Natural disasters people affected in Malawi
Malawi: Natural disasters people affected was 3.48 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Natural disasters people affected in Malawi, 1987–2025
Source: Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 3.48 million for natural disasters people affected in 2025. That is the highest value across all 19 years on record.
That represents a change of up 32.7% on the previous year and up 364.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, natural disasters people affected in Malawi peaked at 3.48 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 520,000, in 2007.
Malawi ranks 13th of 78 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Natural disasters people affected in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 713,655 | — |
| 1988 | 715,612 | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 2.80 million | +291.3% |
| 1992 | 1.41 million | -49.8% |
| 1993 | 1.86 million | +32.7% |
| 1994 | 1.86 million | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.86 million | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2.83 million | +51.7% |
| 2005 | 2.58 million | -8.9% |
| 2006 | 2.52 million | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 520,000 | -79.4% |
| 2012 | 561,196 | +7.9% |
| 2013 | 1.34 million | +138.6% |
| 2015 | 748,967 | -44.1% |
| 2016 | 2.97 million | +296.7% |
| 2017 | 2.98 million | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 2.68 million | -10.1% |
| 2024 | 2.62 million | -2.1% |
| 2025 | 3.48 million | +32.7% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 3.48 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.06 million, 1.7× the median. (19 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 3.48 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.70 million, 2.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Natural disasters people affected 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | +296.7% | 748,967 | 2.97 million |
| 1990 | +291.3% | 715,612 | 2.80 million |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 714,634 | 713,655 | 715,612 | 2 |
| 1990s | 1.96 million | 1.41 million | 2.80 million | 5 |
| 2000s | 2.11 million | 520,000 | 2.83 million | 4 |
| 2010s | 1.72 million | 561,196 | 2.98 million | 5 |
| 2020s | 2.93 million | 2.62 million | 3.48 million | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 10 Niger 4.40 million compare
- 11 South Sudan 3.69 million compare
- 12 Burkina Faso 3.50 million compare
- 14 Ethiopia 3.35 million compare
- 15 Papua New Guinea 2.52 million compare
- 16 Cambodia 2.50 million compare
- 16 Mexico 2.50 million compare
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 natural disasters people affected in Malawi?
- Natural disasters people affected in Malawi was 3.48 million in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
- What is the highest natural disasters people affected recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 3.48 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest natural disasters people affected recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 520,000 in 2007.
- How does Malawi rank for natural disasters people affected?
- Malawi ranks 13th out of 78 countries with data for 2025.
- Is natural disasters people affected rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 364.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Natural disasters people affected. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).