Malawi: Interest payments (% of expense)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2022, Malawi's interest payments (% of expense) rose 6.03 percentage points on 2021 (from 20.32% to 26.35%).

Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2021), the average change was +0.95 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.11 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 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 8.48 percentage points in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.77 percentage points in 2018. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.

From 2013 to 2022 the straight-line trend is upward, about 1.14 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 61% 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 2022, Malawi had the 2nd highest value of the 23 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.

Closest to Malawi in the 2022 ranking

• Ghana — 1st of 23: 32.79%
• India — 3rd of 23: 23.23%
• Lao PDR — 4th of 23: 16.99%
• South Africa — 5th of 23: 14.29%

What this measures

Interest payments include interest payments on government debt (including long-term bonds, long-term loans, and other debt instruments) to domestic and foreign residents. This indicator is expressed as percentage of total expenses which is any decrease in net worth resulting from a transaction.

Limitations: For most countries central government finance data have been consolidated into one account, but for others only budgetary central government accounts are available. Countries reporting budgetary data are noted in the country metadata. Because budgetary accounts may not include all central government units (such as social security funds), they usually provide an incomplete picture. In federal states the central government accounts provide an incomplete view of total public finance. Data on government revenue and expense are collected by the IMF through questionnaires to member countries and by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD).

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a median.

All 14 values

Interest payments (% of expense) in nearby economies

• Angola — 31.91% (2019)
• Botswana — 4.04% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 11.93% (2023)
• Burundi — 3.33% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 8.76% (2020)
• Cameroon — 7.79% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 5.17% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.68% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 11.51% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 14.14% (2023)
• Equatorial Guinea

More public sector data for Malawi

• Military expenditure (current USD) — 162.82 million (2025)
• Military expenditure (current LCU) — 282.4 billion (2025)
• Military expenditure (% of GDP) — 1.15% (2025)
• Armed forces personnel, total — 15,000 (2020)
• Armed forces personnel (% of total labor force) — 0.2% (2020)
• Arms imports (SIPRI trend indicator values) — 2 million (2024)
• Military expenditure (% of general government expenditure) — 3.84% (2025)
• CPIA business regulatory environment rating (1=low to 6=high) — 3 (2025)
• CPIA debt policy rating (1=low to 6=high) — 2 (2025)
• CPIA economic management cluster average (1=low to 6=high)

Reading data like this

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
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• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Malawi's interest payments (% of expense)?

26.35% in 2022, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2009?

It is up 17.39 percentage points from 8.95% in 2009. The highest value was 26.35% in 2022 and the lowest 8.73% in 2013.

How does Malawi rank?

2nd highest of 23 economies with data for 2022.

Is the latest change in interest payments (% of expense) unusual for Malawi?

In 2022, Malawi's interest payments (% of expense) rose 6.03 percentage points on 2021 (from 20.32% to 26.35%). Across the 12 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2021), the average change was +0.95 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.11 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.6 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 GC.XPN.INTP.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Government Finance Statistics Yearbook and data files, 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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