Central government debt, total in Malawi
Malawi: Central government debt, total was 61.8% in 2023. ▲ Rising
Central government debt, total in Malawi, 2009–2023
Source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of GDP.
Analysis
The most recent figure for central government debt, total in Malawi is 61.8%, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.2% on the previous year and up 148.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, central government debt, total in Malawi peaked at 61.8% in 2023 and was at its lowest, 18.8%, in 2011.
Malawi ranks 31st of 83 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Central government debt, total in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of GDP | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 20.1% | — |
| 2010 | 19.3% | -4.2% |
| 2011 | 18.8% | -2.2% |
| 2012 | 28.5% | +51.0% |
| 2013 | 24.9% | -12.5% |
| 2014 | 27.9% | +12.1% |
| 2015 | 27.3% | -2.1% |
| 2016 | 37.9% | +38.6% |
| 2017 | 34.3% | -9.5% |
| 2018 | 41.7% | +21.6% |
| 2019 | 44.8% | +7.4% |
| 2022 | 55.6% | +24.1% |
| 2023 | 61.8% | +11.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.1% | 20.1% | 20.1% | 1 |
| 2010s | 30.5% | 18.8% | 44.8% | 10 |
| 2020s | 58.7% | 55.6% | 61.8% | 2 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More economy & growth data for Malawi
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 04 - Annual real GDP 2.07 Percent per annum (2029)
- Africa's Development Dynamics (AfDD) Table 02 - Annual real GDP 4.6 Percent per annum (2029)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), annual growth rate 23.84 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.2875 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current US$), per capita 193.06 current US$ per person (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), annual growth rate 24.72 % change on previous year (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), per unit of GDP 503.36 current LCU per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Imports of goods and services (current LCU), per capita 338,013 current LCU per person (2025)
- External balance on goods and services (current US$), annual growth -23.48 % change on previous year (2025)
- External balance on goods and services (current LCU), annual growth -24.37 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is central government debt, total in Malawi?
- Central government debt, total in Malawi was 61.8% in 2023, according to Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest central government debt, total recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 61.8% in 2023.
- What is the lowest central government debt, total recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 18.8% in 2011.
- How does Malawi rank for central government debt, total?
- Malawi ranks 31st out of 83 countries with data for 2023.
- Is central government debt, total rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 148.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Central government debt, total (% of GDP). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Debt is the entire stock of direct government fixed-term contractual obligations to others outstanding on a particular date. It includes domestic and foreign liabilities such as currency and money deposits, securities other than shares, and loans. It is the gross amount of government liabilities reduced by the amount of equity and financial derivatives held by the government. Because debt is a stock rather than a flow, it is measured as of a given date, usually the last day of the fiscal year. Central government is the part of general government that includes all administrative departments of the national executive, legislative, and judicial functions, other central agencies and those non-market producers controlled by the central government, whose competence extends normally over the whole economic territory. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) which is the total income earned through the production of goods and services in an economic territory during an accounting period.