Malawi's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) was 48.7% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 14.34 percentage points from 34.36% in 2019.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 48.7% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 34.36% | 2019 |
| Highest | 51.53% | 2018 |
| Lowest | 26.83% | 2015 |
| Average since 2015 | 39.01% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 26.83% | 2015 |
Over five years it is up 14.34 percentage points from 34.36% in 2019. Since 2015 it is up 21.86 percentage points from 26.83% in 2015.
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malawi's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) rose 3.22 percentage points on 2023 (from 45.48% to 48.7%).
Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2016 to 2023), the average change was +2.33 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.24 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 13.09 percentage points in 2017 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.17 percentage points in 2019. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2015 to 2024 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 7% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
Worked out from the yearly values above. How the checks work: standard deviation, z-scores and straight-line trends.
How it compares
In 2024, Malawi had the 3rd highest value of the 21 economies reporting that year. Higher is not always better: for some indicators the lowest value is the one to aim for. See the full ranking.
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Malawi | 48.7% | 2024 |
| World | 16.73% | 2025 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 16.02% | 2025 |
| Low income | 16.36% | 2024 |
Closest to Malawi in the 2024 ranking
What this measures
Ratio of bank liquid reserves to bank assets is the ratio of domestic currency holdings and deposits with the monetary authorities to claims on other governments, nonfinancial public enterprises, the private sector, and other banking institutions. This indicator is expressed as a percentage (a÷b)*100.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.
All 10 values
| Year | Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 48.7 |
| 2023 | 45.48 |
| 2022 | 33.77 |
| 2021 | 35.31 |
| 2020 | 28.57 |
| 2019 | 34.36 |
| 2018 | 51.53 |
| 2017 | 49.3 |
| 2016 | 36.21 |
| 2015 | 26.83 |
Bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) in nearby economies
- Angola — 36.53% (2025)
- Benin — 6.48% (2025)
- Botswana — 5.18% (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 10.7% (2025)
- Burundi — 13.96% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 44.54% (2025)
- Cameroon — 22.79% (2019)
- Central African Republic — 12.22% (2022)
- Chad — 15.45% (2021)
- Comoros — 47.03% (2024)
More financial sector data for Malawi
- DEC alternative conversion factor (LCU per US$) — US$1,751 (2025)
- Official exchange rate (LCU per US$, period average) — US$1,161 (2023)
- Net domestic credit (current LCU) — 7.84 trillion (2024)
- Net foreign assets (current LCU) — -1.65 trillion (2024)
- Broad money (current LCU) — 5.34 trillion (2024)
- Claims on central government (annual growth as % of broad money) — 49.15% (2024)
- Claims on private sector (annual growth as % of broad money) — 9.6% (2024)
- Broad money (annual % growth) — 45.13% (2024)
- Broad money to total reserves ratio — 3.46 (2020)
- Consumer price index (2010 = 100)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Malawi's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%)?
- 48.7% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2015?
- It is up 21.86 percentage points from 26.83% in 2015. The highest value was 51.53% in 2018 and the lowest 26.83% in 2015.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 3rd highest of 21 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) unusual for Malawi?
- In 2024, Malawi's bank liquid reserves to bank assets ratio (%) rose 3.22 percentage points on 2023 (from 45.48% to 48.7%). Across the 8 yearly changes before that (2016 to 2023), the average change was +2.33 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 10.24 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.1 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FD.RES.LIQU.AS.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF) Figures are fetched from the World Bank API and refreshed monthly; see the series on data.worldbank.org. The full definition and method are in the World Bank's metadata glossary. Comparisons use the same World Bank release.
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