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Malawi

Republic of Malawi

English, Chichewa Malawian Kwacha (MWK) English common law
AU, SADC, COMESA, AfCFTA, Commonwealth, WTO

Malawi is a small, landlocked economy heavily dependent on agriculture, particularly tobacco (largest export), tea, sugar, and macadamia nuts. The country has limited mineral resources but is exploring uranium (Kayelekera mine) and rare earth deposits. Lake Malawi is a major tourism asset. Challenges include extreme poverty, infrastructure deficits, currency volatility (kwacha devalued significantly in 2022-2023), and climate vulnerability. The Malawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC) facilitates foreign investment.

Snapshot

Population~22.2 MWorld Bank, 2025
GDP (current USD)$14.9 BWorld Bank, 2025
GDP per Capita$672World Bank, 2025
GDP Growth1.89%World Bank, 2025
Inflation (y/y)~28.37%World Bank, 2025
Policy rate (Reserve Bank)26.00%Central Bank
Unemployment5.07%World Bank, ILO modelled estimate, 2025
Internet Use~18.96%World Bank, 2024
Electrification~14.00%World Bank WDI
CPI Score (Rank)34.0/100 (#110)Transparency Intl
HDI (Rank)0.508 (#172)UNDP HDR

World Bank Indicators Compare with another country

GDP (current USD)$14.9 BWorld Bank, 2025
GDP growth (annual)1.89%World Bank, 2025
GDP per capita (USD)$672World Bank, 2025
Population, total22.2 MWorld Bank, 2025
FDI net inflows (USD)$258.0 MWorld Bank, 2024
Inflation (consumer prices)28.37%World Bank, 2025
Unemployment (% labour force)5.07%World Bank, 2025
Internet use (% of people)18.96%World Bank, 2024
Trade (% of GDP)39.40%World Bank, 2025

Climate Readiness Full ranking

27out of 100
Early-stage
Climate adaptation readiness for Malawi, from 5 of 5 measured indicators.
Energy access1414.0% · 30% weight
Governance readiness3434 / 100 CPI · 20% weight
Human readiness510.508 HDI · 20% weight
Economic readiness24$672, 2025 · 15% weight
Digital readiness1818.0% · 15% weight
This scores climate adaptation readiness (adaptive capacity), following the readiness dimension of the ND-GAIN framework. It is built only from measured values already held on this profile and normalised 0-100. It does not measure emissions or physical climate vulnerability: the platform does not yet hold emissions, hazard-exposure or natural-capital series. Energy access is the single most climate-specific indicator held; the other four are governance, economic, human-development and digital readiness proxies. The economic sub-score is relative to the African countries the platform covers.
How this is computed

Adaptive capacity to absorb climate finance and adapt, following the readiness dimension of the ND-GAIN framework. Built only from measured values already held on each country profile. It is not a measure of emissions or physical climate vulnerability, which the platform does not yet hold.

  • Energy access (30%) World Bank, access to electricity (% of population). The single most climate and energy specific signal held: SDG 7 and the clean-energy transition.
  • Governance readiness (20%) Transparency International, Corruption Perceptions Index (0-100). ND-GAIN governance readiness: the capacity to govern and deploy climate finance. Higher is cleaner.
  • Human readiness (20%) UNDP, Human Development Index (0-1). ND-GAIN social readiness: the adaptive capacity of the population.
  • Economic readiness (15%) World Bank, GDP per capita (current US$), latest measured year. ND-GAIN economic readiness: the capacity to finance adaptation. Scored relative to the covered set.
  • Digital readiness (15%) World Bank, individuals using the Internet (% of population). Information systems for early warning and adaptation.

A country is scored only when at least 4 of the five indicators are held. Sub-scores are weighted and renormalised over the indicators that are present; nothing is estimated for one that is absent.

Country Facts

CapitalLilongwe
RegionSouthern Africa
CurrencyMalawian Kwacha (MWK)
FX RegimeManaged float
Investment Promotion AgencyMalawi Investment and Trade Centre (MITC)
Legal SystemEnglish common law
Time ZoneAfrica/Blantyre

Focus Sectors

Tobacco
Tea
Sugar
Agriculture
Mining (uranium
rare earths)
Tourism
Manufacturing
Financial Services
Energy
Telecoms

Regulations & Taxes

Corporate Income Tax30% standard
VAT / Sales Tax16.5% standard