Which has higher state capacity index, North Korea or Malawi?

Malawi, at 0.2015 against 0.1979 in North Korea as of 2015.

How many years of comparable data are there for North Korea and Malawi?

52 years are reported by both, from 1964 to 2015.

Where does this data come from?

Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as State Capacity Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

North Korea vs Malawi: State Capacity Index

North Korea

0.1979

in 2015

Malawi

0.2015

in 2015

North Korea rank

106th

Malawi rank

105th

State Capacity Index over time

North Korea
Malawi

How they compare

Malawi currently reports 0.2015 against 0.1979 in North Korea, a difference of 0.0036.

The two have swapped places 7 times across 52 shared years of data; in 1964 it was North Korea ahead.

North Korea ranks 106th and Malawi ranks 105th of 165 countries.

Across the 6 decades both report, North Korea averaged higher in 5 and Malawi in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	North Korea	Malawi	Difference	Ahead
1960s	-0.5729	-0.7826	0.2097	North Korea
1970s	-0.489	-0.4032	0.0858	Malawi
1980s	-0.2846	-0.4836	0.199	North Korea
1990s	-0.0336	-0.2866	0.253	North Korea
2000s	0.1184	0.0126	0.1059	North Korea
2010s	0.216	0.2009	0.0151	North Korea

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher state capacity index, North Korea or Malawi?: Malawi, at 0.2015 against 0.1979 in North Korea as of 2015.
What is the difference in state capacity index between North Korea and Malawi?: 0.0036, with Malawi ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for North Korea and Malawi?: 52 years are reported by both, from 1964 to 2015.
How do North Korea and Malawi rank globally for state capacity index?: North Korea ranks 106th and Malawi ranks 105th of 165 countries.
Where does this data come from?: Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as State Capacity Index. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

About this data

Indicator: State Capacity Index
Source: Jonathan Hanson and Rachel Sigman (2021); Population based on various sources (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 166 places, 8,015 data points, 1960–2015
Last refreshed: 07 August 2026

Measures state capacity by combining 21 different indicators related to three key dimensions: extractive capacity, coercive capacity, and administrative capacity. Higher values indicate greater state capacity.