Malawi's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) was 10.13% in 2024, the latest year in the World Bank's World Development Indicators. That is up 3.07 percentage points from 7.06% in 2014.
Key figures
| Value | Year | |
|---|---|---|
| Latest | 10.13% | 2024 |
| Five years earlier | 7.47% | 2019 |
| Ten years earlier | 7.06% | 2014 |
| Highest | 10.13% | 2024 |
| Lowest | 5.82% | 2013 |
| Average since 2015 | 7.8% | 2015–2024 |
| First recorded | 7.02% | 2009 |
What the numbers say
In 2024, Malawi's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) rose 1.17 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.96% to 10.13%).
Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2023), the average change was +0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 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 1.24 percentage points in 2014 and the biggest yearly fall was 1.15 percentage points 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 2015 to 2024 the straight-line trend is upward, about 0.38 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 91% 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 2024, Malawi had the 55th 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
- Uruguay — 51st of 86: 10.61%
- Malta — 52nd of 86: 10.21%
- Azerbaijan — 53rd of 86: 10.2%
- Belgium — 55th of 86: 10.13%
- Dominican Republic — 56th of 86: 9.47%
- Uganda — 57th of 86: 9.41%
What this measures
General taxes on goods and services are taxes levied on the production, leasing, delivery, sale, purchase or other change of ownership of a wide range of goods and the provision of a wide range of services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of value added in industry and services which is the contribution to the economy by industries in ISIC (Rev. 3) divisions 05-43 and 50-99.
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).
All 16 values
| Year | Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) |
|---|---|
| 2024 | 10.13 |
| 2023 | 8.96 |
| 2022 | 8.79 |
| 2021 | 7.68 |
| 2020 | 7.8 |
| 2019 | 7.47 |
| 2018 | 7.32 |
| 2017 | 7.31 |
| 2016 | 6.36 |
| 2015 | 6.21 |
| 2014 |
Taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) in nearby economies
- Angola — 2.19% (2024)
- Botswana — 4.38% (2023)
- Burkina Faso — 13.51% (2024)
- Burundi — 13.39% (2021)
- Cabo Verde — 11.16% (2020)
- Cameroon — 8.14% (2021)
- Congo, Dem. Rep. — 3.75% (2022)
- Congo, Rep. — 3.31% (2021)
- Côte d'Ivoire
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
Questions people ask
- What is Malawi's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added)?
- 10.13% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).
- How has it changed since 2009?
- It is up 3.11 percentage points from 7.02% in 2009. The highest value was 10.13% in 2024 and the lowest 5.82% in 2013.
- How does Malawi rank?
- 55th highest of 86 economies with data for 2024.
- Is the latest change in taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) unusual for Malawi?
- In 2024, Malawi's taxes on goods and services (% of industry and services value added) rose 1.17 percentage points on 2023 (from 8.96% to 10.13%). Across the 14 yearly changes before that (2010 to 2023), the average change was +0.14 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.68 percentage points from that (the standard deviation). This year's change was 1.5 standard deviations above that average, so it was larger than a typical year, though not out of the range seen before.
Source
World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator GC.TAX.GSRV.VA.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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