Malawi profile

Demography and Health

Malawi, with a 2024 population of about 21.7 million, sits among low-income, high-population-growth countries in sub-Saharan Africa. The crude birth rate of 31.4 per 1,000 people in 2023 signals a young population and rapid natural increase, while the crude death rate of 5.36 per 1,000 implies relatively modest mortality pressures compared with higher-fertility contexts. Life expectancy at birth stands at 67.4 years (2023), indicating that health outcomes are improving but still lag global benchmarks and reflect persistent disease burden and limited health system capacity. The under-5 mortality rate of 38.3 per 1,000 live births highlights substantial child health challenges, which in turn amplify the importance of maternal and child health services and vaccination programs. Malawi’s health financing profile underscores resource constraints: current health expenditure is 6.5% of GDP (2022), and domestic general government health expenditure per capita, PPP, is only about 14.2 international dollars (2022), suggesting limited fiscal space to expand essential services. The health system appears to rely heavily on public provision, and the physician density is very low—0.049 physicians per 1,000 people (2022)—which constrains access to timely primary and specialized care. The country also records a suicide mortality rate of 7.57 per 100,000 (2021), reflecting ongoing mental health and social stressors that require integrated policy responses. On the population mobility side, net migration in 2024 is negative (-1,507, presumably thousands), pointing to ongoing outward movement that can affect the labor force, urbanization patterns, and the sustainability of rural livelihoods. Societal challenges are compounded by undernourishment, with 19.9% of the population affected in 2022, underscoring food security vulnerabilities alongside efforts to diversify and stabilize livelihoods. In broader terms, these demographic and health indicators imply a growing demand for healthcare, nutrition, and social protection, set against a backdrop of constrained public spending and limited human capital in the health workforce. A strategic response would emphasize expanding primary care, scaling up maternal and child health programs, improving nutrition, investing in health workforce training, and leveraging digital health solutions to widen reach where physician access is scarce. Meanwhile, limited internet penetration (18% in 2023) constrains information dissemination, health education, and telemedicine opportunities, suggesting a compounding barrier to wide-scale health literacy and remote care in rural areas.

Economy

Malawi’s economic profile is characterized by very low income fundamentals and significant macro volatility. GDP per capita is 508 current US dollars in 2024, placing Malawi among the world’s lower-income economies, even after adjusting for price levels (GDP per capita, PPP: 1,859 international US$ in 2024), which suggests that purchasing power is higher than nominal figures alone imply but remains insufficient to meet broad development needs. The inflation rate surged to 32.2% in 2024, marking severe price pressures that erode real incomes, raise the cost of living, and complicate monetary policy and planning for households and firms. The current account balance deteriorated to −17.9% of GDP in 2023, signaling a substantial external deficit that reflects reliance on imports for essential goods and limited export earnings, a vulnerability that can be exacerbated by global price swings and climate shocks given the country’s exposure. The economy shows modest openness to external investment, with foreign direct investment net inflows at 1.6% of GDP in 2023, indicating some external funding but far from enabling rapid structural transformation. The overall governance environment, as reflected in macro indicators like regulatory quality at −0.772 and government effectiveness at −0.86 (2023), signals substantial policy and institutional constraints that can impede investment, efficiency, and the implementation of large-scale reforms needed to diversify away from a narrow production base. The broader context includes a modest military outlay (about 135 million current US$ in 2023) and comparatively low GDP per capita, both consistent with a constrained fiscal space for capital investments and social spending. The data collectively imply that Malawi’s economy is vulnerable to external shocks, climate variability affecting agriculture, and persistent fragility in governance and policy competence, all of which challenge sustained growth, job creation, and poverty reduction.

Trade and Investment

In trade and investment terms, Malawi remains deeply dependent on external financing and import-led consumption. The negative current account balance of −17.9% of GDP in 2023 underscores heavy reliance on foreign capital, remittances, or donor support to finance imports and budget gaps. Foreign direct investment inflows, while present, are modest at 1.6% of GDP in 2023, reflecting limited scale and mobilization of private capital for productive assets, technology transfer, and job creation. The economy’s export profile shows very limited high-technology strengths, with high-technology exports at 3.1 million current US$ in 2023 and a corresponding rank of 119, indicating that Malawi’s export base remains dominated by primary commodities and low- value-added sectors rather than sophisticated manufacturing or services. The weak governance indicators—most notably regulatory quality at −0.772 and control of corruption at −0.603—also imply structural barriers to a more attractive business environment, transparent rule of law, and predictable investment climates. Together, these elements suggest a relatively risky investment environment where macroeconomic instability, governance constraints, and a narrow export base deter larger, transformative investment. Policy directions that could improve the trade and investment outlook include strengthening fiscal sustainability to reduce deficits, improving regulatory efficiency and contract enforcement, expanding export diversification, and creating incentives for private investment in agribusiness, value-added processing, and logistics infrastructure that reduce trade costs.

