Malawi's short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) was 4.95% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 3.64 percentage points from 1.31% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 4.95% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 4.64% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 1.31% | 2014 |
| Highest | 44.48% | 1979 |
| Lowest | 0.9% | 2023 |
| Average since 2015 | 5.1% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 35.51% | 1978 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malawi's short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) rose 4.04 percentage points on 2023 (from 0.9% to 4.95%).
Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 6.44 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 17.85 percentage points in 2002 and the biggest yearly fall was 21.16 percentage points in 1981. 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 7% 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 71st highest value of the 99 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 | 4.95% | 2024 |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | 22.8% | 2024 |
| Low income | 8.01% | 2024 |
Closest to Malawi in the 2024 ranking
- Bolivia — 67th of 99: 5.64%
- São Tomé and Principe — 68th of 99: 5.1%
- Mauritania — 69th of 99: 5%
- Uganda — 71st of 99: 4.57%
- St. Lucia — 72nd of 99: 4.51%
- Solomon Islands — 73rd of 99: 4.1%
What this measures
Short-term external debt is defined as debt that has an original maturity of one year or less. Available data permit no distinction between public and private nonguaranteed short-term debt. Exports of goods, services and primary income is the sum of goods (merchandise) exports, exports of (nonfactor) services and income (factor) receipts.
Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.
All 47 values
| Year | Short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 4.95 |
| 2023 | 0.9023 |
| 2022 | 6.43 |
| 2021 | 9.02 |
| 2020 | 13.4 |
| 2019 | 4.64 |
| 2018 | 2.17 |
| 2017 | 4.8 |
| 2016 | 3.72 |
| 2015 | 0.9951 |
| 2014 |
Short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) in nearby economies
- Angola — 15.45% (2024)
- Benin — 26.66% (2023)
- Botswana — 2.46% (2024)
- Burkina Faso — 0% (2024)
- Burundi — 0.69% (2024)
- Cabo Verde — 32.13% (2024)
- Cameroon — 10.78% (2024)
- Comoros — 0.28% (2023)
- Congo, Dem. Rep.
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 short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)?
- 4.95% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 1978?
- It is down 30.56 percentage points from 35.51% in 1978. The highest value was 44.48% in 1979 and the lowest 0.9% in 2023.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 71st highest of 99 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) unusual for Malawi?
- In 2024, Malawi's short-term debt (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) rose 4.04 percentage points on 2023 (from 0.9% to 4.95%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.07 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 6.44 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 0.6 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 DT.DOD.DSTC.XP.ZS, licensed CC BY 4.0. Original source: International Debt Statistics, World Bank (WB) 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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