Adequacy of social safety net programs in Malawi

Malawi: Adequacy of social safety net programs was 4.5% in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
4.5%
Change on year
up 49.5%
World rank
28th
of 33 countries
All-time high
4.5%
in 2019
All-time low
1.0%
in 2013
Years of data
5
2004–2019

Adequacy of social safety net programs in Malawi, 2004–2019

123452004201120192004: 3 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2010: 1.8 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2013: 1 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2016: 3 % of total welfare of beneficiary households2019: 4.5 % of total welfare of beneficiary households

Source: ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total welfare of beneficiary households.

Analysis

In 2019, adequacy of social safety net programs in Malawi stood at 4.5%. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.

The figure is up 49.5% on the previous year and up 149.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, adequacy of social safety net programs in Malawi peaked at 4.5% in 2019 and was at its lowest, 1.0%, in 2013.

Malawi ranks 28th of 33 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 3.0% 3.0% 3.0% 1
2010s 2.6% 1.0% 4.5% 4

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 25 Bolivia 4.9% compare
  2. 26 Pakistan 4.9% compare
  3. 27 Thailand 4.9% compare
  4. 29 Peru 4.2% compare
  5. 30 Ukraine 4.0% compare
  6. 31 El Salvador 3.2% compare

See the full ranking of 33 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is adequacy of social safety net programs in Malawi?
Adequacy of social safety net programs in Malawi was 4.5% in 2019, according to ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest adequacy of social safety net programs recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 4.5% in 2019.
What is the lowest adequacy of social safety net programs recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 1.0% in 2013.
How does Malawi rank for adequacy of social safety net programs?
Malawi ranks 28th out of 33 countries with data for 2019.
Is adequacy of social safety net programs rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 149.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Adequacy of social safety net programs. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Adequacy of social safety net programs
Unit
% of total welfare of beneficiary households
Source
ASPIRE: The Atlas of Social Protection, World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
33 places, 338 data points, 2004–2023
Last refreshed

Adequacy of social safety net programs is measured by the total transfer amount received by the population participating in social safety net programs as a share of their total welfare. Social safety net programs include cash transfers, social pensions, cash transfers, school feeding, and other social assistance programs.