Country Snapshot

Population (2019, millions)¹ 18.62
Population Projections (2030, millions)¹ 24.84
Economically active population in agriculture (as % of Economically active population)¹², 2019 90.6
Capital Lilongwe
Surface Area (km²)² 118,480
Weather¹¹ In Lilongwe: Hottest month, November, 17-29°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, July, 7-23°C; driest months, June and July, 1 mm average rainfall; wettest month, February, 218 mm average rainfall
Languages³ Official: English – Common: Chichewa – Others: Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chilomwe, Chinkhonde, Chingoni, Chisena, Chitonga, Chinyakyusa and Chilambya
Main Religions³ Main: Christian – Others: Muslim, others and none
Time⁴ Central Africa Time (CAT) +0200 UTC
Driving Orientation⁵ Left Side
Internet Country Code⁶ .mw
Country Calling Code +265
Plug, Socket and Voltage⁷ Type G – 230V/50Hz
Currency Kwacha (MWK) – 1/100 = Tambala
Exchange Rate (As of 2 February 2019 , per USD)⁸ 728.00 (buy rate)
GDP at Market Prices (2018, current, billions of USD)⁹ 7.06
GDP Growth (2018, annual %)⁹ 3.5
Average GDP Growth (2014-2018, annual %)⁹ 3.69
GDP per Capita, PPP (2018, current international $)⁹ 1,308
Inflation, Consumer Prices (2018, annual %)⁹ 12.42
Average Inflation, Consumer Prices (2014-2018, annual %)⁹ 18.26
Total Reserves in Months of Imports (2017)⁹ 3.46

Source:
¹United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
²COMESA Statistics, COMESTAT Data Hub.
³CIA World Factbook.
⁴Time and Date Portal.
⁵Chartsbin Portal, “Worldwide Driving Orientation by Country”.
⁶Wikipedia, “List of Internet top-level domains”; and, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, Root Zone Database.
⁷International Electrotechnical Commission, World Plugs.
⁸Reserve Bank of Malawi.
⁹World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.
¹¹Economist Intelligence Unit.
12AFDB Socio Economic Database

Reasons to Invest in Malawi

Youth Literacy Rates ( 2015, %)

Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Both Sexes 72.93
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Female 73.38
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Male 72.49

Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO Institute of Statistics.

Labour

Unemployment (2018, % of Total Labour Force)

Unemployment, Total 5.42
Unemployment, Female 6.44
Unemployment, Male 5.42

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.


Labour Force (2018, % of Ages 15+)

Labour Force Participation Rate, Total 77.33
Labour Force Participation Rate, Female 72.84
Labour Force Participation Rate, Male 82.04
Labour Force, Total (number) 7,871,450

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

Economy Overview

GDP

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
GDP at Market Prices (current, billions of USD) 6.04 6.37 5.43 6.3 7.06
GDP Growth (annual %) 5.7 2.79 2.48 4 3.5

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

 

Value Added by Sector (% of GDP)

Indicator 2018 2019
Agriculture 36.77 36.57
Manufacturing 12.04 12.05
Industry 18.37 18.34
Services 63.85 64.09
Construction 3.57 3.57
Electricity, gas and water 1.58 1.57
Mining and quarrying 1.17 1.15
Education 3.35 3.37
Finance, real estate and business services 16.78 16.77
Public administration and Defense 2.56 2.58
Health and Social Work 3.40 3.41
Other services 6.26 6.29
Transport, storage and communication 8.81 8.90
Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants 22.69 22.76

Source: AFDB Socio Economic Database.

Trade Profile

Import Partners (Imported Value, thousands, USD)

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
World 2,944,184 2,272,583 2,244,811 2,566,824 2,535,495
South Africa 523,905 413,815 381,601 455,569 472,142
China 270,044 298,400 249,196 376,564 360,890
India 329,419 234,256 278,110 280,574 234,150
United Arab Emirates 151,319 248,064 192,172 174,865 221,331
United Kingdom 112,541 77,324 108,142 135,948 211,959

Source: COMTRADE Statistics.

 

Export Partners (Exported Value, thousands, USD)

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
World 1,877,596 1,045,205 1,047,075 845,089 972,481
Congo DR 1,489 1,574 13,803 516 152,067
Belgium 164,108 103,755 165,029 191,051 127,779
South Africa 100,805 73,874 82,466 65,950 57,333
Egypt 61,053 56,273 27,839 49,327 45,249
United States of America 55,650 42,492 55,630 38,772 45,098

Source: COMTRADE Statistics.

