Malawi's primary income payments (BoP, current US$) was US$281.01 million in 2025, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 25.9% from US$223.2 million in 2015 (2.33% a year on average, compounded).
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | US$281.01 million | 2025 |
| Five years earlier | US$352.33 million | 2020 |
| Ten years earlier | US$223.2 million | 2015 |
| Highest | US$395.57 million | 2022 |
| Lowest | US$40.93 million | 1997 |
| Average since 2016 | US$281.1 million | 2016–2025 |
| First recorded | US$49.42 million |
What the numbers say
In 2025, Malawi's primary income payments (BoP, current US$) rose 28.2% on 2024 (from US$219.26 million to US$281.01 million).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +26.9% and a typical year strayed about 100.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 500.1% in 2013 and the biggest yearly fall was 88.2% in 2012. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2016 to 2025 there is no clear straight-line trend: a straight line explains 8% 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 2025, Malawi had the 120th highest value of the 136 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$281.01 million | 2025 |
| World | US$7.99 trillion | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | US$86.89 billion | 2024 |
| Low income | US$11.49 billion | 2023 |
Closest to Malawi in the 2025 ranking
- Timor-Leste — 116th of 136: US$364.43 million
- Nepal — 117th of 136: US$357.29 million
- St. Lucia — 118th of 136: US$290.12 million
- Bermuda — 120th of 136: US$256.32 million
- Belize — 121st of 136: US$187.93 million
- Seychelles — 122nd of 136: US$124.61 million
What this measures
Primary income payments refer to employee compensation paid to nonresident workers and investment income (payments on direct investment, portfolio investment, other investments).This indicator is expressed in current prices, meaning no adjustment has been made to account for price changes over time. This indicator is expressed in United States dollars.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a sum.
All 48 values
| Year | Primary income payments (BoP, current US$) |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 281,007,714 |
| 2024 | 219,262,151 |
| 2023 | 226,023,321 |
| 2022 | 395,565,630 |
| 2021 | 392,410,012 |
| 2020 | 352,333,532 |
| 2019 | 290,199,066 |
| 2018 | 338,763,083 |
| 2017 | 216,151,708 |
| 2016 | 99,257,355 |
| 2015 |
Primary income payments (BoP, current US$) in nearby economies
- Angola — US$6.72 billion (2025)
- Benin — US$533.3 million (2023)
- Botswana — US$549.97 million (2025)
- Burkina Faso — US$1.45 billion (2024)
- Burundi — US$54.54 million (2025)
- Cabo Verde — US$101.33 million (2025)
- Cameroon — US$1.34 billion (2024)
- Comoros — US$7.72 million (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — US$3.76 billion (2025)
- Congo, Rep. — US$1.71 billion (2021)
More economic policy & debt data for Malawi
- Services, value added (constant 2015 US$) — 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$548.16 (2025)
- GDP per capita (constant LCU) — 364,283 (2025)
- Services, value added (annual % growth) — 2.15% (2025)
- GDP (annual % growth) — 1.89% (2025)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Malawi's primary income payments (BoP, current US$)?
- US$281.01 million in 2025, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1978?
- It is up 468.58% from US$49.42 million in 1978 (3.77% a year on average, compounded). The highest value was US$395.57 million in 2022 and the lowest US$40.93 million in 1997.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 120th highest of 136 economies with data for 2025.
- Is the latest change in primary income payments (BoP, current US$) unusual for Malawi?
- In 2025, Malawi's primary income payments (BoP, current US$) rose 28.2% on 2024 (from US$219.26 million to US$281.01 million). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1995 to 2024), the average change was +26.9% and a typical year strayed about 100.4% from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.0 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 BM.GSR.FCTY.CD, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: Balance of Payments 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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