Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in Malawi
Malawi: Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index was 0.829 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.829
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
65th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.909
in 2020
All-time low
0.038
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in Malawi, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 0.829 for individual liberties and equality before the law index in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.2% on the previous year and down 0.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, individual liberties and equality before the law index in Malawi peaked at 0.909 in 2020 and was at its lowest, 0.038, in 1900.
Malawi ranks 65th of 176 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law Index in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.038 | — |
| 1901 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.038 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.043 | +13.2% |
| 1913 | 0.043 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.043 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.042 | -2.3% |
| 1916 | 0.044 | +4.8% |
| 1917 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.044 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.048 | +9.1% |
| 1929 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1945 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1946 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.048 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.05 | +4.2% |
| 1951 | 0.05 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.05 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.05 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.053 | +6.0% |
| 1955 | 0.053 | +0.0% |
| 1956 | 0.053 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.053 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.053 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.053 | +0.0% |
| 1960 | 0.055 | +3.8% |
| 1961 | 0.069 | +25.5% |
| 1962 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1963 | 0.069 | +0.0% |
| 1964 | 0.148 | +114.5% |
| 1965 | 0.176 | +18.9% |
| 1966 | 0.154 | -12.5% |
| 1967 | 0.154 | +0.0% |
| 1968 | 0.154 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.154 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.154 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.153 | -0.6% |
| 1972 | 0.153 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.153 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.156 | +2.0% |
| 1975 | 0.16 | +2.6% |
| 1976 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1977 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1978 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1979 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1980 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.16 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.163 | +1.9% |
| 1992 | 0.165 | +1.2% |
| 1993 | 0.259 | +57.0% |
| 1994 | 0.371 | +43.2% |
| 1995 | 0.641 | +72.8% |
| 1996 | 0.677 | +5.6% |
| 1997 | 0.679 | +0.3% |
| 1998 | 0.679 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.679 | +0.0% |
| 2000 | 0.679 | +0.0% |
| 2001 | 0.723 | +6.5% |
| 2002 | 0.741 | +2.5% |
| 2003 | 0.741 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.753 | +1.6% |
| 2005 | 0.752 | -0.1% |
| 2006 | 0.752 | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 0.752 | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 0.752 | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 0.755 | +0.4% |
| 2010 | 0.757 | +0.3% |
| 2011 | 0.754 | -0.4% |
| 2012 | 0.757 | +0.4% |
| 2013 | 0.773 | +2.1% |
| 2014 | 0.773 | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 0.832 | +7.6% |
| 2016 | 0.818 | -1.7% |
| 2017 | 0.842 | +2.9% |
| 2018 | 0.858 | +1.9% |
| 2019 | 0.858 | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 0.909 | +5.9% |
| 2021 | 0.906 | -0.3% |
| 2022 | 0.832 | -8.2% |
| 2023 | 0.834 | +0.2% |
| 2024 | 0.811 | -2.8% |
| 2025 | 0.829 | +2.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.829 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.341, 2.4× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.829 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.5635, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.038 | 0.038 | 0.038 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.0423 | 0.038 | 0.044 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.0448 | 0.044 | 0.048 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.048 | 0.048 | 0.048 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.048 | 0.048 | 0.048 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.0518 | 0.05 | 0.053 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1202 | 0.055 | 0.176 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1569 | 0.153 | 0.16 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.16 | 0.16 | 0.16 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4473 | 0.16 | 0.679 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.74 | 0.679 | 0.755 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.8022 | 0.754 | 0.858 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.8535 | 0.811 | 0.909 | 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 individual liberties and equality before the law index in Malawi?
- Individual liberties and equality before the law index in Malawi was 0.829 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest individual liberties and equality before the law index recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.909 in 2020.
- What is the lowest individual liberties and equality before the law index recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.038 in 1900.
- How does Malawi rank for individual liberties and equality before the law index?
- Malawi ranks 65th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is individual liberties and equality before the law index rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 0.4%. 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 Individual Liberties and Equality before the Law 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 extent to which citizens enjoy physical integrity rights, freedoms of religion, of movement, and from forced labor, as well as access to justice, laws are transparent, and public administration is impartial.