Malawi
Government debt in Malawi
Government debt in Malawi: 101.5% of GDP in 2002 and 96.6% of GDP in 2025, by IMF estimates.
- Latest, 2025
- 96.6% of GDP
- Since 2002
- −4.9 percentage points
- Rank, 2025
- 20 of 149
- counting from the highest
- Projected, 2031
- 67.5% of GDP
- IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026)
% of GDP · IMF
What the numbers say
- The IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) puts it at 67.5% of GDP in 2031.
- The highest was 101.5% of GDP in 2002, the lowest 17.9% of GDP in 2006.
Every year
% of GDP · IMF
| Year | Malawi |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 96.6 |
| 2024 | 86.6 |
| 2023 | 84.5 |
| 2022 | 75.7 |
| 2021 | 66.6 |
| 2020 | 53.9 |
| 2019 | 41.2 |
| 2018 | 40.8 |
| 2017 | 40 |
| 2016 | 37.1 |
| 2015 | 35.5 |
| 2014 | 33.5 |
| 2013 | 35.4 |
| 2012 | 28.6 |
| 2011 | 20 |
| 2010 | 19.3 |
| 2009 | 23.5 |
| 2008 | 23.5 |
| 2007 | 19 |
| 2006 | 17.9 |
| 2005 | 70.9 |
| 2004 | 74.7 |
| 2003 | 84.7 |
| 2002 | 101.5 |
IMF projection (World Economic Outlook, October 2026) · 2026–2031
| Year | Malawi |
|---|---|
| 2026 | 78 |
| 2027 | 75 |
| 2028 | 71.8 |
| 2029 | 69.6 |
| 2030 | 68.3 |
| 2031 | 67.5 |
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 in numbers
Every measure for Malawi on one page
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Military
- Military spending1.15% of GDP in 2025
- Military spending in US dollars$128M in 2025
- Military spending per person$7 in 2025
- Military share of state spending3.8% of government spending in 2025
- Armed forces personnel15,000 people in 2020
- National power0.07% of world capability in 2022
- Armed forces, share of workers0.2% of the labour force in 2020
- Arms imports2 million TIV in 2024
- Arms exports1 million TIV in 2000