Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Malawi
Malawi: Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts was 51.4% in 2020. ▲ Rising
Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Malawi, 1986–2020
Source: Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of children under 5 who received ORS packet.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Malawi is 51.4%, measured in 2020.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 25.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Malawi peaked at 69.0% in 2010 and was at its lowest, 10.0%, in 1986.
That places Malawi 33rd out of 96 countries with data for 2020, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of children under 5 who received ORS packet | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1986 | 10.0% | — |
| 1987 | 42.0% | +320.0% |
| 1989 | 14.0% | -66.7% |
| 1992 | 43.2% | +208.6% |
| 1996 | 49.7% | +15.0% |
| 2000 | 47.9% | -3.6% |
| 2004 | 61.1% | +27.6% |
| 2005 | 61.1% | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 55.2% | -9.7% |
| 2010 | 69.0% | +25.0% |
| 2014 | 63.5% | -8.0% |
| 2016 | 64.7% | +1.9% |
| 2020 | 51.4% | -20.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 51.4% is above the median for low income countries, which is 35.6%, 1.4× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 51.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 37.5%, 1.4× the median. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | +320.0% | 10.0% | 42.0% |
| 1992 | +208.6% | 14.0% | 43.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 22.0% | 10.0% | 42.0% | 3 |
| 1990s | 46.5% | 43.2% | 49.7% | 2 |
| 2000s | 56.3% | 47.9% | 61.1% | 4 |
| 2010s | 65.7% | 63.5% | 69.0% | 3 |
| 2020s | 51.4% | 51.4% | 51.4% | 1 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More reference data data for Malawi
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.1596 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 1.09 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 0.3426 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Indirect emissions (N2O) - Agricultural Soils 3.71 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure applied to Soils 0.5353 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure Management 0.6012 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Manure left on Pasture 4.92 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - IPCC Agriculture 16.7 (2050)
- Emission Totals - Emissions (N2O) - Crop Residues 1.87 (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Malawi?
- Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts in Malawi was 51.4% in 2020, according to Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 69.0% in 2010.
- What is the lowest share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 10.0% in 1986.
- How does Malawi rank for share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts?
- Malawi ranks 33rd out of 96 countries with data for 2020.
- Is share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 25.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) and UNICEF, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of children with diarrhea receiving oral rehydration salts. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
The share of children under five years old with diarrhea, in the two weeks prior to the survey, who received oral rehydration salts.