Prosperity gap in Malawi

Malawi: Prosperity gap was 16.73 in 2019. ▲ Rising

Latest (2019)
16.73
Change on year
up 9.1%
World rank
3rd
of 120 countries
All-time high
17.95
in 2010
All-time low
13.71
in 1997
Years of data
5
1997–2019

Prosperity gap in Malawi, 1997–2019

051015201997200820191997: 13.72004: 16.12010: 182016: 15.32019: 16.7

Source: World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.

Analysis

Malawi recorded 16.73 for prosperity gap in 2019.

That represents a change of up 9.1% on the previous year and down 6.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, prosperity gap in Malawi peaked at 17.95 in 2010 and was at its lowest, 13.71, in 1997.

That places Malawi 3rd out of 120 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the top 10%.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 13.71 13.71 13.71 1
2000s 16.05 16.05 16.05 1
2010s 16.67 15.34 17.95 3

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 1 Mozambique 24.43 compare
  2. 2 Zambia 22.85 compare
  3. 4 Burundi 16.38 compare
  4. 5 Madagascar 14.43 compare
  5. 6 Uganda 13.14 compare

See the full ranking of 120 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is prosperity gap in Malawi?
Prosperity gap in Malawi was 16.73 in 2019, according to World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest prosperity gap recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 17.95 in 2010.
What is the lowest prosperity gap recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 13.71 in 1997.
How does Malawi rank for prosperity gap?
Malawi ranks 3rd out of 120 countries with data for 2019.
Is prosperity gap rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 6.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Prosperity gap. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Prosperity gap
Source
World Bank Poverty and Inequality Platform (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
120 places, 2,148 data points, 1963–2025
Last refreshed

Average factor by which incomes need to be multiplied to bring everyone to the prosperity standard of $28 per person per day.