Wealth share of the richest 1% in Malawi
Malawi: Wealth share of the richest 1% was 26.6% in 2024. ▼ Falling
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Malawi, 1980–2024
Source: World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 26.6% for wealth share of the richest 1% in 2024.
The figure is down 29.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, wealth share of the richest 1% in Malawi peaked at 40.5% in 1984 and was at its lowest, 26.6%, in 2022.
Malawi ranks 119th of 215 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 45 years of available data.
Wealth share of the richest 1% in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1980 | 40.5% | — |
| 1981 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 40.5% | -0.1% |
| 1983 | 40.5% | +0.1% |
| 1984 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 40.5% | -0.1% |
| 1986 | 40.5% | +0.1% |
| 1987 | 40.5% | -0.0% |
| 1988 | 40.5% | -0.0% |
| 1989 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 40.5% | -0.0% |
| 1991 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
| 1993 | 40.5% | -0.0% |
| 1994 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
| 1995 | 40.5% | +0.0% |
| 1996 | 40.5% | -0.0% |
| 1997 | 40.5% | +0.1% |
| 1998 | 40.5% | -0.1% |
| 1999 | 40.4% | -0.2% |
| 2000 | 40.4% | -0.1% |
| 2001 | 39.8% | -1.4% |
| 2002 | 38.9% | -2.4% |
| 2003 | 33.7% | -13.3% |
| 2004 | 29.5% | -12.5% |
| 2005 | 30.0% | +1.8% |
| 2006 | 30.8% | +2.4% |
| 2007 | 31.3% | +1.7% |
| 2008 | 31.9% | +2.0% |
| 2009 | 32.9% | +3.1% |
| 2010 | 34.0% | +3.4% |
| 2011 | 35.9% | +5.6% |
| 2012 | 37.4% | +4.2% |
| 2013 | 37.8% | +1.2% |
| 2014 | 38.0% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 38.2% | +0.5% |
| 2016 | 38.5% | +0.8% |
| 2017 | 33.3% | -13.5% |
| 2018 | 30.0% | -10.0% |
| 2019 | 26.6% | -11.1% |
| 2020 | 26.6% | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 26.6% | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 26.6% | -0.0% |
| 2023 | 26.6% | +0.0% |
| 2024 | 26.6% | +0.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 26.6% is above the median for low income countries, which is 25.9%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 26.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 26.3%, 1.0× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1980s | 40.5% | 40.5% | 40.5% | 10 |
| 1990s | 40.5% | 40.4% | 40.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 33.9% | 29.5% | 40.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 35.0% | 26.6% | 38.5% | 10 |
| 2020s | 26.6% | 26.6% | 26.6% | 5 |
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 wealth share of the richest 1% in Malawi?
- Wealth share of the richest 1% in Malawi was 26.6% in 2024, according to World Inequality Database (WID.world) (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 40.5% in 1984.
- What is the lowest wealth share of the richest 1% recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 26.6% in 2022.
- How does Malawi rank for wealth share of the richest 1%?
- Malawi ranks 119th out of 215 countries with data for 2024.
- Is wealth share of the richest 1% rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 29.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- 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 Wealth share of the richest 1%. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
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About this data
Share of wealth owned by the richest 1% of the population. Wealth is defined as the total value of non-financial and financial assets (housing, land, deposits, bonds, equities, etc.) held by households, minus their debts.