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Political centralization index in Malawi

Malawi: Political centralization index was 0.193 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
0.193
Change on year
up 17.7%
World rank
116th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.79
in 1900
All-time low
0.138
in 2023
Years of data
126
1900–2025

Political centralization index in Malawi, 1900–2025

0.20.40.60.8190019622025

Source: Our World in Data.

Analysis

In 2025, political centralization index in Malawi stood at 0.193.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 17.7% on the previous year and down 15.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, political centralization index in Malawi peaked at 0.79 in 1900 and was at its lowest, 0.138, in 2023.

That places Malawi 116th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 126 years of available data.

Political centralization index in Malawi, year by year

Year Value Change
1900 0.79 —
1901 0.79 +0.0%
1902 0.79 +0.0%
1903 0.79 +0.0%
1904 0.79 +0.0%
1905 0.79 +0.0%
1906 0.79 +0.0%
1907 0.721 -8.7%
1908 0.721 +0.0%
1909 0.721 +0.0%
1910 0.721 +0.0%
1911 0.721 +0.0%
1912 0.721 +0.0%
1913 0.721 +0.0%
1914 0.721 +0.0%
1915 0.721 +0.0%
1916 0.721 +0.0%
1917 0.721 +0.0%
1918 0.721 +0.0%
1919 0.721 +0.0%
1920 0.721 +0.0%
1921 0.721 +0.0%
1922 0.721 +0.0%
1923 0.721 +0.0%
1924 0.721 +0.0%
1925 0.721 +0.0%
1926 0.721 +0.0%
1927 0.721 +0.0%
1928 0.721 +0.0%
1929 0.721 +0.0%
1930 0.721 +0.0%
1931 0.721 +0.0%
1932 0.721 +0.0%
1933 0.721 +0.0%
1934 0.721 +0.0%
1935 0.721 +0.0%
1936 0.721 +0.0%
1937 0.721 +0.0%
1938 0.721 +0.0%
1939 0.721 +0.0%
1940 0.721 +0.0%
1941 0.721 +0.0%
1942 0.721 +0.0%
1943 0.721 +0.0%
1944 0.721 +0.0%
1945 0.721 +0.0%
1946 0.721 +0.0%
1947 0.721 +0.0%
1948 0.721 +0.0%
1949 0.721 +0.0%
1950 0.721 +0.0%
1951 0.721 +0.0%
1952 0.721 +0.0%
1953 0.721 +0.0%
1954 0.721 +0.0%
1955 0.721 +0.0%
1956 0.721 +0.0%
1957 0.721 +0.0%
1958 0.721 +0.0%
1959 0.721 +0.0%
1960 0.721 +0.0%
1961 0.684 -5.1%
1962 0.661 -3.4%
1963 0.628 -5.0%
1964 0.584 -7.0%
1965 0.648 +11.0%
1966 0.664 +2.5%
1967 0.664 +0.0%
1968 0.664 +0.0%
1969 0.647 -2.6%
1970 0.647 +0.0%
1971 0.65 +0.5%
1972 0.65 +0.0%
1973 0.65 +0.0%
1974 0.65 +0.0%
1975 0.65 +0.0%
1976 0.65 +0.0%
1977 0.65 +0.0%
1978 0.65 +0.0%
1979 0.65 +0.0%
1980 0.65 +0.0%
1981 0.65 +0.0%
1982 0.65 +0.0%
1983 0.65 +0.0%
1984 0.65 +0.0%
1985 0.65 +0.0%
1986 0.65 +0.0%
1987 0.65 +0.0%
1988 0.65 +0.0%
1989 0.65 +0.0%
1990 0.65 +0.0%
1991 0.664 +2.2%
1992 0.657 -1.1%
1993 0.567 -13.7%
1994 0.317 -44.1%
1995 0.211 -33.4%
1996 0.211 +0.0%
1997 0.211 +0.0%
1998 0.211 +0.0%
1999 0.22 +4.3%
2000 0.22 +0.0%
2001 0.22 +0.0%
2002 0.22 +0.0%
2003 0.22 +0.0%
2004 0.22 +0.0%
2005 0.22 +0.0%
2006 0.219 -0.5%
2007 0.223 +1.8%
2008 0.207 -7.2%
2009 0.22 +6.3%
2010 0.223 +1.4%
2011 0.213 -4.5%
2012 0.209 -1.9%
2013 0.242 +15.8%
2014 0.229 -5.4%
2015 0.227 -0.9%
2016 0.25 +10.1%
2017 0.215 -14.0%
2018 0.233 +8.4%
2019 0.225 -3.4%
2020 0.18 -20.0%
2021 0.146 -18.9%
2022 0.182 +24.7%
2023 0.138 -24.2%
2024 0.164 +18.8%
2025 0.193 +17.7%

Malawi compared with similar countries

  • Malawi's 0.193 is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.791, 24% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Malawi's 0.193 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.683, 28% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1900s 0.7693 0.721 0.79 10
1910s 0.721 0.721 0.721 10
1920s 0.721 0.721 0.721 10
1930s 0.721 0.721 0.721 10
1940s 0.721 0.721 0.721 10
1950s 0.721 0.721 0.721 10
1960s 0.6565 0.584 0.721 10
1970s 0.6497 0.647 0.65 10
1980s 0.65 0.65 0.65 10
1990s 0.3919 0.211 0.664 10
2000s 0.2189 0.207 0.223 10
2010s 0.2266 0.209 0.25 10
2020s 0.1672 0.138 0.193 6

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 113 Greece 0.202 compare
  2. 114 Singapore 0.198 compare
  3. 115 Solomon Islands 0.197 compare
  4. 117 Poland 0.19 compare
  5. 118 Namibia 0.184 compare
  6. 119 Kenya 0.18 compare

See the full ranking of 176 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is political centralization index in Malawi?
Political centralization index in Malawi was 0.193 in 2025, according to Our World in Data.
What is the highest political centralization index recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 0.79 in 1900.
What is the lowest political centralization index recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 0.138 in 2023.
How does Malawi rank for political centralization index?
Malawi ranks 116th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
Is political centralization index rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 15.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from Our World in Data, published as part of Political centralization index. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

Relationships involving this indicator

Comparisons with other indicators across countries. Each was re-measured with population and national income held constant, so a relationship that only reflected country size is not listed here.

All correlations →

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Political centralization index in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on Our World in Data. Retrieved 14 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/political-centralization-index/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator
Political centralization index
Source
Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
176 places, 29,802 data points, 1789–2025
Last refreshed