Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Malawi

Malawi: Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) was -0.589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025. ▼ Falling

Latest (2025)
-0.589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Change on year
down 3.9%
World rank
143rd
of 206 countries
All-time high
-0.1974 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2000
All-time low
-0.7726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
in 2002
Years of data
27
1996–2025

Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate in Malawi, 1996–2025

-0.8-0.6-0.4-0.21996201020251996: -0.556 approx. -2.5 to +2.51998: -0.198 approx. -2.5 to +2.52000: -0.197 approx. -2.5 to +2.52002: -0.773 approx. -2.5 to +2.52003: -0.695 approx. -2.5 to +2.52004: -0.701 approx. -2.5 to +2.52005: -0.576 approx. -2.5 to +2.52006: -0.55 approx. -2.5 to +2.52007: -0.503 approx. -2.5 to +2.52008: -0.531 approx. -2.5 to +2.52009: -0.566 approx. -2.5 to +2.52010: -0.368 approx. -2.5 to +2.52011: -0.449 approx. -2.5 to +2.52012: -0.705 approx. -2.5 to +2.52013: -0.736 approx. -2.5 to +2.52014: -0.706 approx. -2.5 to +2.52015: -0.736 approx. -2.5 to +2.52016: -0.728 approx. -2.5 to +2.52017: -0.674 approx. -2.5 to +2.52018: -0.662 approx. -2.5 to +2.52019: -0.652 approx. -2.5 to +2.52020: -0.722 approx. -2.5 to +2.52021: -0.685 approx. -2.5 to +2.52022: -0.662 approx. -2.5 to +2.52023: -0.693 approx. -2.5 to +2.52024: -0.567 approx. -2.5 to +2.52025: -0.589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Source: The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Measured in approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

Analysis

In 2025, regulatory quality - governance estimate in Malawi stood at -0.589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5.

The figure is down 3.9% on the previous year and up 20.0% over ten years.

Over the whole period, regulatory quality - governance estimate in Malawi peaked at -0.1974 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2000 and was at its lowest, -0.7726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, in 2002.

That places Malawi 143rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 27 years of available data.

Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Malawi, year by year

Annual values for Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) in Malawi, 1996 to 2025.
Year approx. -2.5 to +2.5 Change
1996 -0.5562 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 —
1998 -0.1976 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -64.5%
2000 -0.1974 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1%
2002 -0.7726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +291.4%
2003 -0.6949 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -10.1%
2004 -0.7012 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +0.9%
2005 -0.5761 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -17.8%
2006 -0.5501 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -4.5%
2007 -0.5034 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -8.5%
2008 -0.531 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +5.5%
2009 -0.5658 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +6.6%
2010 -0.3684 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -34.9%
2011 -0.4494 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +22.0%
2012 -0.705 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +56.9%
2013 -0.7357 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.4%
2014 -0.7064 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -4.0%
2015 -0.7359 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.2%
2016 -0.7282 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.0%
2017 -0.6741 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -7.4%
2018 -0.6615 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.9%
2019 -0.6516 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -1.5%
2020 -0.7224 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +10.9%
2021 -0.6848 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -5.2%
2022 -0.6617 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -3.4%
2023 -0.6932 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +4.8%
2024 -0.5671 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -18.2%
2025 -0.589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 +3.9%

Malawi compared with similar countries

  • Malawi's -0.589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for low income countries, which is -1.1 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 53% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Malawi's -0.589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is -0.7299 approx. -2.5 to +2.5, 81% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Biggest year-on-year movements

Years where Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5) 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.

YearChange FromTo
2002 -291.4% -0.1974 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.7726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
1998 +64.5% -0.5562 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1976 approx. -2.5 to +2.5
2012 -56.9% -0.4494 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.705 approx. -2.5 to +2.5

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s -0.3769 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.5562 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1976 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 2
2000s -0.5658 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.7726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.1974 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 9
2010s -0.6416 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.7359 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.3684 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 10
2020s -0.653 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.7224 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 -0.5671 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 6

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 140 Belize -0.5471 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  2. 141 Nauru -0.5761 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  3. 142 Cambodia -0.5866 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  4. 144 Uganda -0.5935 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  5. 145 Papua New Guinea -0.6137 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare
  6. 146 Burkina Faso -0.6313 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 compare

See the full ranking of 206 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is regulatory quality - governance estimate in Malawi?
Regulatory quality - governance estimate in Malawi was -0.589 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2025, according to The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG).
What is the highest regulatory quality - governance estimate recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was -0.1974 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2000.
What is the lowest regulatory quality - governance estimate recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was -0.7726 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 in 2002.
How does Malawi rank for regulatory quality - governance estimate?
Malawi ranks 143rd out of 206 countries with data for 2025.
Is regulatory quality - governance estimate rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 20.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG), published as part of Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG). Retrieved 13 November 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/regulatory-quality-governance-estimate-approx-2-5-to-2-5/malawi/

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About this data

Indicator
Regulatory Quality - Governance estimate (approx. -2.5 to +2.5)
Unit
approx. -2.5 to +2.5
Source
The Worldwide Governance Indicators: Revised Methodology for Measuring Governance Using Perception Data., World Bank Group (WBG)
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data)
Coverage
206 places, 5,391 data points, 1996–2025
Last refreshed

Regulatory Quality (RQ) captures perceptions of the government’s ability to design and implement policies and regulations that promote private sector development. Governance estimate from the aggregation model, in units of a standard normal distribution, i.e. ranging from approximately -2.5 to 2.5. Larger values correspond to better governance. The (country-series-time) metadata include the (a) number of sources, and (b) standard error. The number of sources indicates the number of underlying data sources on which the governance estimate is based. The standard error indicates the precision of the governance estimate. Larger values indicate less precise estimates. A 90% confidence interval for the governance estimate is given by the estimate +/- 1.64 times the standard error.