Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in Malawi
Malawi: Transport services (% of commercial service imports) was 55.5% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Transport services in Malawi, 1977–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service imports.
Analysis
In 2025, transport services in Malawi stood at 55.5%.
That represents a change of up 1.3% on the previous year and up 99.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, transport services in Malawi peaked at 86.8% in 1977 and was at its lowest, 15.2%, in 2020.
Malawi ranks 26th of 197 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 49 years of available data.
Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service imports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 86.8% | — |
| 1978 | 81.2% | -6.4% |
| 1979 | 79.0% | -2.7% |
| 1980 | 81.7% | +3.4% |
| 1981 | 81.4% | -0.4% |
| 1982 | 80.0% | -1.7% |
| 1983 | 79.0% | -1.2% |
| 1984 | 81.8% | +3.6% |
| 1985 | 81.6% | -0.3% |
| 1986 | 79.5% | -2.6% |
| 1987 | 82.3% | +3.6% |
| 1988 | 83.2% | +1.1% |
| 1989 | 84.1% | +1.0% |
| 1990 | 81.8% | -2.7% |
| 1991 | 77.6% | -5.2% |
| 1992 | 81.3% | +4.8% |
| 1993 | 84.7% | +4.2% |
| 1994 | 71.9% | -15.1% |
| 1995 | 66.8% | -7.2% |
| 1996 | 58.5% | -12.4% |
| 1997 | 52.5% | -10.3% |
| 1998 | 60.6% | +15.4% |
| 1999 | 60.4% | -0.4% |
| 2000 | 52.8% | -12.6% |
| 2001 | 57.4% | +8.8% |
| 2002 | 50.1% | -12.7% |
| 2003 | 27.9% | -44.3% |
| 2004 | 24.1% | -13.7% |
| 2005 | 30.9% | +28.3% |
| 2006 | 31.1% | +0.6% |
| 2007 | 26.9% | -13.4% |
| 2008 | 32.5% | +20.8% |
| 2009 | 38.8% | +19.2% |
| 2010 | 42.0% | +8.2% |
| 2011 | 40.6% | -3.1% |
| 2012 | 29.6% | -27.1% |
| 2013 | 26.4% | -10.8% |
| 2014 | 26.1% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 27.7% | +6.2% |
| 2016 | 29.1% | +4.9% |
| 2017 | 26.6% | -8.6% |
| 2018 | 26.2% | -1.5% |
| 2019 | 22.0% | -16.0% |
| 2020 | 15.2% | -30.9% |
| 2021 | 15.8% | +3.7% |
| 2022 | 46.7% | +196.5% |
| 2023 | 48.3% | +3.3% |
| 2024 | 54.8% | +13.4% |
| 2025 | 55.5% | +1.3% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 55.5% is below the median for low income countries, which is 56.6%, 98% of the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 55.5% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 41.1%, 1.4× the median. (45 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Transport services (% of commercial service imports) in Malawi changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | +196.5% | 15.8% | 46.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 82.3% | 79.0% | 86.8% | 3 |
| 1980s | 81.5% | 79.0% | 84.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 69.6% | 52.5% | 84.7% | 10 |
| 2000s | 37.3% | 24.1% | 57.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 29.6% | 22.0% | 42.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 39.4% | 15.2% | 55.5% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More private sector data for Malawi
- Merchandise trade 30.9% (2025)
- Food imports 11.2% (2025)
- Manufactures imports 64.9% (2025)
- Merchandise imports 3.66 billion current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service imports 1.01 billion current US$ (2025)
- Food exports 93.3% (2025)
- Manufactures exports 5.1% (2025)
- Merchandise exports 947.00 million current US$ (2025)
- Commercial service exports 483.71 million current US$ (2025)
- Merchandise exports (current US$), per capita 42.63 current US$ per person (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is transport services in Malawi?
- Transport services in Malawi was 55.5% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest transport services recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 86.8% in 1977.
- What is the lowest transport services recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 15.2% in 2020.
- How does Malawi rank for transport services?
- Malawi ranks 26th out of 197 countries with data for 2025.
- Is transport services rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 99.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF), published as part of Transport services (% of commercial service imports). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 49 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Transport is the process of carriage of people and objects from one location to another as well as related supporting and auxiliary services. Also included are postal and courier services. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service imports which are commercial services provided by non-residents to residents.