Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malawi
Malawi: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day was 100.0% in 2019. ▬ Flat
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malawi, 1997–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malawi is 100.0%, measured in 2019. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malawi peaked at 100.0% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 99.5%, in 1997.
That places Malawi 9th out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 99.5% | — |
| 2004 | 99.9% | +0.5% |
| 2010 | 99.8% | -0.1% |
| 2016 | 99.9% | +0.1% |
| 2019 | 100.0% | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 99.5% | 99.5% | 99.5% | 1 |
| 2000s | 99.9% | 99.9% | 99.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 99.9% | 99.8% | 100.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More poverty & inequality data for Malawi
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Fertility rate vs. share living in extreme poverty 3.65 live births per woman (2023)
- Cereal yield vs. share in extreme poverty 1,857 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
- Cereal yield vs extreme poverty, annual growth rate -4.49 % change on previous year (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, gaps filled 15.06 (2023)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 15.1% (2023)
- Tax revenues vs income inequality, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malawi?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day in Malawi was 100.0% in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 100.0% in 2019.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 99.5% in 1997.
- How does Malawi rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day?
- Malawi ranks 9th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $40 a day rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 0.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is flat.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Poverty: Share of population living on less than $40 a day. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $40 per day.