Malawi vs Nigeria
Malawi vs Nigeria: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 96.6% of GDP in Malawi and 36.1% of GDP in Nigeria, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Malawi, by 60.5 percentage points, or 2.68 times that in Nigeria.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Malawi has been higher in every year both have figures for since 2002.
- In 2025, Malawi ranked 20 and Nigeria ranked 114 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Malawi at 67.5% of GDP and Nigeria at 31.9% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Malawi | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 96.6 | 36.1 |
| 2024 | 86.6 | 39.3 |
| 2023 | 84.5 | 36.3 |
| 2022 | 75.7 | 29.8 |
| 2021 | 66.6 | 26.6 |
| 2020 | 53.9 | 25.7 |
| 2019 | 41.2 | 21.4 |
| 2018 | 40.8 | 20.4 |
| 2017 | 40 | 18 |
| 2016 | 37.1 | 17.4 |
| 2015 | 35.5 | 14.9 |
| 2014 | 33.5 | 15.8 |
| 2013 | 35.4 | 13 |
| 2012 | 28.6 | 12.5 |
| 2011 | 20 | 12.4 |
| 2010 | 19.3 | 6.7 |
| 2009 | 23.5 | 6.1 |
| 2008 | 23.5 | 5.2 |
| 2007 | 19 | 5.8 |
| 2006 | 17.9 | 6.7 |
| 2005 | 70.9 | 13.5 |
| 2004 | 74.7 | 25.2 |
| 2003 | 84.7 | 29.9 |
| 2002 | 101.5 | 30.7 |
| 2001 | – | 37.7 |
| 2000 | – | 40.9 |
| 1999 | – | 46.1 |
| 1998 | – | 15.8 |
| 1997 | – | 17.1 |
| 1996 | – | 17.9 |
| 1995 | – | 24.2 |
| 1994 | – | 39.7 |
| 1993 | – | 50.4 |
| 1992 | – | 49.8 |
| 1991 | – | 53.2 |
| 1990 | – | 50.9 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Malawi | Nigeria |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 78 | 34.7 |
| 2027 | 75 | 32.8 |
| 2028 | 71.8 | 32.9 |
| 2029 | 69.6 | 32.5 |
| 2030 | 68.3 | 32.2 |
| 2031 | 67.5 | 31.9 |
Each country on its own
Good to know
- What the government owes, as a share of the economy’s yearly output.
- Source: IMF, World Economic Outlook, October 2026.
- The dashed line is the IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026), a scenario rather than a forecast.
- Ranks count the 149 countries with a value in 2025, highest first.
How the layers work, where their data comes from and what they can’t tell you: Countries through time
Malawi vs Nigeria
Health
- Life expectancyMalawi: 67.4 years in 2023Nigeria: 54.5 years in 2023
- Child mortalityMalawi: 4.9 per 100 live births in 2024Nigeria: 11.6 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityMalawi: 29.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023Nigeria: 69.5 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- Safe drinking waterMalawi: 17.8% in 2022Nigeria: 29% in 2022
- DepressionMalawi: 3.45% in 2017Nigeria: 3.92% in 2017
- Suicide rateMalawi: 12.1 per 100,000 people in 2017Nigeria: 7.5 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationMalawi: 21.1 million people in 2023Nigeria: 228 million people in 2023
- Population growthMalawi: 2.57% a year in 2023Nigeria: 2.1% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateMalawi: 3.65 births per woman in 2023Nigeria: 4.48 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationMalawi: 17.6% in 2025Nigeria: 63.8% in 2025
- Median ageMalawi: 17.6 years in 2023Nigeria: 17.8 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overMalawi: 2.6% in 2023Nigeria: 3% in 2023
- Net migration rateMalawi: -0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023Nigeria: -0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingMalawi: 1.15% of GDP in 2025Nigeria: 0.91% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsMalawi: $128M in 2025Nigeria: $1.76B in 2025
- Military spending per personMalawi: $7 in 2025Nigeria: $9 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingMalawi: 3.8% of government spending in 2025Nigeria: 5.9% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelMalawi: 15,000 people in 2020Nigeria: 223,000 people in 2020
- National powerMalawi: 0.07% of world capability in 2022Nigeria: 1.16% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersMalawi: 0.2% of the labour force in 2020Nigeria: 0.23% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsMalawi: 2 million TIV in 2024Nigeria: 21 million TIV in 2025
- Arms exportsMalawi: 1 million TIV in 2000Nigeria: 4 million TIV in 2022