 

Malawi’s Top Import Products (USD ‘000)

Chapter Description 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
All products 2,944,184 2,272,583 2,244,811 2,566,824 2,535,495
27 Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 374,588 244,113 270,897 252,298 279,555
84 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof 244,976 159,802 171,179 245,847 231,201
49 Books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; manuscripts, typescripts and plans 89,983 71,891 113,207 205,813 220,959
87 Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof 160,063 145,317 127,676 158,883 203,614
85 Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles 176,092 151,527 117,154 235,482 178,180

Source: COMSTAT database

 

Malawi’s Top Export Products (USD ‘000)

Chapter Description 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
All products 1,877,596 1,045,205 1,047,075 845,089 972,481
24 Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes 639,330 477,940 524,409 532,320 484,968
93 Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof 228  0 151,865
09 Coffee, tea, mate and spices 82,968 69,906 67,555 75,690 80,730
17 Sugars and sugar confectionery 125,268 94,062 101,754 41,012 36,977
12 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medical plants; straw and fodder 144,378 17,507 23,474 41,916 36,358

Source: COMSTAT database

Investment Profile

FDI Inflows (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Inflows 116.1 90.2 959.4 822.5 98.0

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Outflows (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Outflows 42.2 3.4 0.5 0.2 7.0

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Inward Stock (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Inward Stock 1,082.1 1,342.2 1,469.5 1,563.8 1,589.5

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Outflows Stock (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Outflows Stock 108.6 5.4 6.7 6.7 13.2

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Inflows Main Source Countries (in terms of number of projects)

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, UK, United States, Vietnam and Egypt.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018.

 

FDI Inflows Main Sectors (in terms of number of projects)

Financial Services, Communications, Business Services, Building and Construction Materials, Metals, Rubber, Renewable Energy, Food and Tobacco, Healthcare, Tourism.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018.

 

FDI Inflows Main Companies (in terms of number of projects)

Diamond Trust Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Rainbow Rare Earths, Viettel Burundi, CityBlue Hotels, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ecobank Transnational, Viettel, SEW-Eurodrive, Equity Bank.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018.

Doing Business

Overall Doing Business Ranking

2020 166/190
2019 168/190

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

 

Starting a Business

2020 Rank 44/190
Procedures (number) 4
Time (days) 5
Cost (% of income per capita*) 12.3
Paid-in Minimum Capital (% of income per capita*) 0.0

*GNI per capita used: USD 280
Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Paying Taxes

Paying Taxes

2020 Rank 140/190
Payments (number per year) 24
Time (hours per year) 232
Total Tax Rate (% of profit) 41.2
Profit Tax (% of profit) 28.5
Labour Tax and Contributions (% of profit) 10.2
Other Taxes (% of profit) 2.5

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

 

Trading Across Borders

2020 Rank 169/190
Time to Export: Border Compliance (hours) 59
Cost to Export: Border Compliance (USD) 109
Time to Export: Documentary Compliance (hours) 120
Cost to Export: Documentary Compliance (USD) 150
Time to Import: Border Compliance (hours) 154
Cost to Import: Border Compliance (USD) 444
Time to Import: Documentary Compliance (hours) 180
Cost to Import: Documentary Compliance (USD) 1025

 

Assumptions

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Investment Regime

Legal Framework

Investment Code – Law N. 1/24 of the 10th of September 2008

Key guarantees in terms of investment protection include:

  • Protection against expropriation or nationalization of investments
  • Free transfer of foreign capital and income after taxes as well as the return on capital as dividends of companies with foreign or mixed capital
  • For dispute settlement, investors can choose between using an internal institutional arbitrage or institutional arbitration under the rules established by the ICSID

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, iGuide Burundi.

 

Investment Incentives

Source: KPMG, Burundi Fiscal Guide 2018 and Deloitte, Guide to Fiscal Information, Key Economies in Africa 2018

