Malawi’s economy is primarily dependent on agriculture and the majority of the labour force is engaged in agricultural and livestock related activities. Malawi's main exports include tobacco, tea, sugar and cotton. The main imports are fuel oils and fertilizers.

(Source: economywatch)

Gross domestic product (GDP)

The GDP at current prices in 2010 was MWK 731.61 billion compared to MWK 640.06 billion in 2009.

(Source: Central Bank of Malawi)

Malawi’s GDP growth has been on the decline since 2008. In 2008, GDP growth was 19.4% and fell to 16.6% in 2009 and continued to fall to 14.3% in 2010.

GDP at constant prices in 2010 amounted to MWK 471,786.3 million, whereas in 2009 it was recorded at MWK 442,055.7 million.

(Source: Central Bank of Malawi)

GDP per capita at current prices was MWK 53,763.12 in 2010 compared to MWK 47,906.66 in 2009.

(Source: IMF)

Gross national income (GNI)

The GNI PPP per capita in 2010 was USD 911.

(Source: UNDP)

Trade balance

Malawi’s total exports in 2009 were valued at MWK 167 billion which increased from MWK 123.4 billion in 2008. The total imports amounted to MWK 255.1 billion in 2009 which decreased from MWK 278.5 billion in 2008. Malawi had a trade deficit of MWK 88.6 billion in 2009 compared to a deficit of MWK 155.1 billion in 2008.

(Source: National Statistics)

Tax rates

Individual income tax rates:

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Corporate tax

Corporate tax for companies registered in Malawi is 30% and for branches of foreign companies the tax is levied at 35%.

(Source: taxrates.cc)

Inflation rate

The average inflation rate in 2010 was 7.4% compared to 8.4% in 2009. The inflation rate in February 2011 and January 2011 were 7% and 6.6% respectively.

(Source: National Statistics)

Foreign direct investment (FDI)

FDI inflows in 2009 amounted to USD 60 million compared to USD 170 million in 2008.

(Source: UNCTAD)

Banking sector assets

The table below displays the assets of the Central Bank of Malawi.

Currency Unit: MWK million

(Source: CentralBank of Malawi)

Consumer price index

(Source: National Statistics)

Base year 2000 = 100

The consumer price index in Malawi is rising steadily. Consumer prices have almost tripled since 2000 and reached 309 in 2010. 

Interest rates

(Source: Central Bank of Malawi)

Money supply (Currency in Circulation)

The total money supply in 2010 (June) was MWK 175,308.44 million.

(Source: Central Bank of Malawi, Central Bank of Malawi)

Government expenditure

Total expenditure in 2008/09 was MWK 229,242 million which was an increase over the previous year where it was MWK 183,776 million. Total government expenditure was 38.9% of GDP in 2008/09.

(Source: National Statistics)

Public debt

The total external public debt in 2009 amounted to USD 870 million compared to USD 683 million in 2008.

(Source: AFDB)

Official exchange rate

(Source: AFDB)

Government finances

Fiscal balance

(Source:National Statistics)

The fiscal deficit in 2008/09 was MWK 111,076 million compared to a deficit of MWK 80,683 million in 2007/08.

Total Revenue

The total revenue in 2008/09 was MWK 118,166 million which was 20% of GDP.

(Source: National Statistics)

Tax revenue

Tax revenue in Malawi in 2008/09 was MWK 107,300 million compared to MWK 95,353 million in 2007/08.

(Source: National Statistics)

Total grants

(Source:National Statistics)

Current account balance

The current account balance in 2010 was estimated at 1.67% of GDP compared to 8.1% in 2009.

(Source: IMF)

Balance of payments

(Source: AFDB)

The total size of the labour force in Malawi was 6.11 million people in 2008.  The total labour force participation rate in 2008 was 86%. The labour force participation rate for men and women was 84% and 87% respectively.

The employment rate in Malawi in 2008 was 99%; the employment rate in terms of men and women was also 99%. The majority of the labour force is employed in agriculture, forestry and fishing.

The unemployment rate in 2008 was 1%; the unemployment rate for both men and women was 1%. The urban unemployment rate was 4% compared to only 1% in rural areas.

(Source: World Bank, National Statistics)

Unemployment rate by age group

(Source: National Statistics)

Minimum wage

The minimum wages are set by the Ministry of Labor based on recommendations made by the Tripartite Wage Advisory Board (TWAB). The TWAB is made up of representatives of the workforce, government and the private sector. The minimum wage in urban areas is USD 1 per day and in rural areas is 75 cents per day.

The minimum wage for a 19-year old worker or an apprentice is USD 22.6 per month.

(Source:estandardsforum.org, doingbusiness.org)

Level of unionisation

The Malawi Congress of Trade Unions (MCTU) is one of the largest trade unions in Malawi with a membership of over 180,000 people.

(Source: ITUC)

Malawi has a democratic multi-party government system. The executive branch includes the president, vice-presidents and the cabinet. The president is the head of state and also the head of government. The president is elected for a five year term. The members of the cabinet are appointed by the president.

The legislative powers in Malawi are held by the national assembly, which is unicameral and made up of 193 members. The members are directly elected for a five-year term.

