Number of people treated for river blindness in Malawi
Malawi: Number of people treated for river blindness was 1.66 million People in 2024. ▲ Rising
Number of people treated for river blindness in Malawi, 2005–2024
Source: World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data. Measured in People.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 1.66 million People for number of people treated for river blindness in 2024.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 5.9% on the previous year and down 8.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of people treated for river blindness in Malawi peaked at 2.14 million People in 2021 and was at its lowest, 1.29 million People, in 2005.
That places Malawi 17th out of 33 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 20 years of available data.
Number of people treated for river blindness in Malawi, year by year
| Year | People | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 1.29 million People | — |
| 2006 | 1.49 million People | +15.6% |
| 2007 | 1.55 million People | +3.8% |
| 2008 | 1.60 million People | +3.3% |
| 2009 | 1.64 million People | +2.5% |
| 2010 | 1.67 million People | +1.7% |
| 2011 | 1.72 million People | +3.2% |
| 2012 | 1.76 million People | +2.3% |
| 2013 | 1.78 million People | +1.0% |
| 2014 | 1.81 million People | +2.0% |
| 2015 | 1.85 million People | +2.0% |
| 2016 | 1.89 million People | +2.4% |
| 2017 | 1.96 million People | +3.2% |
| 2018 | 2.05 million People | +5.0% |
| 2019 | 2.13 million People | +3.6% |
| 2020 | 2.08 million People | -2.1% |
| 2021 | 2.14 million People | +2.7% |
| 2022 | 1.38 million People | -35.5% |
| 2023 | 1.57 million People | +13.9% |
| 2024 | 1.66 million People | +5.9% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 1.66 million People is above the median for low income countries, which is 1.66 million People, 1.0× the median. (15 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 1.66 million People is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.06 million People, 54% of the median. (27 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Number of people treated for river blindness 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | -35.5% | 2.14 million People | 1.38 million People |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 1.51 million People | 1.29 million People | 1.64 million People | 5 |
| 2010s | 1.86 million People | 1.67 million People | 2.13 million People | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.77 million People | 1.38 million People | 2.14 million People | 5 |
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 number of people treated for river blindness in Malawi?
- Number of people treated for river blindness in Malawi was 1.66 million People in 2024, according to World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest number of people treated for river blindness recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 2.14 million People in 2021.
- What is the lowest number of people treated for river blindness recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.29 million People in 2005.
- How does Malawi rank for number of people treated for river blindness?
- Malawi ranks 17th out of 33 countries with data for 2024.
- Is number of people treated for river blindness rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 8.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from World Health Organization – Global Health Observatory (2026) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people treated for river blindness. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 20 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Reported number of people treated with ivermectin for river blindness.