Malawi's renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) was 80.06% in 2021, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is down 18.65 percentage points from 98.71% in 2011.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 80.06% | 2021 |
| Five years earlier | 96.82% | 2016 |
| Ten years earlier | 98.71% | 2011 |
| Highest | 99.1% | 2015 |
| Lowest | 79.25% | 2019 |
| Average since 2012 | 89.55% | 2012–2021 |
| First recorded | 93.2% | 2000 |
What the numbers say
In 2021, Malawi's renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) rose 0.78 percentage points on 2020 (from 79.28% to 80.06%).
Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was −0.7 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 4.53 percentage points in 2008 and the biggest yearly fall was 12.33 percentage points in 2017. The numbers show how large and when, not why; for the cause, look at what happened in that country in those years.
From 2012 to 2021 the straight-line trend is downward, about 2.86 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 83% 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 2021, Malawi had the 28th highest value of the 204 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 | 80.06% | 2021 |
| World | 27.84% | 2021 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 32.56% | 2021 |
| Low income | 59.06% | 2021 |
Closest to Malawi in the 2021 ranking
- New Zealand — 24th of 204: 81.48%
- Georgia — 25th of 204: 81.37%
- Ecuador — 26th of 204: 80.95%
- Austria — 28th of 204: 79.91%
- Denmark — 29th of 204: 78.96%
- Afghanistan — 30th of 204: 78.23%
What this measures
Renewable electricity is the share of electricity generated by renewable power plants in total electricity generated by all types of plants.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 22 values
| Year | Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) |
|---|---|
| 2021 | 80.06 |
| 2020 | 79.28 |
| 2019 | 79.25 |
| 2018 | 80.15 |
| 2017 | 84.49 |
| 2016 | 96.82 |
| 2015 | 99.1 |
| 2014 | 98.85 |
| 2013 | 98.81 |
| 2012 | 98.71 |
| 2011 |
Renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) in nearby economies
- Angola — 91.16% (2021)
- Benin — 0.26% (2021)
- Botswana — 0.25% (2021)
- Burkina Faso — 13.92% (2021)
- Burundi — 61.3% (2021)
- Cabo Verde — 18.27% (2021)
- Cameroon — 65.81% (2021)
- Central African Republic — 96.47% (2021)
- Chad — 5.72% (2021)
More environment data for Malawi
- Population in largest city — 1.39 million (2025)
- Population in the largest city (% of urban population) — 35.64% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million — 1.39 million (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million (% of total population) — 6.27% (2025)
- Rural population — 18.31 million (2025)
- Rural population (% of total population) — 82.41% (2025)
- Urban population — 3.91 million (2025)
- Urban population (% of total population) — 17.6% (2025)
- Aquaculture production (metric tons) — 4,800 (2024)
- Capture fisheries production (metric tons)
Reading data like this
Questions people ask
- What is Malawi's renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output)?
- 80.06% in 2021, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2000?
- It is down 13.15 percentage points from 93.2% in 2000. The highest value was 99.1% in 2015 and the lowest 79.25% in 2019.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 28th highest of 204 economies with data for 2021.
- Is the latest change in renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) unusual for Malawi?
- In 2021, Malawi's renewable electricity output (% of total electricity output) rose 0.78 percentage points on 2020 (from 79.28% to 80.06%). Across the 20 yearly changes before that (2001 to 2020), the average change was −0.7 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 3.37 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.4 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 EG.ELC.RNEW.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: IEA Energy Statistics Data Browser, International Energy Agency (IEA), uri: https://www.iea.org/data-and-statistics/data-tools/energy-statistics-data-browser, publisher: International Energy Agency (IEA), date accessed: 2025-03-25 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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