Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Malawi
Malawi: Merchandise imports from high-income economies was 37.0% in 2023. ▼ Falling
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Malawi, 1964–2023
Source: Staff estimates, World Bank (WB). Measured in % of total merchandise imports.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 37.0% for merchandise imports from high-income economies in 2023.
That represents a change of down 14.3% on the previous year and up 6.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, merchandise imports from high-income economies in Malawi peaked at 61.3% in 1986 and was at its lowest, 25.4%, in 1999.
That places Malawi 176th out of 206 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 60 years of available data.
Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of total merchandise imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1964 | 42.4% | — |
| 1965 | 50.5% | +19.2% |
| 1966 | 52.6% | +4.0% |
| 1967 | 55.6% | +5.8% |
| 1968 | 58.4% | +5.0% |
| 1969 | 54.5% | -6.6% |
| 1970 | 52.3% | -4.1% |
| 1971 | 59.1% | +13.1% |
| 1972 | 56.5% | -4.4% |
| 1973 | 51.2% | -9.4% |
| 1974 | 49.8% | -2.9% |
| 1975 | 55.0% | +10.5% |
| 1976 | 57.1% | +3.9% |
| 1977 | 53.7% | -5.9% |
| 1978 | 54.3% | +1.1% |
| 1979 | 49.2% | -9.4% |
| 1980 | 51.8% | +5.3% |
| 1981 | 52.2% | +0.9% |
| 1982 | 48.7% | -6.9% |
| 1983 | 45.7% | -6.1% |
| 1984 | 43.6% | -4.6% |
| 1985 | 51.2% | +17.5% |
| 1986 | 61.3% | +19.7% |
| 1987 | 46.5% | -24.2% |
| 1988 | 52.9% | +13.9% |
| 1989 | 44.0% | -16.8% |
| 1990 | 53.0% | +20.3% |
| 1991 | 51.6% | -2.5% |
| 1992 | 48.7% | -5.7% |
| 1993 | 37.6% | -22.8% |
| 1994 | 35.2% | -6.5% |
| 1995 | 44.6% | +26.9% |
| 1996 | 29.1% | -34.8% |
| 1997 | 26.9% | -7.5% |
| 1998 | 27.4% | +1.9% |
| 1999 | 25.4% | -7.4% |
| 2000 | 35.5% | +39.6% |
| 2001 | 29.5% | -16.9% |
| 2002 | 33.6% | +13.9% |
| 2003 | 29.6% | -11.8% |
| 2004 | 27.4% | -7.6% |
| 2005 | 26.7% | -2.5% |
| 2006 | 28.1% | +5.3% |
| 2007 | 31.2% | +11.1% |
| 2008 | 30.4% | -2.5% |
| 2009 | 27.6% | -9.3% |
| 2010 | 34.0% | +23.3% |
| 2011 | 33.6% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 29.9% | -11.0% |
| 2013 | 34.9% | +16.4% |
| 2014 | 32.5% | -6.6% |
| 2015 | 37.4% | +15.0% |
| 2016 | 37.5% | +0.3% |
| 2017 | 40.4% | +7.7% |
| 2018 | 40.2% | -0.4% |
| 2019 | 39.9% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 35.9% | -10.1% |
| 2021 | 39.5% | +10.1% |
| 2022 | 43.1% | +9.2% |
| 2023 | 37.0% | -14.3% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 37.0% is below the median for low income countries, which is 38.4%, 96% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 37.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 42.2%, 88% of the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 52.3% | 42.4% | 58.4% | 6 |
| 1970s | 53.8% | 49.2% | 59.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 49.8% | 43.6% | 61.3% | 10 |
| 1990s | 38.0% | 25.4% | 53.0% | 10 |
| 2000s | 29.9% | 26.7% | 35.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 36.1% | 29.9% | 40.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 38.9% | 35.9% | 43.1% | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 173 Djibouti 37.5% compare
- 174 Guinea-Bissau 37.3% compare
- 175 Nicaragua 37.3% compare
- 177 Timor-Leste 36.8% compare
- 178 Argentina 36.0% compare
- 179 Sierra Leone 35.2% compare
More private sector data for Malawi
- Merchandise trade 30.9% (2025)
- Food imports 11.8% (2024)
- Manufactures imports 68.1% (2024)
- Merchandise imports 3.66 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 90.2% (2024)
- Manufactures exports 8.0% (2024)
- Merchandise exports 947.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 42.63 current US$ per person (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per unit of GDP 0.0635 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), annual growth rate -1.15 % change on previous year (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is merchandise imports from high-income economies in Malawi?
- Merchandise imports from high-income economies in Malawi was 37.0% in 2023, according to Staff estimates, World Bank (WB).
- What is the highest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 61.3% in 1986.
- What is the lowest merchandise imports from high-income economies recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 25.4% in 1999.
- How does Malawi rank for merchandise imports from high-income economies?
- Malawi ranks 176th out of 206 countries with data for 2023.
- Is merchandise imports from high-income economies rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 6.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Staff estimates, World Bank (WB), published as part of Merchandise imports from high-income economies (% of total merchandise imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 60 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Merchandise imports from high-income economies are the sum of merchandise imports by the reporting economy from high-income economies according to the World Bank classification of economies. Data are expressed as a percentage of total merchandise imports by the economy. Data are computed only if at least half of the economies in the partner country group had non-missing data.