Malawi vs Zambia
Malawi vs Zambia: Government debt
Government debt in 2025: 96.6% of GDP in Malawi and 100.6% of GDP in Zambia, by IMF estimates. In 2025 the value was higher in Zambia, by 4 percentage points, or 1.04 times that in Malawi.
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- Zambia has been higher since 2014, when it overtook Malawi.
- In 2025, Malawi ranked 20 and Zambia ranked 13 of 149 countries, counting from the highest.
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts Malawi at 67.5% of GDP and Zambia at 56.7% of GDP in 2031.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Malawi | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 96.6 | 100.6 |
| 2024 | 86.6 | 125.5 |
| 2023 | 84.5 | 136.8 |
| 2022 | 75.7 | 99.5 |
| 2021 | 66.6 | 111 |
| 2020 | 53.9 | 140 |
| 2019 | 41.2 | 103.3 |
| 2018 | 40.8 | 81.2 |
| 2017 | 40 | 66.6 |
| 2016 | 37.1 | 61.2 |
| 2015 | 35.5 | 61.9 |
| 2014 | 33.5 | 33.9 |
| 2013 | 35.4 | 25.9 |
| 2012 | 28.6 | 24.9 |
| 2011 | 20 | 20.8 |
| 2010 | 19.3 | 18.9 |
| 2009 | 23.5 | 20.5 |
| 2008 | 23.5 | 19.2 |
| 2007 | 19 | 21.9 |
| 2006 | 17.9 | 25 |
| 2005 | 70.9 | 75.8 |
| 2004 | 74.7 | 129.9 |
| 2003 | 84.7 | 159.5 |
| 2002 | 101.5 | 180.2 |
| 2001 | – | 210.2 |
| 2000 | – | 261 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Malawi | Zambia |
|---|---|---|
| 2026 | 78 | 82.1 |
| 2027 | 75 | 77 |
| 2028 | 71.8 | 72.3 |
| 2029 | 69.6 | 67.2 |
| 2030 | 68.3 | 61.9 |
| 2031 | 67.5 | 56.7 |
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 Zambia
Health
- Life expectancyMalawi: 67.4 years in 2023Zambia: 66.4 years in 2023
- Child mortalityMalawi: 4.9 per 100 live births in 2024Zambia: 4.8 per 100 live births in 2024
- Infant mortalityMalawi: 29.6 per 1,000 live births in 2023Zambia: 38.2 per 1,000 live births in 2023
- DepressionMalawi: 3.45% in 2017Zambia: 3.64% in 2017
- Suicide rateMalawi: 12.1 per 100,000 people in 2017Zambia: 13.1 per 100,000 people in 2017
People
- PopulationMalawi: 21.1 million people in 2023Zambia: 20.7 million people in 2023
- Population growthMalawi: 2.57% a year in 2023Zambia: 2.83% a year in 2023
- Fertility rateMalawi: 3.65 births per woman in 2023Zambia: 4.1 births per woman in 2023
- Urban populationMalawi: 17.6% in 2025Zambia: 45.9% in 2025
- Median ageMalawi: 17.6 years in 2023Zambia: 17.5 years in 2023
- People aged 65 and overMalawi: 2.6% in 2023Zambia: 1.9% in 2023
- Net migration rateMalawi: -0.3 per 1,000 people in 2023Zambia: 0.5 per 1,000 people in 2023
Economy
Education
Politics
Conflict
Military
- Military spendingMalawi: 1.15% of GDP in 2025Zambia: 1.26% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollarsMalawi: $128M in 2025Zambia: $343M in 2025
- Military spending per personMalawi: $7 in 2025Zambia: $19 in 2025
- Military share of state spendingMalawi: 3.8% of government spending in 2025Zambia: 4.5% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnelMalawi: 15,000 people in 2020Zambia: 16,000 people in 2020
- National powerMalawi: 0.07% of world capability in 2022Zambia: 0.1% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workersMalawi: 0.2% of the labour force in 2020Zambia: 0.24% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms importsMalawi: 2 million TIV in 2024Zambia: 1 million TIV in 2024
- Arms exportsMalawi: 1 million TIV in 2000Zambia: 2 million TIV in 1990