# Malawi — national dossier

Malawi — economy, society, governance, health, education, technology, geography, resources and military in one sourced dossier: 44 indicators, each with…

Canonical: https://terralore.co/country/MWI
Updated: 2026-08-14 (latest domain refresh; each figure carries its own observation year)

## Overview

- Official name: Republic of Malawi
- Capital: Lilongwe
- Region: Eastern Africa, Africa
- Population: 19 m
- Area: 118,484 km²
- Languages: English, Chewa
- Currency: Malawian kwacha (MWK)

A "—" is an absence in the source data, never a zero. Each figure shows the year it was observed — vintages differ by indicator and nation.

## Economy

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| GDP | $15 B | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP per capita | $672 | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| GDP growth | 1.9% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Inflation | 28.4% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Trade openness | 39.4% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |

## Society

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Population | 22 m | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Life expectancy | 67.6 yrs | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Urban population | 17.6% | 2025 | World Development Indicators |
| Fertility rate | 3.6 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Literacy rate | 70.2% | 2020 | World Development Indicators |

## Governance

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Voice & accountability | 54.9 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Political stability | 59.4 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Government effectiveness | 37.2 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Regulatory quality | 45.6 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Rule of law | 54.4 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |
| Control of corruption | 34.7 | 2024 | Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) |

## Health

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Health spending | 6.5% | 2023 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Physicians | 0.05 | 2022 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |
| Under-5 mortality | 48.8 | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Measles immunisation | 89.0% | 2024 | Child mortality & immunisation estimates (UN IGME and WHO/UNICEF, via World Bank WDI) |
| Safe drinking water | 18.2% | 2024 | Global Health Observatory (WHO, via World Bank WDI) |

## Education

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Adult literacy | 70.2% | 2020 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Education spending | 2.7% | 2022 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Primary enrolment | 139.0% | 2024 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Secondary enrolment | 36.6% | 2023 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Tertiary enrolment | 2.7% | 2022 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |

## Technology

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| R&D spending | 0.2% | 2019 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Researchers (per million) | 25 | 2019 | R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) |
| Internet users | 19.0% | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| Mobile subscriptions | 69 | 2024 | ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) |
| High-tech exports | 1.6% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |

## Geography

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Land area | 94,280 km² | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest area | 22.4% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| Agricultural land | 64.2% | 2023 | World Development Indicators |
| CO₂ per capita (t) | 0.2 | 2024 | World Development Indicators |
| Renewable energy | 62.9% | 2022 | World Development Indicators |

## Resources

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Resource rents | 4.2% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Oil rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Mineral rents | 0.0% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Forest rents | 4.2% | 2021 | World Development Indicators |
| Electricity access | 15.6% | 2024 | World Development Indicators |

## Military

| Metric | Value | Observed | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Military burden | 1.0% | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Defense spending | $118 M | 2024 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |
| Armed forces | 15,000 | 2020 | Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) |

Every metric above is also ranked across all nations: https://terralore.co/rankings (markdown twins at /rankings/<metric>.md).

Machine-readable claims — every figure above as an addressable claim ID (TL:MWI:<metric>:<year>) with value, source, license and a ready citation string: https://terralore.co/country/MWI.claims.json

History: "From the Maravi Confederacy on the shores of Lake Nyasa and the Chongoni rock-painters to the slave caravans, Scottish missions, the Chilembwe rising, and independence under Kamuzu Banda." — the sourced chronicle is at https://terralore.co/country/MWI/chronicle.md (6 eras, 27 events).

## Sources

- World Development Indicators — World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://data.worldbank.org
- Worldwide Governance Indicators (via World Bank API) — Worldwide Governance Indicators / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · 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 2026-08-14 · 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 2026-08-14 · https://childmortality.org
- R&D statistics (UNESCO UIS, via World Bank WDI) — UNESCO Institute for Statistics / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://uis.unesco.org
- ICT indicators (ITU, via World Bank WDI) — ITU / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics
- Military Expenditure Database (via World Development Indicators) — SIPRI / World Bank · CC BY 4.0 · accessed 2026-08-14 · https://www.sipri.org/databases/milex

Citation template: Terralore, "Malawi — national dossier", terralore.co/country/MWI, retrieved <YYYY-MM-DD>.