Sub-Saharan Africa · Low income

Malawi: the economy in numbers

Per person: $672, or $1,899 at purchasing power parity. Population: 22.2 million (2025).

$14.9B+1.9%real GDP growth, 2025

GDP in 2025, current US dollars: #146 of 204 economies. IMF forecast for 2026: +2.6%.

GDP per capita

$672

2025 · #198 of 204

GDP per capita, PPP

$1,899

2025 · #193 of 197

Inflation

28.4%

2025 · IMF forecast 2026: 21.9%

Government debt

96.6%

2025 · % of GDP, general government

Population

22.2M

2025 · #60 of 217

Unemployment

5.1%

2025 · ILO estimate

Life expectancy

67.6 years

2024

GDP

Adjusted for US inflation, in 2025 dollars: $7.04 billion in 1980, $14.9 billion in 2025.

Current US dollars; “In 2025 dollars” removes US inflationSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

GDP per capita

In 2025 dollars: $1,124 per person in 1980, $672 in 2025.

GDP per capitaGDP per capita, PPP (international $)

PPP: purchasing power parity, international dollarsSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Real GDP growth

Average over 2016–2025: 2.8% a year. Years of falling GDP since 1961: 7 of 65.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Inflation

Consumer prices rose 40.6 times from 2000 to 2025. Highest annual inflation: 83.3% in 1995.

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)

Government debt, % of GDP

Highest since 2002: 101.5% of GDP in 2002. IMF forecast for 2031: 67.5%.

General government (IMF)Central government only (World Bank)

Shaded: IMF forecasts from 2026Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Population

1960: 3.63 million · 2025: 22.2 million.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Unemployment rate

1991: 4.9% · 2025: 5.1%.

% of the labor force, ILO modeled estimatesSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Life expectancy at birth

1960: 35.0 years · 2024: 67.6 years.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Exports of goods and services

2017: 12.7% · 2025: 10.6%.

% of GDPSource: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)

Data by year

Show the year-by-year table

Year	GDP	GDP per capita	Per capita, PPP	Real growth	Inflation	Gov. debt, % GDP	Population	Unemployment	Life expectancy	Exports, % GDP
2031				3.0%^f	13.0%^f	67.5%^f
2030				3.0%^f	15.7%^f	68.3%^f
2029				2.7%^f	17.3%^f	69.6%^f
2028				2.5%^f	20.6%^f	71.8%^f
2027				2.3%^f	25.0%^f	75.0%^f
2026				2.6%^f	21.9%^f	78.0%^f
2025	$14.9B	$672	$1,899	1.9%	28.4%	96.6%	22.2M	5.1%		10.6%
2024	$11.3B	$522	$1,860	1.7%	32.2%	86.5%	21.7M	5.1%	67.6	11.3%
2023	$13.4B	$633	$1,832	1.9%	28.8%	84.5%	21.1M	5.0%	67.4	11.2%
2022	$12.4B	$604	$1,778	0.9%	21.0%	75.7%	20.6M	5.0%	66.0	11.3%
2021	$12.4B	$617	$1,688	4.6%	9.3%	66.5%	20M	5.7%	64.8	12.7%
2020	$11.8B	$603	$1,513	0.8%	8.6%	53.9%	19.5M	5.7%	65.2	11.0%
2019	$11.1B	$581	$1,450	5.7%	9.4%	41.2%	19M	5.0%	65.0	13.0%
2018	$9.88B	$533	$1,364	4.4%	12.4%	40.8%	18.5M	5.0%	64.5	11.7%
2017	$8.94B	$496	$1,380	4.0%	11.5%	40.0%	18M	5.0%	63.9	12.7%
2016	$7.91B	$451	$1,410	2.5%	21.7%	37.1%	17.6M	5.0%	63.2
2015	$9.22B	$540	$1,403	2.8%	21.9%	35.5%	17.1M	5.0%	62.3
2014	$8.8B	$530	$1,506	5.6%	23.8%	33.5%	16.6M	5.0%	61.7
2013	$8.03B	$497	$1,558	5.4%	27.3%	35.3%	16.2M	5.0%	60.8
2012	$8.77B	$558	$1,464	1.9%	21.3%	28.6%	15.7M	4.9%	59.9
2011	$11.6B	$763	$1,516	4.9%	7.6%	20.0%	15.3M	4.8%	58.9
2010	$10.1B	$683	$1,458	6.9%	7.4%	19.3%	14.8M	4.8%	57.8
2009	$9.01B	$626	$1,388	8.3%	8.4%	23.5%	14.4M	4.7%	56.7
2008	$7.74B	$554	$1,311	7.6%	8.7%	23.5%	14M	4.8%	55.7
2007	$6.45B	$475	$1,231	9.6%	8.0%	18.9%	13.6M	4.9%	54.7
2006	$5.82B	$441	$1,124	4.7%	14.0%	17.9%	13.2M	5.0%	53.7
2005	$5.32B	$414	$1,071	3.3%	15.4%	70.9%	12.8M	4.9%	52.5
2004	$5.06B	$405	$1,033	5.4%	11.4%	74.7%	12.5M	5.0%	51.1
2003	$4.67B	$383	$979	5.7%	9.6%	84.7%	12.2M	5.2%	49.6
2002	$5.09B	$428	$931	1.7%	14.7%	101.5%	11.9M	5.2%	48.2
2001	$2.5B	$215	$924	−5.0%	22.7%		11.6M	5.2%	47.2
2000	$2.54B	$224	$974	1.6%	29.6%		11.3M	5.0%	46.2
1999	$2.58B	$234	$961	3.0%	44.8%		11M	5.0%	45.1
1998	$2.55B	$236	$941	3.9%	29.7%		10.8M	4.9%	44.3
1997	$3.88B	$367	$915	3.8%	9.1%		10.6M	4.7%	44.2
1996	$3.32B	$321	$884	7.3%	37.6%		10.4M	4.9%	44.0
1995	$2.03B	$200	$825	16.7%	83.3%		10.2M	4.9%	43.8
1994	$1.72B	$169	$692	−10.2%	34.6%		10.2M	5.4%	43.8
1993	$3.01B	$293	$746	9.7%	22.8%		10.3M	5.0%	43.6
1992	$2.62B	$258	$674	−7.3%	23.8%		10.1M	5.1%	43.6
1991	$3.21B	$326	$732	8.7%	12.6%		9.84M	4.9%	43.5
1990	$2.74B	$287	$672	5.7%	11.8%		9.55M		43.6
1989	$2.31B	$252		1.3%	12.4%		9.18M		43.5
1988	$2.01B	$229		3.2%	33.9%		8.75M		43.6
1987	$1.72B	$208		1.6%	25.2%		8.29M		43.9
1986	$1.72B	$218		−0.2%	14.0%		7.91M		44.3
1985	$1.65B	$216		4.6%	10.5%		7.62M		44.6
1984	$1.76B	$240		5.4%	20.0%		7.33M		44.8
1983	$1.78B	$252		3.7%	13.5%		7.05M		45.0
1982	$1.72B	$253		2.5%	9.8%		6.78M		44.8
1981	$1.8B	$276		−5.3%	11.8%		6.52M		44.7
1980	$1.8B	$287		0.4%	19.2%		6.27M		44.3
1979				4.4%			6.03M		43.7
1978				9.7%			5.81M		43.0
1977				4.9%			5.61M		42.0
1976				5.0%			5.44M		41.0
1975				6.1%			5.29M		40.1
1974				7.2%			5.14M		39.2
1973				2.3%			5.0M		38.4
1972				6.2%			4.87M		37.6
1971				16.2%			4.75M		37.1
1970				0.5%			4.63M		36.6
1969				5.9%			4.52M		36.3
1968				−1.9%			4.41M		36.1
1967				7.3%			4.3M		35.9
1966				13.2%			4.2M		35.8
1965				13.6%			4.1M		35.7
1964				2.7%			4.0M		35.7
1963				−1.4%			3.9M		35.6
1962				0.7%			3.81M		35.4
1961				7.6%			3.72M		35.2
1960							3.63M		35.0

