Malawi's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) was 27.94% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 25.48 percentage points from 2.47% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 27.94% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 8.5% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 2.47% | 2014 |
| Highest | 27.94% | 2024 |
| Lowest | 0.3% | 1999 |
| Average since 2015 | 14.38% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 7.31% | 1980 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malawi's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) rose 4.18 percentage points on 2023 (from 23.76% to 27.94%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.49 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
On record, the biggest yearly rise was 6.26 percentage points in 1992 and the biggest yearly fall was 8.34 percentage points in 1988. 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 the straight-line trend is upward, about 2.24 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 85% of the movement over 10 observed years.
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 6th highest value of the 40 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 | 27.94% | 2024 |
| World | 39.8% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 12.89% | 2023 |
| Low income | 7.12% | 2020 |
Closest to Malawi in the 2024 ranking
- Spain — 2nd of 40: 37.17%
- France — 3rd of 40: 29.02%
- Portugal — 4th of 40: 28.29%
- Gambia, The — 6th of 40: 27.55%
- Bahamas, The — 7th of 40: 23.45%
- United Kingdom — 8th of 40: 21.86%
What this measures
Claims on central government include loans to central government institutions net of deposits. 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.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 45 values
| Year | Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 27.94 |
| 2023 | 23.76 |
| 2022 | 20.26 |
| 2021 | 16.27 |
| 2020 | 11.07 |
| 2019 | 8.5 |
| 2018 | 10.29 |
| 2017 | 10.94 |
| 2016 | 8.93 |
| 2015 | 5.82 |
| 2014 |
Claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) in nearby economies
- Angola — 7.84% (2025)
- Benin — 1.94% (2025)
- Botswana — 17.38% (2025)
- Burkina Faso — 6.48% (2025)
- Burundi — 23.01% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 8.46% (2025)
- Cameroon — 3.69% (2019)
- Central African Republic — 25.54% (2022)
- Chad — 12.63% (2021)
- Comoros — 4.16% (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 claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP)?
- 27.94% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1980?
- It is up 20.63 percentage points from 7.31% in 1980. The highest value was 27.94% in 2024 and the lowest 0.3% in 1999.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 6th highest of 40 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) unusual for Malawi?
- In 2024, Malawi's claims on central government, etc. (% of GDP) rose 4.18 percentage points on 2023 (from 23.76% to 27.94%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.49 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.59 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.4 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FS.AST.CGOV.GD.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, International Monetary Fund (IMF); World Development Indicators Database, World Bank (WB); National Accounts data files, Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) 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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