Governance and Institutions

Malawi’s governance indicators point to substantive challenges across multiple dimensions. Political stability and absence of violence/terrorism in 2023 register at −0.236, signaling sensitivity to internal and regional pressures that can affect policy continuity and investor confidence. Regulatory quality is notably negative (−0.772), and rule of law is also weak (−0.155), indicating gaps in judicial capacity, contract enforcement, and the predictable application of laws. Control of corruption sits at −0.603, and government effectiveness at −0.86, suggesting limited public sector performance and difficulties delivering public goods and services efficiently. Taken together, these indicators imply a governance environment that constrains policy coherence, anti-corruption efforts, and the effective implementation of reforms critical for sustainable development, macroeconomic stability, and an enabling environment for private sector growth. On the security and defense front, military expenditure stands at about 135 million current US$ in 2023 (rank 126), a relatively modest share of GDP, which may reflect budgetary constraints and competing social demand pressures. The combination of weak governance metrics, persistent macroeconomic vulnerabilities, and limited fiscal capacity suggests that Malawi faces significant systemic hurdles in elevating governance standards, attracting substantial investment, and implementing large-scale development programs without targeted reforms and donor-supported capacity-building initiatives.

Infrastructure and Technology

Malawi’s infrastructure and technology landscape reveals substantial gaps in connectivity, health workforce capacity, and advanced production capabilities. Individuals using the Internet reached 18.0% of the population in 2023, highlighting a large digital divide that limits access to information, digital services, and e-commerce. The health system’s capacity is constrained by a very low physician density of 0.049 per 1,000 people in 2022, alongside a health expenditure profile that shows current health expenditure at 6.5% of GDP (2022) and per-capita, purchasing power parity-based health spending at 14.2 international dollars (2022). This combination suggests limited access to professional medical care, especially outside major urban centers, and challenges in achieving broader health outcomes without targeted investment in training, retention, and distribution of health workers. On the technology front, high-technology exports total 3.1 million current US$ in 2023, with a rank of 119, indicating that Malawi’s technology-intensive production remains minimal on the global stage. Energy and climate considerations also shape infrastructure: renewable energy accounts for a sizable 62.9% of total final energy consumption in 2022, pointing to a strong reliance on renewables (likely hydropower and traditional biomass), which can be an opportunity for energy security but also expose the economy to hydrological variability. Greenhouse gas emissions per capita are relatively low at 0.934 t CO2e, underlining a small industrial base but also highlighting the need for sustainable modernization to avoid lock-in of inefficient systems. Overall, infrastructure and technology indicators suggest a country with substantial room to expand connectivity, health capacity, and modern production capabilities, while leveraging renewables to improve energy access and resilience against climate shocks.

Environment and Sustainability

Malawi’s environmental and sustainability indicators reveal both resilience and vulnerability. The country shows a relatively high share of renewable energy use at 62.9% of total final energy consumption in 2022, suggesting a reliance on hydropower, biomass, and other renewables that can contribute to energy security and lower fossil fuel dependence. However, environmental pressures are evident in persistent development challenges: the prevalence of undernourishment is 19.9% of the population in 2022, indicating ongoing food insecurity and vulnerabilities to climate variability that affect livelihoods and health outcomes. Freshwater stress, measured as freshwater withdrawal as a share of available resources, stands at 17.5% in 2021, indicating moderate competition for water between agricultural, domestic, and industrial users, particularly in a climate where rainfall patterns are variable. In terms of climate impact, total greenhouse gas emissions per capita are 0.934 t CO2e in 2023, reflecting a small, low-intensity economy with limited industrial activity; nonetheless, as the country grows, maintaining low emissions while expanding prosperity will require deliberate technology choices and policy frameworks. The combination of a population in the millions, moderate water stress, and food security concerns underscores the importance of sustainable land and water management, weather- and climate-resilient agriculture, and investment in infrastructure that can withstand climate variability. Taken together, Malawi’s environmental indicators point to a landscape where sustainable development hinges on balancing renewable energy deployment, agricultural productivity, and climate resilience to support healthy populations and resilient ecosystems.