e: IMF estimate; f: IMF forecast. Inflation: IMF data for 1980, World Bank for the other years.

Nearby economies in Sub-Saharan Africa

Nearest by distance between capitals, with GDP per capita.

Zimbabwe

$3,021 per person (2025)

Zambia

$1,318 per person (2025)

Tanzania

$1,319 per person (2025)

Comoros

$2,056 per person (2025)

Burundi

$234 per person (2025)

Mozambique

$627 per person (2025)

Rwanda

$1,124 per person (2025)

Eswatini

$4,108 per person (2025)

Angola · Benin · Botswana · Burkina Faso · Burundi · Cabo Verde · Cameroon · Central African Republic · Chad · Comoros · Côte d’Ivoire · DR Congo · Equatorial Guinea · Eritrea · Eswatini · Ethiopia · Gabon · Gambia · Ghana · Guinea · Guinea-Bissau · Kenya · Lesotho · Liberia · Madagascar · Malawi · Mali · Mauritania · Mauritius · Mozambique · Namibia · Niger · Nigeria · Republic of the Congo · Rwanda · Senegal · Seychelles · Sierra Leone · Somalia · South Africa · South Sudan · Sudan · São Tomé and Príncipe · Tanzania · Togo · Uganda · Zambia · Zimbabwe

Rankings

GDP by country · GDP per capita · Real GDP growth · Inflation by country · Government debt to GDP · Stock market to GDP · Population by country · Unemployment by country

Data and methods

GDP: gross domestic product in current US dollars, converted from the local currency at market exchange rates (World Bank); not adjusted for inflation.
Purchasing power parity (PPP): GDP per person in international dollars, which buy the same basket of goods and services in every country. It compares living standards across countries in the same year; it is not adjusted for inflation over time.
In 2025 dollars: the charts can remove US inflation (US consumer price index, annual average) so that dollar amounts from different years compare in today's money. Exchange rate swings still show.
Growth and inflation: World Bank data (calendar years). Years the World Bank does not cover yet, and the estimates and forecasts, come from the IMF World Economic Outlook (October 2026): its forecasts start in 2026, and the years after a country's last actual year are IMF estimates.
Government debt: gross debt of the general government (central, state and local government and social security funds) as a percentage of GDP, IMF. The World Bank's central government debt is narrower and covers fewer countries.
Stock market capitalization: the end-of-year value of domestic companies listed on the country's exchanges (World Federation of Exchanges via the World Bank; before 2016, Standard & Poor's), as a percentage of GDP: the “Buffett indicator”. Investment funds are excluded, and so are companies listed only abroad; companies from elsewhere that list on an exchange count for its country (Hong Kong lists many mainland Chinese companies).
Unemployment: ILO modeled estimates (share of the labor force); comparable across countries, but they may differ from national figures.

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (CC BY 4.0)
Source: International Monetary Fund, World Economic Outlook (October 2026)