# Malawi and Zambia compared Malawi and Zambia side by side: 42 shared sourced indicators across 9 domains, and the 2 events their chronicles record of each other. Canonical: https://terralore.co/compare/mwi-vs-zmb Updated: 2026-08-10 (latest of the two dossiers' refreshes and the two chronicles' verification dates) Two sourced records set beside each other — nothing on this page was written for the pair. Every figure is the same observation, with the same source, as on the two national dossiers; every event is the same record, with the same sources, as on its own chronicle. Figures are compared, never graded. A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero; each value shows its own observation year — vintages differ by indicator and nation. ## Formation - Malawi: 6 July 1964 — Malawi becomes independent of Britain - Zambia: 24 October 1964 — Zambia becomes independent of Britain ## Economy | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | GDP | $11 B | 2024 | $25 B | 2024 | | GDP per capita | $523 | 2024 | $1,187 | 2024 | | GDP growth | 1.7% | 2024 | 3.8% | 2024 | | Inflation | 32.2% | 2024 | 15.0% | 2024 | | Trade openness | 42.4% | 2023 | 62.5% | 2024 | ## Society | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Population | 22 m | 2024 | 21 m | 2024 | | Life expectancy | 67.6 yrs | 2024 | 66.5 yrs | 2024 | | Urban population | 17.3% | 2024 | 45.5% | 2024 | | Fertility rate | 3.6 | 2024 | 4.0 | 2024 | ## Governance | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Voice & accountability | 54.9 | 2024 | 49.7 | 2024 | | Political stability | 59.4 | 2024 | 64.2 | 2024 | | Government effectiveness | 37.2 | 2024 | 41.0 | 2024 | | Regulatory quality | 45.6 | 2024 | 48.2 | 2024 | | Rule of law | 54.4 | 2024 | 47.3 | 2024 | | Control of corruption | 34.7 | 2024 | 38.6 | 2024 | ## Health | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Health spending | 6.5% | 2023 | 6.0% | 2023 | | Physicians | 0.05 | 2022 | 0.32 | 2022 | | Under-5 mortality | 48.8 | 2024 | 48.4 | 2024 | | Measles immunisation | 89.0% | 2024 | 88.0% | 2024 | | Safe drinking water | 18.2% | 2024 | — | — | ## Education | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Adult literacy | 70.2% | 2020 | 71.8% | 2024 | | Education spending | 2.7% | 2022 | 4.1% | 2023 | | Primary enrolment | 139.0% | 2024 | 115.6% | 2024 | | Secondary enrolment | 36.6% | 2023 | 56.8% | 2024 | | Tertiary enrolment | 2.7% | 2022 | 4.0% | 2012 | ## Technology | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | R&D spending | 0.2% | 2019 | 0.3% | 2008 | | Researchers (per million) | 25 | 2019 | 42 | 2008 | | Internet users | 19.0% | 2024 | 17.1% | 2024 | | Mobile subscriptions | 69 | 2024 | 109 | 2024 | | High-tech exports | 1.6% | 2024 | 1.5% | 2024 | ## Geography | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Land area | 94,280 km² | 2023 | 743,390 km² | 2023 | | Forest area | 22.4% | 2023 | 59.5% | 2023 | | Agricultural land | 64.2% | 2023 | 32.1% | 2023 | | CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.2 | 2024 | 0.5 | 2024 | | Renewable energy | 62.9% | 2022 | 83.0% | 2021 | ## Resources | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Resource rents | 4.2% | 2021 | 35.3% | 2021 | | Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 0.0% | 2021 | | Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | 28.2% | 2021 | | Forest rents | 4.2% | 2021 | 6.8% | 2021 | | Electricity access | 15.6% | 2023 | 51.1% | 2023 | | Copper (mined) | — | — | 940 kt | 2025 | ## Military | Metric | Malawi | Observed | Zambia | Observed | |---|---|---|---|---| | Military burden | 1.0% | 2024 | 1.3% | 2024 | | Defense spending | $118 M | 2024 | $350 M | 2024 | | Armed forces | 15,000 | 2020 | 16,000 | 2020 | Each metric is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/.md). Full dossiers: https://terralore.co/country/MWI.md and https://terralore.co/country/ZMB.md. ## Entangled histories (2 events) Events in which either nation's sourced chronicle names the other — including under earlier names of the same state. Each is the record exactly as its own chronicle carries it, with that chronicle's sources. - c. 17th century: **The Maravi Empire at its peak** — In the seventeenth century the confederacy administered a broad domain reaching across parts of modern Malawi, Mozambique and Zambia, trading ivory and iron with Portuguese and Swahili merchants on the coast. (from the Malawi chronicle; sources: Maravi Confederacy; Maravi; The Kingdom of Maravi) - 31 December 1963: **The Federation dissolved** — Faced with African opposition and irreconcilable tensions, the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland was dissolved at the end of 1963, clearing the way for the separate independence of Malawi, Zambia and Rhodesia. (from the Malawi chronicle; sources: Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland; Formation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland) ## Sources - World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://data.worldbank.org - Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators - Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) — WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.who.int/data/gho - Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) — UNICEF and WHO / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://childmortality.org - R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://uis.unesco.org - ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-15 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics - Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-06-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex - Mineral Commodity Summaries 2026 — U.S. Geological Survey · Public domain (U.S. Government work) · accessed 2026-08-10 · https://www.usgs.gov/centers/national-minerals-information-center Chronicle references are cited inline above and resolve in full at https://terralore.co/country/MWI/chronicle.md and https://terralore.co/country/ZMB/chronicle.md. Citation template: Terralore, "Malawi and Zambia compared", terralore.co/compare/mwi-vs-zmb, retrieved .