Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in Malawi

Malawi: Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate was -0.7258 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
-0.7258 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
up 5.6%
World rank
159th
of 205 countries
All-time high
-0.5427 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2010
All-time low
-1.13 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2003
Years of data
26
1996–2024

Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in Malawi, 1996–2024

-1.2-1-0.8-0.61996201020241996: -0.874 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: -0.607 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: -0.606 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: -1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: -1.1 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: -0.978 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: -0.942 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: -0.862 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: -0.804 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: -0.655 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: -0.552 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: -0.543 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: -0.584 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: -0.576 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: -0.57 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: -0.543 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: -0.586 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: -0.609 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: -0.578 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: -0.634 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: -0.686 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: -0.748 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: -0.68 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: -0.781 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: -0.769 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: -0.726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Source: The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Measured in approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

Analysis

In 2024, government effectiveness - governance estimate in Malawi stood at -0.7258 approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

That represents a change of up 5.6% on the previous year and down 33.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government effectiveness - governance estimate in Malawi peaked at -0.5427 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2010 and was at its lowest, -1.13 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2003.

That places Malawi 159th out of 205 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 26 years of available data.

Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in Malawi, year by year

Annual values for Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Malawi, 1996 to 2024.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 -0.8737 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 -0.6074 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -30.5%
2000 -0.6059 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.2%
2002 -1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +65.1%
2003 -1.13 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +13.3%
2004 -0.9782 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -13.7%
2005 -0.9424 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.7%
2006 -0.8617 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -8.6%
2007 -0.8044 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -6.6%
2008 -0.6552 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -18.6%
2009 -0.5519 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -15.8%
2010 -0.5427 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.7%
2011 -0.584 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +7.6%
2012 -0.5762 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.3%
2013 -0.5704 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.0%
2014 -0.5427 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -4.9%
2015 -0.5855 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +7.9%
2016 -0.609 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.0%
2017 -0.5782 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -5.0%
2018 -0.6337 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +9.6%
2019 -0.686 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +8.3%
2020 -0.7484 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +9.1%
2021 -0.6798 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -9.2%
2022 -0.7815 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +15.0%
2023 -0.7685 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.7%
2024 -0.7258 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -5.6%

Malawi compared with similar countries

  • Malawi's -0.7258 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for low income countries, which is -1.25 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 58% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Malawi's -0.7258 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.7754 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 94% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s -0.7405 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.8737 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.6074 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s -0.837 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.13 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.5519 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s -0.5908 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.686 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.5427 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s -0.7408 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.7815 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.6798 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 156 Iran -0.7061 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 157 Mozambique -0.7158 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 158 Sao Tome and Principe -0.7187 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 160 Mauritania -0.7412 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 161 Niger -0.7697 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 162 Eswatini -0.7811 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 205 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is government effectiveness - governance estimate in Malawi?
Government effectiveness - governance estimate in Malawi was -0.7258 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2024, according to The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG).
What is the highest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was -0.5427 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2010.
What is the lowest government effectiveness - governance estimate recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was -1.13 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2003.
How does Malawi rank for government effectiveness - governance estimate?
Malawi ranks 159th out of 205 countries with data for 2024.
Is government effectiveness - governance estimate rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG), published as part of Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Retrieved 25 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-effectiveness-governance-estimate-approx-2-5-to-2-5/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator
Government Effectiveness - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5)
Unit
approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Source
The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
205 places, 5,161 data points, 1996–2024
Last refreshed

Government Effectiveness (GE) captures perceptions of the quality of public services, the civil service, policy formulation and implementation, and the credibility of a government’s decisions. Governance estimate from the aggregation model, in units of a standard normal distribution, i.e. ranging from approximately -2.5 to 2.5. Larger values correspond to better governance. The (country-series-time) metadata include the (a) number of sources, and (b) standard error. The number of sources indicates the number of underlying data sources on which the governance estimate is based. The standard error indicates the precision of the governance estimate. Larger values indicate less precise estimates. A 90% confidence interval for the governance estimate is given by the estimate +/- 1.64 times the standard error.