Malawi: Total debt service (% of GNI)

Key figures

What the numbers say

In 2024, Malawi's total debt service (% of GNI) rose 0.33 percentage points on 2023 (from 1.14% to 1.47%).

Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.84 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 2.03 percentage points in 1994 and the biggest yearly fall was 3.14 percentage points in 1996. 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 0.06 percentage points a year. A straight line explains 66% 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 103rd highest value of the 117 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

• Madagascar — 99th of 117: 1.71%
• Solomon Islands — 100th of 117: 1.64%
• Comoros — 101st of 117: 1.52%
• Botswana — 103rd of 117: 1.45%
• Mali — 104th of 117: 1.42%
• Myanmar — 105th of 117: 1.31%

What this measures

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 45 values

Total debt service (% of GNI) in nearby economies

• Angola — 11.26% (2024)
• Benin — 5.38% (2024)
• Botswana — 1.45% (2024)
• Burkina Faso — 4.06% (2024)
• Burundi — 1.18% (2024)
• Cabo Verde — 5.72% (2024)
• Cameroon — 3.21% (2024)
• Central African Republic — 1.94% (2024)
• Chad — 1.91% (2024)
• Comoros — 1.52% (2024)
• Congo, Dem. Rep. — 0.64% (2024)

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

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Questions people ask

What is Malawi's total debt service (% of GNI)?

1.47% in 2024, according to the World Bank (World Development Indicators).

How has it changed since 1980?

It is down 3.38 percentage points from 4.85% in 1980. The highest value was 8.47% in 1986 and the lowest 0.2% in 2011.

How does Malawi rank?

103rd highest of 117 economies with data for 2024.

Is the latest change in total debt service (% of GNI) unusual for Malawi?

In 2024, Malawi's total debt service (% of GNI) rose 0.33 percentage points on 2023 (from 1.14% to 1.47%). Across the 30 yearly changes before that (1994 to 2023), the average change was −0.05 percentage points and a typical year strayed about 0.84 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.

Source

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