Malawi's debt service to exports (%) was 10.46% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 6.37 percentage points from 4.09% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 10.46% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 6.49% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 4.09% | 2014 |
| Highest | 51.67% | 1986 |
| Lowest | 1.38% | 2011 |
| Average since 2015 | 7.59% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 20.12% | 1978 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malawi's debt service to exports (%) rose 0.65 percentage points on 2023 (from 9.81% to 10.46%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.41 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.48 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 13.68 percentage points in 1986 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.21 percentage points in 1987. 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 0.51 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 83% 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.
A straight-line projection, tested first
Extending that straight line gives about 11.82% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.58%, against 3.01% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.
See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.
How it compares
In 2024, Malawi had the 33rd highest value of the 100 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 | 10.46% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 10.3% | 2024 |
| Low income | 6.23% | 2024 |
Closest to Malawi in the 2024 ranking
- Cabo Verde — 29th of 100: 10.8%
- Ukraine — 30th of 100: 10.58%
- Bangladesh — 31st of 100: 10.48%
- Ethiopia — 33rd of 100: 10.06%
- St. Vincent and the Grenadines — 34th of 100: 10.04%
- Mozambique — 35th of 100: 10.01%
What this measures
Debt service, the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services, is expressed as a percentage of exports of goods and services--all transactions between residents of a country and the rest of the world involving a change of ownership from residents to nonresidents of general merchandise, net exports of goods under merchanting, nonmonetary gold, and services. This series differs from the standard debt to exports series in that it covers only long-term public and publicly guaranteed debt and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF.
All 47 values
| Year | Debt service to exports (%) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 10.46 |
| 2023 | 9.81 |
| 2022 | 9.48 |
| 2021 | 6.91 |
| 2020 | 7.28 |
| 2019 | 6.49 |
| 2018 | 7.16 |
| 2017 | 6.4 |
| 2016 | 6.31 |
| 2015 | 5.56 |
| 2014 |
Debt service to exports (%) in nearby economies
- Angola — 27.64% (2024)
- Benin — 16.44% (2023)
- Botswana — 4.53% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 4.62% (2024)
- Burundi — 9.36% (2024)
- Cabo Verde — 10.8% (2024)
- Cameroon — 17.27% (2024)
- Comoros — 11.54% (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 1.3% (2024)
- Congo, Rep. — 6.31% (2021)
- Côte d'Ivoire — 21.71% (2024)
- Eswatini
More economic policy & debt data for Malawi
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$) — US$6.68 billion (2025)
- Services, value added (constant LCU) — 4.34 trillion (2025)
- Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (constant 2015 US$) — US$11.42 billion (2025)
- Gross Value Added (GVA) at basic prices (constant LCU) — 7.6 trillion (2025)
- GDP (constant 2015 US$) — US$12.18 billion (2025)
- GDP (constant LCU) — 8.09 trillion (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant 2015 US$) — US$548.16 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 364,283 (2025)
- Services, value added (annual % growth) — 2.15% (2025)
- GDP (annual % growth) — 1.89% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Malawi's debt service to exports (%)?
- 10.46% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1978?
- It is down 9.65 percentage points from 20.12% in 1978. The highest value was 51.67% in 1986 and the lowest 1.38% in 2011.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 33rd highest of 100 economies with data for 2024.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DPPF.XP.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) 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.
Want to ask your own questions of data like this? Try AnalyzeIt: upload a file or ask about public data in plain words, and every figure comes with its working.
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