Malawi's lending interest rate (%) was 37.06% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 7.23 percentage points from 44.29% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 37.06% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 25.67% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 44.29% | 2014 |
| Highest | 56.17% | 2001 |
| Lowest | 16.5% | 1979 |
| Average since 2015 | 32.91% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 16.5% | 1979 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malawi's lending interest rate (%) rose 3.52 percentage points on 2023 (from 33.55% to 37.06%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.13 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.4 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 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 16.33 percentage points in 1995 and the biggest yearly fall was 17.08 percentage points in 1997. 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 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 29% of the movement over 10 observed years, so the value is moving around more than it is heading anywhere.
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 2nd highest value of the 16 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
- Egypt, Arab Rep. — 2nd of 16: 24.29%
- Uzbekistan — 3rd of 16: 23.13%
- Kyrgyz Republic — 4th of 16: 19.78%
What this measures
Lending rate is the bank rate that usually meets the short- and medium-term financing needs of the private sector. This rate is normally differentiated according to creditworthiness of borrowers and objectives of financing. The terms and conditions attached to these rates differ by country, however, limiting their comparability.
Limitations: Countries use a variety of reporting formats, sample designs, interest compounding formulas, averaging methods, and data presentations for indices and other data series on interest rates. The IMF's Monetary and Financial Statistics Manual does not provide guidelines beyond the general recommendation that such data should reflect market prices and effective (rather than nominal) interest rates and should be representative of the financial assets and markets to be covered. For more information, please see http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/mfs/manual/index.htm.
All 46 values
| Year | Lending interest rate (%) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 37.06 |
| 2023 | 33.55 |
| 2022 | 25.35 |
| 2021 | 23.88 |
| 2020 | 24.22 |
| 2019 | 25.67 |
| 2018 | 32.29 |
| 2017 | 38.59 |
| 2016 | 44.11 |
| 2015 | 44.39 |
| 2014 |
Lending interest rate (%) in nearby economies
- Angola — 19.37% (2025)
- Benin — 6.25% (2021)
- Botswana — 6.26% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 6.25% (2021)
- Burundi — 12.37% (2025)
- Cabo Verde — 7.75% (2025)
- Comoros — 8.03% (2022)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 24.11% (2025)
- Côte d'Ivoire — 5.3% (2016)
- Eswatini — 10.88% (2024)
- Gambia, The — 22% (2025)
- Guinea-Bissau
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 lending interest rate (%)?
- 37.06% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1979?
- It is up 20.56 percentage points from 16.5% in 1979. The highest value was 56.17% in 2001 and the lowest 16.5% in 1979.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 2nd highest of 16 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in lending interest rate (%) unusual for Malawi?
- In 2024, Malawi's lending interest rate (%) rose 3.52 percentage points on 2023 (from 33.55% to 37.06%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was +0.13 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 7.4 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was an ordinary year: it sits within the range of normal year-to-year movement.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator FR.INR.LEND, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Financial Statistics database, 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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