Government Effectiveness - Governance score in Malawi

Malawi: Government Effectiveness - Governance score was 37.23 0-100 in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
37.23 0-100
Change on year
up 2.3%
World rank
159th
of 205 countries
All-time high
40.79 0-100
in 2010
All-time low
29.31 0-100
in 2003
Years of data
26
1996–2024

Government Effectiveness - Governance score in Malawi, 1996–2024

0102030401996201020241996: 34.4 0-1001998: 39.5 0-1002000: 39.6 0-1002002: 31.9 0-1002003: 29.3 0-1002004: 32.3 0-1002005: 33 0-1002006: 34.6 0-1002007: 35.7 0-1002008: 38.6 0-1002009: 40.6 0-1002010: 40.8 0-1002011: 40 0-1002012: 40.1 0-1002013: 40.2 0-1002014: 40.8 0-1002015: 40 0-1002016: 39.5 0-1002017: 40.1 0-1002018: 39 0-1002019: 38 0-1002020: 36.8 0-1002021: 38.1 0-1002022: 36.1 0-1002023: 36.4 0-1002024: 37.2 0-100

Source: The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Measured in 0-100.

Analysis

In 2024, government effectiveness - governance score in Malawi stood at 37.23 0-100.

The figure is up 2.3% on the previous year and down 8.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, government effectiveness - governance score in Malawi peaked at 40.79 0-100 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 29.31 0-100, 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 score in Malawi, year by year

Annual values for Government Effectiveness - Governance score (0-100) in Malawi, 1996 to 2024.
Year 0-100 Change
1996 34.35 0-100
1998 39.53 0-100 +15.1%
2000 39.56 0-100 +0.1%
2002 31.89 0-100 -19.4%
2003 29.31 0-100 -8.1%
2004 32.32 0-100 +10.3%
2005 33.02 0-100 +2.2%
2006 34.59 0-100 +4.8%
2007 35.7 0-100 +3.2%
2008 38.6 0-100 +8.1%
2009 40.61 0-100 +5.2%
2010 40.79 0-100 +0.4%
2011 39.99 0-100 -2.0%
2012 40.14 0-100 +0.4%
2013 40.25 0-100 +0.3%
2014 40.79 0-100 +1.3%
2015 39.96 0-100 -2.0%
2016 39.5 0-100 -1.1%
2017 40.1 0-100 +1.5%
2018 39.02 0-100 -2.7%
2019 38 0-100 -2.6%
2020 36.79 0-100 -3.2%
2021 38.12 0-100 +3.6%
2022 36.15 0-100 -5.2%
2023 36.4 0-100 +0.7%
2024 37.23 0-100 +2.3%

Malawi compared with similar countries

  • Malawi's 37.23 0-100 is above the median for low income countries, which is 27.11 0-100, 1.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Malawi's 37.23 0-100 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 36.26 0-100, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 36.94 0-100 34.35 0-100 39.53 0-100 2
2000s 35.07 0-100 29.31 0-100 40.61 0-100 9
2010s 39.85 0-100 38 0-100 40.79 0-100 10
2020s 36.94 0-100 36.15 0-100 38.12 0-100 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 156 Iran 37.61 0-100 compare
  2. 157 Mozambique 37.42 0-100 compare
  3. 158 Sao Tome and Principe 37.37 0-100 compare
  4. 160 Mauritania 36.93 0-100 compare
  5. 161 Niger 36.38 0-100 compare
  6. 162 Eswatini 36.15 0-100 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 score in Malawi?
Government effectiveness - governance score in Malawi was 37.23 0-100 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 score recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 40.79 0-100 in 2010.
What is the lowest government effectiveness - governance score recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 29.31 0-100 in 2003.
How does Malawi rank for government effectiveness - governance score?
Malawi ranks 159th out of 205 countries with data for 2024.
Is government effectiveness - governance score rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 8.7%. 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 score (0-100). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Government Effectiveness - Governance score in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Retrieved 23 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/government-effectiveness-governance-score-0-100/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator
Government Effectiveness - Governance score (0-100)
Unit
0-100
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 score is a linear transformation of the governance estimate using hypothetical worst-case and base-case countries. It is an absolute score ranging from 0-100. Larger values correspond to better governance. The (country-series-time) metadata include the (a) number of sources, and (b) confidence intervals (lower and upper bound). The number of sources indicates the number of underlying data sources on which the governance score (respectively the underlying governance estimate) is based. The confidence intervals include the lower and upper bound of the 90% confidence interval for the governance score. Confidence intervals are a statistical range of values that likely contain the true value (of what is being estimated).