Share of people who are undernourished in Malawi
Malawi: Share of people who are undernourished was 21.4 percent in 2023. ▼ Falling
Share of people who are undernourished in Malawi, 2001–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 21.4 percent for share of people who are undernourished in 2023.
The figure is up 3.4% on the previous year and up 43.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of people who are undernourished in Malawi peaked at 24.1 percent in 2003 and was at its lowest, 13.9 percent, in 2011.
That places Malawi 24th out of 169 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 23 years of available data.
Share of people who are undernourished in Malawi, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 23.2 percent | — |
| 2002 | 23.4 percent | +0.9% |
| 2003 | 24.1 percent | +3.0% |
| 2004 | 23.2 percent | -3.7% |
| 2005 | 21.5 percent | -7.3% |
| 2006 | 19.3 percent | -10.2% |
| 2007 | 17.5 percent | -9.3% |
| 2008 | 15.9 percent | -9.1% |
| 2009 | 14.7 percent | -7.5% |
| 2010 | 14.1 percent | -4.1% |
| 2011 | 13.9 percent | -1.4% |
| 2012 | 14.2 percent | +2.2% |
| 2013 | 14.9 percent | +4.9% |
| 2014 | 15.5 percent | +4.0% |
| 2015 | 16.3 percent | +5.2% |
| 2016 | 16.7 percent | +2.5% |
| 2017 | 17.6 percent | +5.4% |
| 2018 | 18.3 percent | +4.0% |
| 2019 | 19.3 percent | +5.5% |
| 2020 | 19.9 percent | +3.1% |
| 2021 | 20.4 percent | +2.5% |
| 2022 | 20.7 percent | +1.5% |
| 2023 | 21.4 percent | +3.4% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 21.4 percent is below the median for low income countries, which is 24.1 percent, 89% of the median. (21 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 21.4 percent is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 19.7 percent, 1.1× the median. (43 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 20.31 percent | 14.7 percent | 24.1 percent | 9 |
| 2010s | 16.08 percent | 13.9 percent | 19.3 percent | 10 |
| 2020s | 20.6 percent | 19.9 percent | 21.4 percent | 4 |
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 share of people who are undernourished in Malawi?
- Share of people who are undernourished in Malawi was 21.4 percent in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of people who are undernourished recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 24.1 percent in 2003.
- What is the lowest share of people who are undernourished recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.9 percent in 2011.
- How does Malawi rank for share of people who are undernourished?
- Malawi ranks 24th out of 169 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of people who are undernourished rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of people who are undernourished. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Share of the population whose daily food intake does not provide enough energy to maintain a normal, active, and healthy life.