Malawi's external debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) was US$3.74 billion in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 125.41% from US$1.66 billion in 2014 (8.47% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$3.74 billion | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | US$2.43 billion | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | US$1.66 billion | 2014 |
| Highest | US$3.74 billion | 2024 |
| Lowest | US$135.21 million | 1970 |
| Average since 2015 | US$2.73 billion | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | US$135.21 million |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malawi's external debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) rose 3.9% on 2023 (from US$3.6 billion to US$3.74 billion).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +4.7% and a typical year strayed about 16.5% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 standard deviations below 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 48.9% in 1977 and the biggest yearly fall was 72.8% in 2006. 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 US$240.6 million a year. A straight line explains 98% 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 US$4.39 billion 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 US$214.37 million, against US$365.5 million 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 88th highest value of the 118 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 | US$3.74 billion | 2024 |
| Low income | US$242.43 billion | 2024 |
Closest to Malawi in the 2024 ranking
What this measures
Total external debt is debt owed to nonresidents repayable in currency, goods, or services. Total external debt is the sum of public, publicly guaranteed, and private nonguaranteed long-term debt, use of IMF credit, and short-term debt. Short-term debt includes all debt having an original maturity of one year or less and interest in arrears on long-term debt. Data are in current U.S. dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
All 55 values
| Year | External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 3,743,648,286 |
| 2023 | 3,604,152,683 |
| 2022 | 3,340,066,802 |
| 2021 | 3,197,123,057 |
| 2020 | 2,961,709,327 |
| 2019 | 2,427,416,966 |
| 2018 | 2,265,713,574 |
| 2017 | 2,162,398,106 |
| 2016 | 1,848,081,075 |
| 2015 | 1,722,514,631 |
External debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$) in nearby economies
- Angola — US$58.73 billion (2024)
- Benin — US$14.16 billion (2024)
- Botswana — US$2.32 billion (2024)
- Burkina Faso — US$10.85 billion (2024)
- Burundi — US$1.02 billion (2024)
- Cabo Verde — US$2.36 billion (2024)
- Cameroon — US$15.77 billion (2024)
- Central African Republic — US$1.05 billion (2024)
- Chad — US$3.35 billion (2024)
- Comoros
More economic policy & debt data for Malawi
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$) — 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$548.16 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 364,283 (2025)
- Services, value added (annual % growth) — 2.15% (2025)
- GDP (annual % growth) — 1.89% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Malawi's external debt stocks, total (DOD, current US$)?
- US$3.74 billion in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1970?
- It is up 2,669% from US$135.21 million in 1970 (6.34% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$3.74 billion in 2024 and the lowest US$135.21 million in 1970.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.DOD.DECT.CD, 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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