Country Snapshot

Population (2019, millions)¹ 18.62
Population Projections (2030, millions)¹ 24.84
Economically active population in agriculture (as % of Economically active population)¹², 2019 90.6
Capital Lilongwe
Surface Area (km²)² 118,480
Weather¹¹ In Lilongwe: Hottest month, November, 17-29°C (average daily minimum and maximum); coldest month, July, 7-23°C; driest months, June and July, 1 mm average rainfall; wettest month, February, 218 mm average rainfall
Languages³ Official: English – Common: Chichewa – Others: Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chilomwe, Chinkhonde, Chingoni, Chisena, Chitonga, Chinyakyusa and Chilambya
Main Religions³ Main: Christian – Others: Muslim, others and none
Time⁴ Central Africa Time (CAT) +0200 UTC
Driving Orientation⁵ Left Side
Internet Country Code⁶ .mw
Country Calling Code +265
Plug, Socket and Voltage⁷ Type G – 230V/50Hz
Currency Kwacha (MWK) – 1/100 = Tambala
Exchange Rate (As of 2 February 2019 , per USD)⁸ 728.00 (buy rate)
GDP at Market Prices (2018, current, billions of USD)⁹ 7.06
GDP Growth (2018, annual %)⁹ 3.5
Average GDP Growth (2014-2018, annual %)⁹ 3.69
GDP per Capita, PPP (2018, current international $)⁹ 1,308
Inflation, Consumer Prices (2018, annual %)⁹ 12.42
Average Inflation, Consumer Prices (2014-2018, annual %)⁹ 18.26
Total Reserves in Months of Imports (2017)⁹ 3.46

Source:
¹United Nations Population Division, Department of Economic and Social Affairs.
²COMESA Statistics, COMESTAT Data Hub.
³CIA World Factbook.
⁴Time and Date Portal.
⁵Chartsbin Portal, “Worldwide Driving Orientation by Country”.
⁶Wikipedia, “List of Internet top-level domains”; and, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority, Root Zone Database.
⁷International Electrotechnical Commission, World Plugs.
⁸Reserve Bank of Malawi.
⁹World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.
¹¹Economist Intelligence Unit.
12AFDB Socio Economic Database

Reasons to Invest in Malawi

Youth Literacy Rates ( 2015, %)

Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Both Sexes 72.93
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Female 73.38
Youth Literacy Rate, Population 15-24 Years, Male 72.49

Source: United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, UNESCO Institute of Statistics.

Labour

Unemployment (2018, % of Total Labour Force)

Unemployment, Total 5.42
Unemployment, Female 6.44
Unemployment, Male 5.42

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.


Labour Force (2018, % of Ages 15+)

Labour Force Participation Rate, Total 77.33
Labour Force Participation Rate, Female 72.84
Labour Force Participation Rate, Male 82.04
Labour Force, Total (number) 7,871,450

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

Economy Overview

GDP

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
GDP at Market Prices (current, billions of USD) 6.04 6.37 5.43 6.3 7.06
GDP Growth (annual %) 5.7 2.79 2.48 4 3.5

Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators 2019.

 

Value Added by Sector (% of GDP)

Indicator 2018 2019
Agriculture 36.77 36.57
Manufacturing 12.04 12.05
Industry 18.37 18.34
Services 63.85 64.09
Construction 3.57 3.57
Electricity, gas and water 1.58 1.57
Mining and quarrying 1.17 1.15
Education 3.35 3.37
Finance, real estate and business services 16.78 16.77
Public administration and Defense 2.56 2.58
Health and Social Work 3.40 3.41
Other services 6.26 6.29
Transport, storage and communication 8.81 8.90
Wholesale and retail trade, hotels and restaurants 22.69 22.76

Source: AFDB Socio Economic Database.

Trade Profile

Import Partners (Imported Value, thousands, USD)

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
World 2,944,184 2,272,583 2,244,811 2,566,824 2,535,495
South Africa 523,905 413,815 381,601 455,569 472,142
China 270,044 298,400 249,196 376,564 360,890
India 329,419 234,256 278,110 280,574 234,150
United Arab Emirates 151,319 248,064 192,172 174,865 221,331
United Kingdom 112,541 77,324 108,142 135,948 211,959

Source: COMTRADE Statistics.

 

Export Partners (Exported Value, thousands, USD)

2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
World 1,877,596 1,045,205 1,047,075 845,089 972,481
Congo DR 1,489 1,574 13,803 516 152,067
Belgium 164,108 103,755 165,029 191,051 127,779
South Africa 100,805 73,874 82,466 65,950 57,333
Egypt 61,053 56,273 27,839 49,327 45,249
United States of America 55,650 42,492 55,630 38,772 45,098

Source: COMTRADE Statistics.

