Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Malawi
Malawi: Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines was 75.4% in 2019. ▲ Rising
Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Malawi, 1997–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 75.4% for share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in 2019. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
The figure is up 5.3% on the previous year and up 3.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Malawi peaked at 75.4% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 64.6%, in 1997.
That places Malawi 2nd out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 64.6% | 64.6% | 64.6% | 1 |
| 2000s | 74.4% | 74.4% | 74.4% | 1 |
| 2010s | 73.3% | 71.7% | 75.4% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 1 Mozambique 81.4% compare
- 3 Burundi 74.2% compare
- 4 Zambia 71.7% compare
- 5 Madagascar 69.2% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Malawi
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (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)
- Tax revenue as share of GDP vs. income inequality 15.1% (2023)
- Gender Inequality Index 0.581 (2023)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 7.4% (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in women 0.1477 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient by sex 0.1477 (2023)
- Lifespan inequality: Gini coefficient in men 0.1766 (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.3925 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Malawi?
- Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines in Malawi was 75.4% in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share in poverty relative to different poverty lines recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 75.4% in 2019.
- What is the lowest share in poverty relative to different poverty lines recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 64.6% in 1997.
- How does Malawi rank for share in poverty relative to different poverty lines?
- Malawi ranks 2nd out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is share in poverty relative to different poverty lines rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- 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 Share in poverty relative to different poverty lines. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Percentage of population living in households with an income or consumption below $3 per day.