The main political parties in Malawi are:

• Democratic Progressive Party (DPP)
• United Democratic Front (UDF)
• Malawi Congress Party (MCP)
• Alliance for Democracy (AFORD)
• Malawi Forum for Development (MAFUNDE)
• Congress for National Unity (CONU)

(Source: estandardsforum.org, state.gov, IPU)

(Source:Heritage.org)

Malawi's economic freedom score is 55.8 making its economy the 119^th freest in the 2011 Index of Economic Freedom. Malawi is ranked 21^st out of 46 countries in the Sub-Saharan Africa region and its score is below the world average.

Corruption perception

The Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) is a survey to measure the perceived level of corruption across countries worldwide. Malawi was ranked 85^th on the 2010 list compared to 89^th in 2009 which indicates that the corruption levels in the public departments in Malawi are decreasing.

(Source:transparency.org)

Freedom of information

The constitution guarantees freedom of the press. The main television station is controlled by the government along with the main radio station.

(Source: BBC)

Malawi is ranked 79^th in the World Press Freedom Index 2010 with a score of 21.00, indicating that media in Malawi has moderate levels of freedom.

(Source: rsf.org)

Newspapers

• The Nation
• The Daily Times
• Malawi News
• Boma Lathu

(Source: BBC)

Judicial system

The judicial system in Malawi is based on the system prevailing in the British colonial era, consisting of a Supreme Court of Appeal, a High Court, Magistrate courts and traditional courts.

The Supreme Court is the highest court for appeal and has jurisdiction to hear appeals from the High Court and other courts.

The High Court has jurisdiction over all civil and criminal cases.

There are four types of Magistrate courts:

• Courts of Resident Magistrates
• Courts of magistrates of the First Grade
• Courts of Magistrates of the Second Grade
• Courts of Magistrates of the Third Grade

(Source: nyulawglobal.org)

The total population of Malawi in 2008 was 13.08 million, increasing at a rate of approximately 2.8% over the previous year. The population density was 139 people per sq km.

(Source: National Statistics)

The gender ratio in Malawi is not balanced i.e. there are about 94.7 men for every 100 women in Malawi.

(Source: National Statistics)

The number of people below the age of 14 made up  46.2% of the total population (in 2009). In 2009, 5.1% women and 4.6% men (% of total population) were above the age of 60.

The average life expectancy for women and men was 53.8 years and 51.8 years respectively.

The infant mortality rate was 83.7 (per thousand) between 2005-2010. The crude birth rate in 2008 was 39.5 births (per thousand). The crude death rate was 10 deaths (per thousand).

(Source: UN, National Statistics)

The international migrant stock till mid-2010 was recorded at 275,900 people. This was approximately1.8 % of the entire population.

(Source: UN)

According to the 2008 census, 15.3% of the total population were residing in urban areas compared to 14.4% recorded in the 1998 census. The total rural population was 84.7%, which decreased from 85.6% in the 1998 census. The urban population in Malawi increased from 1.4 million in 1998 to 2 million in 2008. The majority of the urban population are concentrated in the four major cities of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba.

(Source: National Statistics)

Ethnic groups in Malawi include:

• Chewa
• Nyanja
• Tumbuka
• Yao
• Lomwe
• Sena
• Tonga
• Ngoni
• Ngonde
• Asian
• European

The main religious groups in Malawi are Protestants, Roman Catholics and Muslims.

(Source: state.gov)

Malawi ranked 153^rd out of 169 countries on the Human Development Index 2010 conducted by the United Nations. The HDI provides a composite measure of three dimensions of human development: living a long and healthy life (measured by life expectancy), being educated (measured by adult literacy and gross enrolment in education) and having a decent standard of living (measured by purchasing power parity, PPP, income).

(Source: UNDP)

Education

Malawi's literacy rate in 2008 was at 64%.

(Source: National Statistics)

The official school starting age in Malawi is six years. According to the 2008 census, only 28% of the total population aged 6 and above were attending school.

(Source: National Statistics)

The combined gross enrolment ratio in 2010 for males and females was 61.9%. The expenditure on education is estimated at 4.1% of GDP.

(Source: UNDP)

Health care

The major causes of deaths in children below the age of 5 Malawi in 2008 included malaria, pneumonia and diarrhoea.

The health workforce statistics indicate that there were 0.2 physicians per 10,000 people which was below the regional average of 2.4. There were 2.8 nurses and midwives per 10000 people which was below the regional average.

HIV/AIDS was prevalent in 11.9% of the total adult population. There were 930,000 people living with AIDS of which 490,000 were women aged 15 and over and 91,000 were children (ages 0-14). The deaths recorded that were caused by cancer were 150 (per 100,000) and AIDS caused 605 deaths per 100,000 people.

The per capita health expenditure in 2006 was USD 62. The public expenditure on health in 2007 was 5.9% of GDP.

(Source: WHO, estandardsforum.org, UNDP)

The preferred mode of public transport in Malawi is by road. The total road network in Malawi includes 15,451 km of roads, of which only 45% are paved.

The railways in Malawi include 797 km of track and are mostly used for freight carriage.

(Source: estandardsforum.org)

Ports:  

Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota and Chilumba.

(Source: indexmundi)

Airports

There are 34 airports of which only 6 are paved. Malawi has 2 international airports.

(Source: Air charter world)

Telecommunications networks

In 2009, 4.39% of the population used internet services. In the same period, total fixed-line telephone subscribers in Malawi were registered at 175,000 or 1.15 people (per 100 people) and the total mobile phone subscriptions was registered at 2,400,000 people or 15.72 per 100 people.

(Source: ITU)