Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank in Malawi

Malawi: Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank was 13.7% in 2019. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2019)
13.7%
Change on year
down 52.8%
World rank
51st
of 109 countries
All-time high
61.3%
in 1997
All-time low
13.7%
in 2019
Years of data
5
1997–2019

Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank in Malawi, 1997–2019

1020304050601997200820191997: 61.3 %2004: 18.4 %2010: 20.6 %2016: 29 %2019: 13.7 %

Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

Malawi recorded 13.7% for income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank in 2019. That is the lowest value across all 5 years on record.

That represents a change of down 52.8% on the previous year and down 33.4% over ten years.

Over the whole period, income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank in Malawi peaked at 61.3% in 1997 and was at its lowest, 13.7%, in 2019.

That places Malawi 51st out of 109 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the middle of the range.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 61.3% 61.3% 61.3% 1
2000s 18.4% 18.4% 18.4% 1
2010s 21.1% 13.7% 29.0% 3

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 48 Togo 13.9% compare
  2. 49 Israel 13.9% compare
  3. 50 Niger 13.7% compare
  4. 52 Madagascar 13.7% compare
  5. 53 Singapore 13.6% compare
  6. 54 Kazakhstan 13.5% compare

See the full ranking of 109 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank in Malawi?
Income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank in Malawi was 13.7% in 2019, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 61.3% in 1997.
What is the lowest income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 13.7% in 2019.
How does Malawi rank for income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank?
Malawi ranks 51st out of 109 countries with data for 2019.
Is income share of the richest 1%: world inequality database vs. world bank rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is down 33.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Income share of the richest 1%: World Inequality Database vs. World Bank
Unit
%
Source
World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
109 places, 2,196 data points, 1913–2024
Last refreshed

The share of income received by the richest 1% of the population. Income here is measured after taxes and benefits.