Insecticide use in Malawi
Malawi: Insecticide use was 1,195 tonnes in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Insecticide use in Malawi, 1990–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes.
Analysis
The most recent figure for insecticide use in Malawi is 1,195 tonnes, measured in 2023. That is the highest value across all 34 years on record.
That represents a change of up 89.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, insecticide use in Malawi peaked at 1,195 tonnes in 2022 and was at its lowest, 7 tonnes, in 2004.
Malawi ranks 47th of 211 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Insecticide use in Malawi, year by year
| Year | tonnes | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 82 tonnes | — |
| 1991 | 82 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 82 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 82 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1994 | 82 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 82 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 82 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1997 | 82 tonnes | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 69 tonnes | -15.9% |
| 1999 | 63 tonnes | -8.7% |
| 2000 | 80 tonnes | +27.0% |
| 2001 | 62 tonnes | -22.5% |
| 2002 | 43 tonnes | -30.6% |
| 2003 | 25 tonnes | -41.9% |
| 2004 | 7 tonnes | -72.0% |
| 2005 | 177 tonnes | +2428.6% |
| 2006 | 142 tonnes | -19.8% |
| 2007 | 338 tonnes | +138.0% |
| 2008 | 305 tonnes | -9.8% |
| 2009 | 192 tonnes | -37.0% |
| 2010 | 358 tonnes | +86.5% |
| 2011 | 181 tonnes | -49.4% |
| 2012 | 388 tonnes | +114.4% |
| 2013 | 630 tonnes | +62.4% |
| 2014 | 575 tonnes | -8.7% |
| 2015 | 616 tonnes | +7.1% |
| 2016 | 657 tonnes | +6.7% |
| 2017 | 698 tonnes | +6.2% |
| 2018 | 739 tonnes | +5.9% |
| 2019 | 780 tonnes | +5.5% |
| 2020 | 821 tonnes | +5.3% |
| 2021 | 689 tonnes | -16.1% |
| 2022 | 1,195 tonnes | +73.4% |
| 2023 | 1,195 tonnes | +0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 1,195 tonnes is above the median for low income countries, which is 290.5 tonnes, 4.1× the median. (22 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 1,195 tonnes is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 286 tonnes, 4.2× the median. (47 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Insecticide use 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | +2428.6% | 7 tonnes | 177 tonnes |
| 2007 | +138.0% | 142 tonnes | 338 tonnes |
| 2012 | +114.4% | 181 tonnes | 388 tonnes |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 78.8 tonnes | 63 tonnes | 82 tonnes | 10 |
| 2000s | 137.1 tonnes | 7 tonnes | 338 tonnes | 10 |
| 2010s | 562.2 tonnes | 181 tonnes | 780 tonnes | 10 |
| 2020s | 975 tonnes | 689 tonnes | 1,195 tonnes | 4 |
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 insecticide use in Malawi?
- Insecticide use in Malawi was 1,195 tonnes in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest insecticide use recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 1,195 tonnes in 2022.
- What is the lowest insecticide use recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 7 tonnes in 2004.
- How does Malawi rank for insecticide use?
- Malawi ranks 47th out of 211 countries with data for 2023.
- Is insecticide use rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 89.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Insecticide use. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 34 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Annual quantity of insecticides used in agriculture, measured as the tonnes of active ingredient per year.