 

Malawi’s Top Import Products (USD ‘000)

Chapter Description 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
All products 2,944,184 2,272,583 2,244,811 2,566,824 2,535,495
27 Mineral fuels, mineral oils and products of their distillation; bituminous substances; mineral waxes 374,588 244,113 270,897 252,298 279,555
84 Nuclear reactors, boilers, machinery and mechanical appliances; parts thereof 244,976 159,802 171,179 245,847 231,201
49 Books, newspapers, pictures and other products of the printing industry; manuscripts, typescripts and plans 89,983 71,891 113,207 205,813 220,959
87 Vehicles other than railway or tramway rolling-stock, and parts and accessories thereof 160,063 145,317 127,676 158,883 203,614
85 Electrical machinery and equipment and parts thereof; sound recorders and reproducers, television image and sound recorders and reproducers, and parts and accessories of such articles 176,092 151,527 117,154 235,482 178,180

Source: COMSTAT database

 

Malawi’s Top Export Products (USD ‘000)

Chapter Description 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018
All products 1,877,596 1,045,205 1,047,075 845,089 972,481
24 Tobacco and manufactured tobacco substitutes 639,330 477,940 524,409 532,320 484,968
93 Arms and ammunition; parts and accessories thereof 228  0 151,865
09 Coffee, tea, mate and spices 82,968 69,906 67,555 75,690 80,730
17 Sugars and sugar confectionery 125,268 94,062 101,754 41,012 36,977
12 Oil seeds and oleaginous fruits; miscellaneous grains, seeds and fruit; industrial or medical plants; straw and fodder 144,378 17,507 23,474 41,916 36,358

Source: COMSTAT database

Investment Profile

FDI Inflows (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Inflows 116.1 90.2 959.4 822.5 98.0

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Outflows (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Outflows 42.2 3.4 0.5 0.2 7.0

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Inward Stock (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Inward Stock 1,082.1 1,342.2 1,469.5 1,563.8 1,589.5

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Outflows Stock (millions of USD)

Year 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
FDI Outflows Stock 108.6 5.4 6.7 6.7 13.2

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, World Investment Report 2021

FDI Inflows Main Source Countries (in terms of number of projects)

Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Netherlands, South Africa, Switzerland, UK, United States, Vietnam and Egypt.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018.

 

FDI Inflows Main Sectors (in terms of number of projects)

Financial Services, Communications, Business Services, Building and Construction Materials, Metals, Rubber, Renewable Energy, Food and Tobacco, Healthcare, Tourism.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018.

 

FDI Inflows Main Companies (in terms of number of projects)

Diamond Trust Bank, Kenya Commercial Bank (KCB), Rainbow Rare Earths, Viettel Burundi, CityBlue Hotels, PriceWaterhouseCoopers (PwC), Ecobank Transnational, Viettel, SEW-Eurodrive, Equity Bank.

Source: Financial Times, fDi Markets, 2018.

Doing Business

Overall Doing Business Ranking

2020 166/190
2019 168/190

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

 

Starting a Business

2020 Rank 44/190
Procedures (number) 4
Time (days) 5
Cost (% of income per capita*) 12.3
Paid-in Minimum Capital (% of income per capita*) 0.0

*GNI per capita used: USD 280
Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Paying Taxes

Paying Taxes

2020 Rank 140/190
Payments (number per year) 24
Time (hours per year) 232
Total Tax Rate (% of profit) 41.2
Profit Tax (% of profit) 28.5
Labour Tax and Contributions (% of profit) 10.2
Other Taxes (% of profit) 2.5

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

 

Trading Across Borders

2020 Rank 169/190
Time to Export: Border Compliance (hours) 59
Cost to Export: Border Compliance (USD) 109
Time to Export: Documentary Compliance (hours) 120
Cost to Export: Documentary Compliance (USD) 150
Time to Import: Border Compliance (hours) 154
Cost to Import: Border Compliance (USD) 444
Time to Import: Documentary Compliance (hours) 180
Cost to Import: Documentary Compliance (USD) 1025

 

Assumptions

Source: World Bank, Doing Business, 2020

Investment Regime

Legal Framework

Investment Code – Law N. 1/24 of the 10th of September 2008

Key guarantees in terms of investment protection include:

  • Protection against expropriation or nationalization of investments
  • Free transfer of foreign capital and income after taxes as well as the return on capital as dividends of companies with foreign or mixed capital
  • For dispute settlement, investors can choose between using an internal institutional arbitrage or institutional arbitration under the rules established by the ICSID

Source: United Nations Conference on Trade and Development, iGuide Burundi.

 

Investment Incentives

Source: KPMG, Burundi Fiscal Guide 2018 and Deloitte, Guide to Fiscal Information, Key Economies in Africa 2018