Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Malawi
Malawi: Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters was 3.48 million people in 2025. ▲ Rising
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Malawi, 1987–2025
Source: EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 3.48 million people for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters 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, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Malawi peaked at 3.48 million people in 2025 and was at its lowest, 520,000 people, 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.
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Malawi, year by year
| Year | people | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1987 | 713,655 people | — |
| 1988 | 715,612 people | +0.3% |
| 1990 | 2.80 million people | +291.3% |
| 1992 | 1.41 million people | -49.8% |
| 1993 | 1.86 million people | +32.7% |
| 1994 | 1.86 million people | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 1.86 million people | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 2.83 million people | +51.7% |
| 2005 | 2.58 million people | -8.9% |
| 2006 | 2.52 million people | -2.2% |
| 2007 | 520,000 people | -79.4% |
| 2012 | 561,196 people | +7.9% |
| 2013 | 1.34 million people | +138.6% |
| 2015 | 748,967 people | -44.1% |
| 2016 | 2.97 million people | +296.7% |
| 2017 | 2.98 million people | +0.3% |
| 2022 | 2.68 million people | -10.1% |
| 2024 | 2.62 million people | -2.1% |
| 2025 | 3.48 million people | +32.7% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 3.48 million people is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.06 million people, 1.7× the median. (19 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 3.48 million people is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 1.70 million people, 2.0× the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters 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 people | 2.97 million people |
| 1990 | +291.3% | 715,612 people | 2.80 million people |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 714,634 people | 713,655 people | 715,612 people | 2 |
| 1990s | 1.96 million people | 1.41 million people | 2.80 million people | 5 |
| 2000s | 2.11 million people | 520,000 people | 2.83 million people | 4 |
| 2010s | 1.72 million people | 561,196 people | 2.98 million people | 5 |
| 2020s | 2.93 million people | 2.62 million people | 3.48 million people | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 10 Niger 4.40 million people compare
- 11 South Sudan 3.69 million people compare
- 12 Burkina Faso 3.50 million people compare
- 14 Ethiopia 3.35 million people compare
- 15 Papua New Guinea 2.52 million people compare
- 16 Cambodia 2.50 million people compare
- 16 Mexico 2.50 million people 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 annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Malawi?
- Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Malawi was 3.48 million people in 2025, according to EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 3.48 million people in 2025.
- What is the lowest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 520,000 people in 2007.
- How does Malawi rank for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters?
- Malawi ranks 13th out of 78 countries with data for 2025.
- Is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters 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 EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.