Democracy in Malawi
Malawi: Democracy was 4 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Democracy in Malawi, 1900–2025
Source: Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 4 for democracy in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, democracy in Malawi peaked at 5 in 1995 and was at its lowest, 0, in 2000.
Malawi ranks 17th of 172 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1910s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1920s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1930s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1940s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1950s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1960s | 1.5 | 1 | 2 | 10 |
| 1970s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1980s | 1 | 1 | 1 | 10 |
| 1990s | 2.8 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.5 | 0 | 2 | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.1 | 1 | 5 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.33 | 4 | 5 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 17 Australia 4 compare
- 17 Austria 4 compare
- 17 Barbados 4 compare
- 17 Belgium 4 compare
- 17 Bhutan 4 compare
- 17 Bosnia and Herzegovina 4 compare
- 17 Bulgaria 4 compare
- 17 Canada 4 compare
- 17 Cape Verde 4 compare
- 17 Chile 4 compare
- 17 Colombia 4 compare
- 17 Costa Rica 4 compare
- 17 Cyprus 4 compare
- 17 Czechia 4 compare
- 17 Denmark 4 compare
- 17 Ecuador 4 compare
- 17 Estonia 4 compare
- 17 Finland 4 compare
- 17 France 4 compare
- 17 Germany 4 compare
- 17 Ghana 4 compare
- 17 Iceland 4 compare
- 17 Israel 4 compare
- 17 Jamaica 4 compare
- 17 Japan 4 compare
- 17 Kenya 4 compare
- 17 Latvia 4 compare
- 17 Liberia 4 compare
- 17 Lithuania 4 compare
- 17 Namibia 4 compare
- 17 Netherlands 4 compare
- 17 New Zealand 4 compare
- 17 North Macedonia 4 compare
- 17 Norway 4 compare
- 17 Paraguay 4 compare
- 17 Portugal 4 compare
- 17 Sao Tome and Principe 4 compare
- 17 South Africa 4 compare
- 17 South Korea 4 compare
- 17 Spain 4 compare
- 17 Suriname 4 compare
- 17 Sweden 4 compare
- 17 Switzerland 4 compare
- 17 Taiwan 4 compare
- 17 Trinidad and Tobago 4 compare
- 17 Uruguay 4 compare
- 17 Vanuatu 4 compare
More reference data data for Malawi
- Spring temperature anomalies -0.0372 °C (2026)
- Summer temperature anomalies 0.606 °C (2026)
- Temperature anomalies by month 0.3659 °C (2026)
- Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
- Autumn temperature anomalies 0.9529 °C (2025)
- Winter temperature anomalies -0.5269 °C (2025)
- Consumer price index 1,313 2010 = 100 (2025)
- Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
- Competitive elections 1 (2025)
- Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is democracy in Malawi?
- Democracy in Malawi was 4 in 2025, according to Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest democracy recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 5 in 1995.
- What is the lowest democracy recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0 in 2000.
- How does Malawi rank for democracy?
- Malawi ranks 17th out of 172 countries with data for 2025.
- Is democracy rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Episodes of Regime Transformation (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Political regime of a country using the classification by the Episodes of Regime Transformation-project. It distinguishes between hardening autocracies (score 0), stable autocracies (score 1), liberalizing autocracies (score 2), eroding democracies (score 3), stable democracies (score 4), and deepening democracies (score 5).