growth 2.6% −1.3 2.6% 2.3% 0.1 – – –
Urban population 16.4% +2.5 34.5% 44.9% 0.5 – – –
Life expectancy at birth 64.4 +1.9 63.8 64.3 1.7 – – –
Infant mortality 38.8 −0.9 43.0 37.2 0.9 – – –
Health spending 7.1% −1.1 4.9% 4.4% 0.6 – – –
Government spending on education 3.3% −1.1 2.8% 3.3% 0.5 – – –
Internet users 10.9% +1.7 20.5% 36.8% 4.8 – – –
Access to electricity 13.1% +1.1 43.7% 57.8% 2.4 – – –
Renewable energy 76.6% −3.0 76.9% 70.6% 4.6 – – –

Compare Malawi with other countries