Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Malawi
Malawi: Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day was 97.1% in 2019. ▬ Flat
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 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
Malawi recorded 97.1% for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in 2019. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 0.6% on the previous year and up 1.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Malawi peaked at 97.1% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 93.4%, in 1997.
That places Malawi 2nd out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.
Poverty: Share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1997 | 93.4% | — |
| 2004 | 96.9% | +3.8% |
| 2010 | 96.1% | -0.9% |
| 2016 | 96.5% | +0.5% |
| 2019 | 97.1% | +0.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 97.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 93.5%, 1.0× the median. (13 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 97.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 89.9%, 1.1× the median. (26 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 93.4% | 93.4% | 93.4% | 1 |
| 2000s | 96.9% | 96.9% | 96.9% | 1 |
| 2010s | 96.6% | 96.1% | 97.1% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 1 Burundi 97.4% compare
- 3 Madagascar 96.6% compare
- 4 Mozambique 96.3% compare
- 5 Niger 96.1% compare
More poverty & inequality data for Malawi
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via the World Bank 2 surveys (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per person (2025)
- Number of income/consumption surveys in the past decade available via 0 surveys per US$ 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 $8.30 a day in Malawi?
- Poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day in Malawi was 97.1% 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 $8.30 a day recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 97.1% in 2019.
- What is the lowest poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 93.4% in 1997.
- How does Malawi rank for poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day?
- Malawi ranks 2nd out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is poverty: share of population living on less than $8.30 a day rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 1.0%. 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 $8.30 a day. 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 $8.30 per day.