Economy of Malawi

Economy of Malawi

Lilongwe, the financial centre of Malawi
Currency	Malawian kwacha (MWK)
Fiscal year	1 July - 30 June
Trade organisations	AU, AfCFTA (signed), WTO, SADC, COMESA
Country group	Least Developed[1] Low-income economy[2]
Statistics
GDP	$7.522 billion (nominal, 2019 est.)[3] $25.167 billion (PPP, 2019 est.)[3]
GDP rank	144th (nominal, 2019) 138th (PPP, 2019)
GDP growth	4.0% (2017) 3.5% (2018) 4.4% (2019e) 4.8% (2020f)[4]
GDP per capita	$371 (nominal, 2019 est.)[3] $1,240 (PPP, 2019 est.)[3]
GDP per capita rank	183rd (nominal, 2019) 182nd (PPP, 2018)
GDP by sector	agriculture 29.4%, industry 15.8%, services 56.1% (2016 est.)
Inflation (CPI)	8.4% (2020 est.)[3]
Population below poverty line	51.5% (2016)[5] 70.3% on less than $1.90/day (2016)[6]
Gini coefficient	44.7 medium (2016)[7]
Human Development Index	0.485 low (2018)[8] (172nd) 0.346 IHDI (2018)[9]
Labour force	8,156,049 (2019)[10] 39.1% employment rate (2017)[11]
Labour force by occupation	agriculture: 76.9%, industry: 4.1%, services: 19% (2013 est.)
External
Exports	$1.443 billion (2017 est.)
Export goods	tobacco (55%), dried legumes (8.8%), sugar (6.7%), tea (5.7%), cotton (2%), peanuts, coffee, soy (2015 est.)
Main export partners	2017:  Zimbabwe (13.1%)  Mozambique (11.8%)  Belgium (10.7%)  South Africa (6.3%)  Netherlands (5%)  United Kingdom (4.7%)  Germany (4.3%)  United States (4.2%)
Imports	$2.388 billion (2017 est.)
Import goods	food, petroleum products, semi-manufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment
Main import partners	2017:  South Africa (20.7%)  China (14.2%)  India (11.6%)  United Arab Emirates (7%)  Netherlands (4.4%)
FDI stock	$129.5 million (2014)
Gross external debt	$1.861 billion (2017 est.)
Public finances
Government debt	50.8% of GDP (2013 est.)
Revenues	$1.347 billion (2013 est.)
Expenses	$1.4 billion (2013 est.)
Economic aid	$1.174 million (2012)
Foreign reserves	$364.2 million (31 December 2013 est.)
Main data source: CIA World Fact Book All values, unless otherwise stated, are in US dollars.

The economy of Malawi is $7.522 billion by gross domestic product as of 2019, and is predominantly agricultural, with about 80% of the population living in rural areas. The landlocked country in south central Africa ranks among the world's least developed countries. In 2017, agriculture accounted for about one-third of GDP^[12] and about 80% of export revenue. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The government faces strong challenges: to spur exports, to improve educational and health facilities, to face up to environmental problems of deforestation and erosion, and to deal with the problem of HIV/AIDS in Africa. Malawi is a least developed country according to United Nations.