Malawi: Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Malawi's total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) rose 0.85 percentage points on 2023 (from 9.71% to 10.56%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.42 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 2.47 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 13.85 percentage points in 1986 and the biggest yearly fall was 16.26 percentage points in 1987. 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 0.49 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 84% 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.

A straight-line projection, tested first

Extending that straight line gives about 11.78% for 2027. We show this only because the same method, fitted on earlier years, predicted 2022 to 2024 better than "no change" would have: its average miss was 0.3%, against 2.79% for assuming no change. Treat it as a continuation of the recent pattern, not a forecast of events: it cannot see a recession, a policy change or a revision to the data.

See how a linear trend forecast works and the guide on forecasting without fooling yourself.

How it compares

In 2024, Malawi had the 66th highest value of the 109 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

• Bulgaria — 62nd of 109: 11.09%
• Paraguay — 63rd of 109: 11.06%
• Bosnia and Herzegovina — 64th of 109: 10.84%
• Cambodia — 66th of 109: 10.54%
• India — 67th of 109: 10.49%
• Belarus — 68th of 109: 10.47%

What this measures

Total debt service to exports of goods, services and primary income. Total debt service is the sum of principal repayments and interest actually paid in currency, goods, or services on long-term debt, interest paid on short-term debt, and repayments (repurchases and charges) to the IMF.

Regional and income-group figures are computed by the World Bank as a weighted average.

All 48 values

Total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income) in nearby economies

• Angola — 28.91% (2024)
• Benin — 26.81% (2024)
• Botswana — 4.72% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 13.6% (2024)
• Burundi — 10.96% (2023)
• Cabo Verde — 12.62% (2024)
• Cameroon — 20.15% (2023)
• Central African Republic — 13.4% (2024)
• Chad

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

• Where to find free public data, and how to check it before you trust it — 2 min read
• Data analysis examples: 6 worked from one dataset — 3 min read
• Real change or random noise? A plain guide to reading your numbers — 2 min read

Questions people ask

What is Malawi's total debt service (% of exports of goods, services and primary income)?

10.56% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1977?

It is down 0.19 percentage points from 10.75% in 1977. The highest value was 53.7% in 1986 and the lowest 1.42% in 2011.

Source

World Bank, World Development Indicators, indicator DT.TDS.DECT.EX.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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