🇲🇼 Malawi National Debt Clock
Live tracker for Malawi government debt. The national debt currently stands at
approximately $14.3 billion, falling by $10 per second based on IMF projections. Debt-to-GDP: 97%. Per-citizen share: $578.
The IMF's latest actual fiscal data for Malawi is for 2023; later years are IMF estimates.
Among the 194 governments tracked here, Malawi ranks 30th by debt-to-GDP, 122nd by total debt and 171st by debt per person.
Malawi's Debt Trajectory (2015–2025)
Malawi's ratio has risen past its previous high of 87% (2024) to roughly 97% at end-2025. Source: IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2026, general government gross debt.
Malawi Net Debt and Interest
The IMF publishes no net debt figure for Malawi, so only the gross figure can be shown. The IMF's figures put Malawi's net interest bill at about 7.4% of GDP in 2025, about $1.1 billion, or 39% of government revenue. That is 5th of the 177 governments ranked by interest as a share of revenue.
Source: IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2026, general government, 2025, mostly IMF estimates. Net debt leaves out equity holdings, and what counts as an asset varies by country. Net interest is the primary balance minus the overall balance. A government in default or arrears can show a low figure that understates what it owes. Data · method.
About Malawi's National Debt
Malawi is in debt distress: the IMF and World Bank cite external arrears and a restructuring of its external debt that began in 2022 and has stalled. On IMF figures its debt rose from about 36% of GDP in 2015 to about 97%, and net interest takes about 39% of government revenue, one of the highest shares among the governments ranked here. Its IMF programme, approved in November 2023, lapsed in May 2025.
Malawi's debt-to-GDP ratio of 97% is high: higher than 85% of the 194 governments tracked here. No ratio is safe or dangerous on its own — whether a debt is sustainable depends on the interest rate on it, how fast the economy grows, the currency it is owed in and who holds it. By total government debt, Malawi ranks 122nd of the 194 governments tracked here.
Malawi's government debt is currently falling, by roughly $10 per second — about $864 thousand per day — in US-dollar terms. That can reflect repayment or a weakening currency; the projection behind it does not say which. Each of Malawi's 25 million residents carries an individual share of approximately $578. That is below the world average of roughly $14,700 in government debt per person.
Figures are computed by Global Debt Clock by linear extrapolation from each country's baseline figure, named in the source line on this page (for most countries, the IMF World Economic Outlook, October 2026). Actual debt changes through discrete bond issuances — these counters illustrate the approximate scale and pace of sovereign borrowing.
Malawi National Debt — Frequently Asked Questions
What is Malawi's national debt right now?
Malawi's national debt is approximately $14.3 billion as of November 8, 2026, falling by $10 per second. Its debt-to-GDP ratio is 97% and each citizen's share is about $578.
How fast is Malawi's debt growing?
Malawi's government debt is falling at approximately $10 per second — about $864 thousand per day — derived from the IMF's projections for 2026.
What is Malawi's debt per capita?
Each of Malawi's 25 million residents carries a notional share of approximately $578 of the national debt.
What is Malawi's debt-to-GDP ratio?
Malawi's debt-to-GDP ratio is 97%. That is higher than 85% of the 194 governments tracked here.
How much interest does Malawi pay on its debt?
The IMF's figures put Malawi's net interest bill at about 7.4% of GDP in 2025, about $1.1 billion, or 39% of government revenue.
Why is Malawi's government debt at this level?
Malawi is in debt distress: the IMF and World Bank cite external arrears and a restructuring of its external debt that began in 2022 and has stalled. On IMF figures its debt rose from about 36% of GDP in 2015 to about 97%, and net interest takes about 39% of government revenue, one of the highest shares among the governments ranked here. Its IMF programme, approved in November 2023, lapsed in May 2025.
Compare Malawi vs another country
Live side-by-side debt comparisons — shareable cards for journalists and social.
Further reading
Other Africa countries
Put this counter on your site
The Malawi counter is available as a free embeddable widget — one line of HTML, no script tag, and nothing that tracks your visitors. Attribution link included.
Data & Citation
Source: IMF WEO October 2026 (GGXWDG, end-2025 stock) · baseline anchored .
Methodology: debt = 14,576,723,348 + -10 × seconds_since(2026-01-01)
Machine-readable data: /api/debt?c=mw (live JSON) · /data/debt.json (full dataset)
Embed This Counter
Add a live Malawi debt counter to your website. Free on any website, including blogs and ad-supported sites, as long as the attribution link stays. Contact us to use it without the link or inside an app. Widget builder →
<iframe src="https://www.global-debt-clock.com/widget/?c=mw" width="340" height="200" frameborder="0" style="border:1px solid #1a2535;border-radius:4px;"></iframe>
<p style="font-size:11px;color:#666;margin:4px 0 0;text-align:right"><a href="https://www.global-debt-clock.com/mw/" target="_blank" rel="noopener" style="color:#888;text-decoration:none">Malawi National Debt — Live Counter</a></p>