Total shortfall from extreme poverty in Malawi
Malawi: Total shortfall from extreme poverty was 7.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2019. ▲ Rising
Total shortfall from extreme poverty in Malawi, 1997–2019
Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in international-$ in 2021 prices.
Analysis
In 2019, total shortfall from extreme poverty in Malawi stood at 7.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
That represents a change of up 20.5% on the previous year and up 24.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, total shortfall from extreme poverty in Malawi peaked at 7.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2019 and was at its lowest, 3.01 billion international-$ in 2021 prices, in 1997.
Malawi ranks 11th of 120 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.01 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 3.01 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 3.01 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 1 |
| 2000s | 4.46 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 4.46 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 4.46 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 1 |
| 2010s | 6.23 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 5.69 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 7.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 8 Madagascar 9.14 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 9 Zambia 8.77 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 10 Kenya 8.18 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 12 Ghana 5.18 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 13 Niger 5.08 billion international-$ in 2021 prices compare
- 14 Burundi 4.50 billion international-$ in 2021 prices 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)
- 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)
- Share of government consumption in GDP vs. share of population living in extreme poverty 7.4% (2023)
- Income inequality: Atkinson index 0.3925 (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is total shortfall from extreme poverty in Malawi?
- Total shortfall from extreme poverty in Malawi was 7.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest total shortfall from extreme poverty recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 7.10 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 2019.
- What is the lowest total shortfall from extreme poverty recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.01 billion international-$ in 2021 prices in 1997.
- How does Malawi rank for total shortfall from extreme poverty?
- Malawi ranks 11th out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
- Is total shortfall from extreme poverty rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 24.6%. 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 Total shortfall from extreme poverty. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
This is the amount of money that would be theoretically needed to lift the income or consumption of all people in poverty up to $3 per day. However, this is not a measure of the actual cost of eliminating poverty, since it does not take into account the costs involved in making the necessary transfers nor any changes in behavior they would bring about.