Free and Fair Elections Index in Malawi
Malawi: Free and Fair Elections Index was 0.596 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Free and Fair Elections Index in Malawi, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, free and fair elections index in Malawi stood at 0.596.
That represents a change of down 0.5% on the previous year and up 36.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, free and fair elections index in Malawi peaked at 0.702 in 1962 and was at its lowest, 0, in 1900.
That places Malawi 84th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Free and Fair Elections Index in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0 | — |
| 1901 | 0 | — |
| 1902 | 0 | — |
| 1903 | 0 | — |
| 1904 | 0 | — |
| 1905 | 0 | — |
| 1906 | 0 | — |
| 1907 | 0 | — |
| 1908 | 0 | — |
| 1909 | 0 | — |
| 1910 | 0 | — |
| 1911 | 0 | — |
| 1912 | 0 | — |
| 1913 | 0 | — |
| 1914 | 0 | — |
| 1915 | 0 | — |
| 1916 | 0 | — |
| 1917 | 0 | — |
| 1918 | 0 | — |
| 1919 | 0 | — |
| 1920 | 0 | — |
| 1921 | 0 | — |
| 1922 | 0 | — |
| 1923 | 0 | — |
| 1924 | 0 | — |
| 1925 | 0 | — |
| 1926 | 0 | — |
| 1927 | 0 | — |
| 1928 | 0 | — |
| 1929 | 0 | — |
| 1930 | 0 | — |
| 1931 | 0 | — |
| 1932 | 0 | — |
| 1933 | 0 | — |
| 1934 | 0 | — |
| 1935 | 0 | — |
| 1936 | 0 | — |
| 1937 | 0 | — |
| 1938 | 0 | — |
| 1939 | 0 | — |
| 1940 | 0 | — |
| 1941 | 0 | — |
| 1942 | 0 | — |
| 1943 | 0 | — |
| 1944 | 0 | — |
| 1945 | 0 | — |
| 1946 | 0 | — |
| 1947 | 0 | — |
| 1948 | 0 | — |
| 1949 | 0 | — |
| 1950 | 0 | — |
| 1951 | 0 | — |
| 1952 | 0 | — |
| 1953 | 0 | — |
| 1954 | 0 | — |
| 1955 | 0 | — |
| 1956 | 0 | — |
| 1957 | 0 | — |
| 1958 | 0 | — |
| 1959 | 0 | — |
| 1960 | 0 | — |
| 1961 | 0.267 | — |
| 1962 | 0.702 | +162.9% |
| 1963 | 0.702 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.702 | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 0.645 | -8.1% |
| 1966 | 0.623 | -3.4% |
| 1967 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.623 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.396 | -36.4% |
| 1977 | 0.249 | -37.1% |
| 1978 | 0.273 | +9.6% |
| 1979 | 0.296 | +8.4% |
| 1980 | 0.296 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.296 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.296 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.294 | -0.7% |
| 1984 | 0.292 | -0.7% |
| 1985 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.292 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.29 | -0.7% |
| 1988 | 0.288 | -0.7% |
| 1989 | 0.288 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.288 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.288 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.429 | +49.0% |
| 1993 | 0.651 | +51.7% |
| 1994 | 0.668 | +2.6% |
| 1995 | 0.692 | +3.6% |
| 1996 | 0.692 | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 0.692 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.692 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.544 | -21.4% |
| 2000 | 0.437 | -19.7% |
| 2001 | 0.437 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.437 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.437 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.351 | -19.7% |
| 2005 | 0.298 | -15.1% |
| 2006 | 0.282 | -5.4% |
| 2007 | 0.298 | +5.7% |
| 2008 | 0.303 | +1.7% |
| 2009 | 0.433 | +42.9% |
| 2010 | 0.486 | +12.2% |
| 2011 | 0.5 | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 0.506 | +1.2% |
| 2013 | 0.479 | -5.3% |
| 2014 | 0.453 | -5.4% |
| 2015 | 0.436 | -3.8% |
| 2016 | 0.447 | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 0.464 | +3.8% |
| 2018 | 0.448 | -3.4% |
| 2019 | 0.372 | -17.0% |
| 2020 | 0.47 | +26.3% |
| 2021 | 0.603 | +28.3% |
| 2022 | 0.607 | +0.7% |
| 2023 | 0.608 | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 0.599 | -1.5% |
| 2025 | 0.596 | -0.5% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.596 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.089, 6.7× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.596 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.2905, 2.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Free and Fair Elections Index 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1962 | +162.9% | 0.267 | 0.702 |
| 1993 | +51.7% | 0.429 | 0.651 |
| 1992 | +49.0% | 0.288 | 0.429 |
| 2009 | +42.9% | 0.303 | 0.433 |
| 1977 | -37.1% | 0.396 | 0.249 |
| 1976 | -36.4% | 0.623 | 0.396 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0 | 0 | 0 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.551 | 0 | 0.702 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.4952 | 0.249 | 0.623 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.2924 | 0.288 | 0.296 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.5636 | 0.288 | 0.692 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.3713 | 0.282 | 0.437 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.4591 | 0.372 | 0.506 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5805 | 0.47 | 0.608 | 6 |
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 free and fair elections index in Malawi?
- Free and fair elections index in Malawi was 0.596 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest free and fair elections index recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.702 in 1962.
- What is the lowest free and fair elections index recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 1900.
- How does Malawi rank for free and fair elections index?
- Malawi ranks 84th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is free and fair elections index rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Free and Fair Elections Index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which registration fraud, systematic irregularities, government intimidation of the opposition, vote buying, and election violence are absent, and the election management body is autonomous and has enough staff and resources.