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Malawi

Republic of Malawi

Capital
Lilongwe
Region
Sub-Saharan Africa
Income group
Low income
Population
22.2M (2025)
Area
118,484 km²
Currency
Malawian kwacha (MWK)
Data refreshed 11 Sep 2026Updated 7 h ago88 % coverage · 222 indicatorsLandlocked
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At a glance

Twelve headline indicators, latest available year.

Population
61st of 218 · 18th in Sub-Saharan Africa
GDP
143rd of 187 · 30th in Sub-Saharan Africa
GDP per capita
182nd of 187 · 41st in Sub-Saharan Africa
GDP growth
137th of 187 · 40th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Inflation
172nd of 177 · 40th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Unemployment
92nd of 185 · 22nd in Sub-Saharan Africa
Life expectancy
171st of 217 · 13th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Median age
201st of 216 · 34th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Gross debt / GDP
74th of 94 · 17th in Sub-Saharan Africa
CO₂ per capita
9th of 212 · 5th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Renewable electricity
14th of 193 · 6th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Internet users
173rd of 182 · 38th in Sub-Saharan Africa

What changed in Malawi

Statistically notable movements in the latest data.

  1. Record high2023Major
    Median age reached a record high of 17.6 years in 2023 (series since 1950).
  2. Record high2025Major
    GDP reached a record high of US$ 14.9B in 2025 (series since 1980).
  3. Sharp rise2023Major
    Median age rose 0.2 years to 17.6 years in 2023 (largest rise on record).
  4. Record high2025Major
    Population reached a record high of 22.2M people in 2025 (series since 1960).
  5. Sharp drop2023Major
    Air pollution (PM2.5) fell 17.1 % to 16.7 µg/m³ in 2023 (largest drop on record).
  6. Sharp rise2023Major
    Fertilizer consumption rose 268.4 % to 87 kg/ha in 2023 (largest rise on record).
  7. Record high2024Notable
    Life expectancy reached a record high of 67.6 years in 2024 (series since 1960).
  8. Sharp drop2024Notable
    Manufacturing share fell 1.8 points to 11.0 % in 2024 (largest drop on record).

Countries similar to Malawi

Nearest peers by standardised distance on the selected dimension.

Not enough data to compute peers.

Country DNA

Percentile rank among all countries on nine dimensions. Descriptive, not a score.

DNA not available for this country yet.

Key facts

Computed from the data — no model-generated numbers.

No verified insights yet.

Borders: Mozambique, Tanzania, Zambia

Languages: Chewa, English

Timeline

Records, reversals and turning points across the whole history.

No events detected.

Explore Malawi by topic

19 topics · 256 indicators with data.