Malawi's forest cover fell from 35.4 % in 1994 to 22.4 % in 2023.
Malawi · Environment
Forests, air quality, land, water and protected areas.
10 indicators · 10 with data
Land
Malawi's forest area fell from 33,337 km in 1994 to 21,157 km in 2023.
Terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area)
% of land area
63rd of 213 · 17th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Malawi's terrestrial protected areas (% of total land area) rose from 16.9 % in 2013 to 23.1 % in 2025.
Malawi's agricultural land (% of land area) rose from 43.2 % in 1994 to 64.2 % in 2023.
Malawi's arable land (% of land area) rose from 22.3 % in 1994 to 42.4 % in 2023.
Air
Malawi's air pollution (pm2.5) fell from 17.4 in 1994 to 16.7 in 2023.
Water
Malawi's water stress rose from 5.8 % in 1994 to 8.4 % in 2022.
Renewable internal freshwater resources per capita
cubic metres per person
140th of 181 · 35th in Sub-Saharan Africa
Malawi's renewable internal freshwater resources per capita fell from 1,569 in 1993 to 784.7 in 2022.
Access
Malawi's safe drinking water rose from 6.9 % in 2000 to 18.2 % in 2024.
Malawi's safe sanitation rose from 7.8 % in 2000 to 46.2 % in 2024.