Malawi: Interest payments (% of revenue)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Malawi's interest payments (% of revenue) rose 6.65 percentage points on 2023 (from 29.13% to 35.78%).

Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2023), the average change was +1.47 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.3 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 10.54 percentage points in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 2.18 percentage points in 2013. 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 2.11 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 90% 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 38.12% 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 4.61%, against 6.84% 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 2nd highest value of the 86 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 2024 ranking

• Brazil — 2nd of 86: 30.09%
• Panama — 3rd of 86: 28.93%
• Zambia — 4th of 86: 28.33%

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 a percentage of revenue which includes all transactions that add to the amount of economic value of a unit or sector.

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 16 values

Interest payments (% of revenue) in nearby economies

• Angola — 25.19% (2024)
• Botswana — 3.43% (2023)
• Burkina Faso — 9.67% (2024)
• Burundi — 2.36% (2021)
• Cabo Verde — 10.87% (2020)
• Cameroon — 6.82% (2021)
• Central African Republic — 4.21% (2021)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.51% (2022)
• Congo, Rep. — 9.05% (2021)
• Côte d'Ivoire — 18.05% (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
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• 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 revenue)?

35.78% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 2009?

It is up 27.18 percentage points from 8.59% in 2009. The highest value was 35.78% in 2024 and the lowest 7.05% in 2013.

How does Malawi rank?

2nd highest of 86 economies with data for 2024.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.XPN.INTP.RV.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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