Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Malawi
Malawi: Travel services (% of commercial service exports) was 18.7% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Travel services in Malawi, 1977–2025
Source: Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF). Measured in % of commercial service exports.
Analysis
The most recent figure for travel services in Malawi is 18.7%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 23.8% on the previous year and down 40.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, travel services in Malawi peaked at 78.1% in 1999 and was at its lowest, 7.0%, in 2020.
Malawi ranks 145th of 198 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 49 years of available data.
Travel services (% of commercial service exports) in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of commercial service exports | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1977 | 41.3% | — |
| 1978 | 28.2% | -31.7% |
| 1979 | 26.8% | -5.2% |
| 1980 | 29.5% | +10.1% |
| 1981 | 26.3% | -10.6% |
| 1982 | 39.1% | +48.5% |
| 1983 | 24.9% | -36.5% |
| 1984 | 28.0% | +12.7% |
| 1985 | 27.6% | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 39.3% | +42.5% |
| 1987 | 31.6% | -19.7% |
| 1988 | 27.8% | -11.9% |
| 1989 | 41.6% | +49.4% |
| 1990 | 42.6% | +2.5% |
| 1991 | 30.6% | -28.1% |
| 1992 | 29.2% | -4.7% |
| 1993 | 22.7% | -22.1% |
| 1994 | 60.1% | +164.2% |
| 1995 | 72.4% | +20.5% |
| 1996 | 70.9% | -2.0% |
| 1997 | 72.7% | +2.5% |
| 1998 | 76.9% | +5.7% |
| 1999 | 78.1% | +1.6% |
| 2000 | 74.3% | -4.9% |
| 2001 | 56.4% | -24.2% |
| 2002 | 67.3% | +19.5% |
| 2003 | 43.0% | -36.2% |
| 2004 | 46.3% | +7.7% |
| 2005 | 45.0% | -2.7% |
| 2006 | 41.1% | -8.7% |
| 2007 | 41.3% | +0.6% |
| 2008 | 42.7% | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 44.1% | +3.3% |
| 2010 | 41.3% | -6.5% |
| 2011 | 38.2% | -7.4% |
| 2012 | 31.1% | -18.5% |
| 2013 | 27.1% | -12.9% |
| 2014 | 31.2% | +15.2% |
| 2015 | 31.4% | +0.7% |
| 2016 | 24.0% | -23.6% |
| 2017 | 20.9% | -12.8% |
| 2018 | 24.6% | +17.6% |
| 2019 | 13.0% | -47.3% |
| 2020 | 7.0% | -46.2% |
| 2021 | 7.0% | +0.7% |
| 2022 | 12.2% | +73.8% |
| 2023 | 12.5% | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 15.1% | +20.8% |
| 2025 | 18.7% | +23.8% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 18.7% is below the median for low income countries, which is 38.9%, 48% of the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 18.7% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 43.9%, 43% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Travel services (% of commercial service exports) 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +164.2% | 22.7% | 60.1% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1970s | 32.1% | 26.8% | 41.3% | 3 |
| 1980s | 31.6% | 24.9% | 41.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 55.6% | 22.7% | 78.1% | 10 |
| 2000s | 50.1% | 41.1% | 74.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 28.3% | 13.0% | 41.3% | 10 |
| 2020s | 12.1% | 7.0% | 18.7% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 142 North Macedonia 19.1% compare
- 143 Tajikistan 19.1% compare
- 144 Serbia 19.1% compare
- 146 Cayman Islands 17.8% compare
- 147 United States 17.7% compare
- 148 Kuwait 17.5% compare
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 travel services in Malawi?
- Travel services in Malawi was 18.7% in 2025, according to Balance of Payments Statistics Yearbook and data files, International Monetary Fund (IMF).
- What is the highest travel services recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 78.1% in 1999.
- What is the lowest travel services recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 7.0% in 2020.
- How does Malawi rank for travel services?
- Malawi ranks 145th out of 198 countries with data for 2025.
- Is travel services rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 40.4%. 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 Travel services (% of commercial service exports). 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
Travel services cover goods and services for own use or to give away acquired from an economy by nonresidents during visits to that economy, or acquired from other economies by residents during visits to these other economies. This indicator is expressed as a percentage of service exports which are commercial services provided by residents to non-residents.