Malawi economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances
How large the Malawi economy is and how fast it is growing, who invests in it, what it sells and buys, how much its citizens abroad send home, who it owes and what it holds in reserve. The latest published year is shown with each figure.
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Malawi economy snapshot: GDP, growth and income per person
Malawi's GDP was US$14.9 billion in 2025, after real growth of 1.9%.
GDP
Current US dollars.
Real GDP growth
Annual change, per cent. Red bars are contractions.
GDP per person
Current US dollars.
Source: World Bank, 2025. Method
Who invests in Malawi and in what
Direct investment by investing country
Mauritius was the largest investing country in Malawi, at 29% of inward direct investment positions in 2024.
Inward direct investment positions in Malawi at the end of 2024: the stock of foreign direct investment, not a year's new flow. The 10 largest investing countries.
The IMF data holds no positions reported by Malawi itself. The figures are derived by the IMF from what the investing countries report, so they are shown as reported by investing countries.
Source: IMF, 2024. Method
What Malawi sells and buys
Tobacco was 67% of exports in 2025.
Malawi sold the most to Belgium, 19% of exports in 2025.
Exports by product, 2025
Tile area follows value. Each tile is a customs chapter of the Harmonized System; hover for the full name.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method
Top buyers, 2025
Share of Malawi's exports.
Top suppliers, 2025
Share of Malawi's imports.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method
What Malawi buys, 2025
The 8 largest product chapters in imports.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method
Trade balance of goods
Exports minus imports. Red bars are years when imports were larger. A year is left out when either side is not published.
Source: UN Comtrade, 2025. Method
Remittances against foreign direct investment in Malawi
Foreign direct investment in Malawi was 1.7 times remittances in 2025.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Remittances and investment as a share of GDP
The same two flows measured against the size of the economy.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Who Malawi owes
External debt stock by type of creditor. Creditor types cover public and publicly guaranteed debt; the grey part is the rest of the total external debt stock. A creditor type with no published figure is not shown.
Multilateral creditors held 70% of Malawi's external debt stock in 2024.
Public external debt owed to China was US$203 million in 2024, 5% of the external debt stock.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Reserves and months of import cover
Total reserves including gold, and how many months of imports they cover.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Aid received by Malawi
Net official development assistance and official aid received.
Source: World Bank, 2026. Method
Where Malawi ranks in Africa
Its place among the 54 African countries on each of our Africa rankings. Each tile opens the full ranking with its source.
- GDP per person50th of 53$627, 2025Richest countries in Africa
- Size of the economy34th of 53$15.1 billion, 2025Largest economies in Africa
- Population21st of 5324.1 million, 2025African countries by population
- Area37th of 54118,484 sq kmLargest countries in Africa
- Life expectancy18th of 5467.6 years, 2024Life expectancy in Africa
- US travel advisory9th of 54Level 2, increased cautionSafest countries in Africa
- President's time in office47th longest of 51Arthur Peter Mutharika, 1 yearsLongest serving presidents
- President's age3rd oldest of 5186 years oldOldest presidents in Africa
More on Malawi
- Malawi government directory
- Inflation and unemployment in Malawi
- Malawi debt: debt to GDP and largest creditors
- Who invests in Africa: the largest foreign investors in every country
- Natural resources in Malawi: oil, gas and minerals
- East Africa: Malawi and its neighbours compared
- African economies compared: GDP, investment, trade and remittances
World Bank data pages for Malawi: GDP, GDP growth, GDP per person, remittances, foreign direct investment, reserves, months of imports, external debt, debt by creditor, aid. UN Comtrade: trade data. IMF: direct investment positions.
Cite this
PollsAfrica (2026). Malawi economy: GDP, investment, trade and remittances. Retrieved 10 Oct 2026 from https://pollsafrica.com/economy/malawi