Share of land area that is protected in Malawi
Malawi: Share of land area that is protected was 23.1% in 2025. ▲ Rising
Share of land area that is protected in Malawi, 2013–2025
Source: Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in % of total land area.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 23.1% for share of land area that is protected in 2025. That is the highest value across all 13 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 36.7% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of land area that is protected in Malawi peaked at 23.1% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 16.9%, in 2013.
That places Malawi 63rd out of 213 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 13 years of available data.
Share of land area that is protected in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % of total land area | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2013 | 16.9% | — |
| 2014 | 16.9% | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 16.9% | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 16.9% | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 17.4% | +3.0% |
| 2018 | 22.9% | +31.6% |
| 2019 | 22.9% | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 22.9% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 22.9% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 22.9% | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 22.9% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 23.1% | +0.9% |
| 2025 | 23.1% | +0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 23.1% is above the median for low income countries, which is 12.6%, 1.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 23.1% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 16.9%, 1.4× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 18.7% | 16.9% | 22.9% | 7 |
| 2020s | 23.0% | 22.9% | 23.1% | 6 |
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 land area that is protected in Malawi?
- Share of land area that is protected in Malawi was 23.1% in 2025, according to Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of land area that is protected recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 23.1% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of land area that is protected recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 16.9% in 2013.
- How does Malawi rank for share of land area that is protected?
- Malawi ranks 63rd out of 213 countries with data for 2025.
- Is share of land area that is protected rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 36.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Protected Planet WDPA and WD-OECM data, UNEP-WCMC and IUCN, via World Bank (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of land area that is protected. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 13 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Terrestrial protected areas are areas of at least 1,000 hectares that are designated by national authorities in order to preserve their ecosystem services and cultural values.