Economy of Malawi

Economy of Malawi
	Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources
Currency	Malawian kwacha (MWK)
Fiscal year	1 April - 31 March
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA (signed), WTO, SADC, COMESA
Country group	Least Developed; Low-income economy;
Statistics
GDP	$10.844 billion (nominal, 2024 est.); $40.074 billion (PPP, 2024 est.);
GDP rank	145th (nominal, 2024); 141th (PPP, 2024);
GDP growth	0.9% (2022) 1.5% (2023); 1.8% (2024) 4.0% (2024f);
GDP per capita	$464 (nominal, 2024 est.); $1,714 (PPP, 2024 est.);
GDP per capita rank	189th (nominal, 2024); 188th (PPP, 2024);
GDP by sector	agriculture 29.4%, industry 15.8%, services 56.1% (2016 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	8.4% (2020 est.)
Population below poverty line	51.5% (2016); 70.3% on less than $1.90/day (2016);
Gini coefficient	44.7 medium (2016)
Human Development Index	0.485 low (2018) (172nd); 0.346 IHDI (2018);
Labour force	8,156,049 (2019); 39.1% employment rate (2017);
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 76.9%, industry: 4.1%, services: 19% (2013 est.)
External
Exports	$1.443 billion (2017 est.)
Export goods	tobacco (55%), dried legumes (8.8%), sugar (6.7%), tea (5.7%), cotton (2%), peanuts, coffee, soy (2015 est.)
Main export partners	2017: Zimbabwe (13.1%); Mozambique (11.8%); Belgium (10.7%); South Africa (6.3%); Netherlands (5%); United Kingdom (4.7%); Germany (4.3%); United States (4.2%);
Imports	$2.388 billion (2017 est.)
Import goods	food, petroleum products, semi-manufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment
Main import partners	2017: South Africa (20.7%); China (14.2%); India (11.6%); United Arab Emirates (7%); Netherlands (4.4%);
FDI stock	$129.5 million (2014)
Gross external debt	$1.861 billion (2017 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	50.8% of GDP (2013 est.)
Foreign reserves	$364.2 million (31 December 2013 est.)
Revenues	$1.347 billion (2013 est.)
Expenses	$1.4 billion (2013 est.)
Economic aid	$1.174 million (2012)
	All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Malawi is $7.522 billion by gross domestic product as of 2019, and is predominantly agricultural, with about 80% of the population living in rural areas. The landlocked country in south central Africa ranks among the world's least developed countries and poorest countries. Approximately 50% of the population lives below the national poverty line, with 25% living in extreme poverty.

In 2017, agriculture accounted for about one-third of GDP and about 80% of export revenue. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The IMF and World Bank has spearheaded structural reforms in Malawi for decades.

The government faces strong challenges: to spur exports, to improve educational and health facilities, to face up to environmental problems of deforestation and erosion, and to deal with the problem of HIV/AIDS in Africa.