Consumption-based deforestation per person in Malawi
Malawi: Consumption-based deforestation per person was 3.65 square meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Consumption-based deforestation per person in Malawi, 2005–2023
Source: Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in square meters.
Analysis
In 2023, consumption-based deforestation per person in Malawi stood at 3.65 square meters.
The figure is down 13.2% on the previous year and up 41.4% over ten years.
Over the whole period, consumption-based deforestation per person in Malawi peaked at 7.16 square meters in 2020 and was at its lowest, 2.58 square meters, in 2013.
That places Malawi 93rd out of 178 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 19 years of available data.
Consumption-based deforestation per person in Malawi, year by year
| Year | square meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 4.25 square meters | — |
| 2006 | 4.37 square meters | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 4.31 square meters | -1.3% |
| 2008 | 4.65 square meters | +7.9% |
| 2009 | 4.42 square meters | -5.0% |
| 2010 | 3.65 square meters | -17.5% |
| 2011 | 3.53 square meters | -3.3% |
| 2012 | 3.22 square meters | -8.7% |
| 2013 | 2.58 square meters | -19.9% |
| 2014 | 4.73 square meters | +83.4% |
| 2015 | 4.85 square meters | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 4.91 square meters | +1.1% |
| 2017 | 6.04 square meters | +23.1% |
| 2018 | 6.29 square meters | +4.1% |
| 2019 | 6.37 square meters | +1.4% |
| 2020 | 7.16 square meters | +12.3% |
| 2021 | 5.97 square meters | -16.6% |
| 2022 | 4.2 square meters | -29.6% |
| 2023 | 3.65 square meters | -13.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 3.65 square meters is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.45 square meters, 1.5× the median. (23 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 3.65 square meters is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.39 square meters, 1.1× the median. (44 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Consumption-based deforestation per person in Malawi changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | +83.4% | 2.58 square meters | 4.73 square meters |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 4.4 square meters | 4.25 square meters | 4.65 square meters | 5 |
| 2010s | 4.62 square meters | 2.58 square meters | 6.37 square meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 5.24 square meters | 3.65 square meters | 7.16 square meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More environment data for Malawi
- Historical exposure to drought — Land soil moisture anomaly -0.9153 Percentage change (2025)
- Historical exposure to drought — Cropland soil moisture anomaly -0.8098 Percentage change (2025)
- Standard Deviation, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2025)
- Standard Deviation 0.254 °C (2025)
- Temperature change 1.07 °C (2025)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), annual 3.65 % change on previous year (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per unit 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF (Mt CO2e), per capita 0 Mt CO2e per person (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), annual growth rate 5.3 % change on previous year (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture (Mt CO2e), per unit of GDP 0 Mt CO2e per US$ of GDP (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is consumption-based deforestation per person in Malawi?
- Consumption-based deforestation per person in Malawi was 3.65 square meters in 2023, according to Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest consumption-based deforestation per person recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 7.16 square meters in 2020.
- What is the lowest consumption-based deforestation per person recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.58 square meters in 2013.
- How does Malawi rank for consumption-based deforestation per person?
- Malawi ranks 93rd out of 178 countries with data for 2023.
- Is consumption-based deforestation per person rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 41.4%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Singh et al. (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Consumption-based deforestation per person. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 19 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Estimated average deforestation for agricultural and forestry products, per person. This is adjusted for trade, so it reflects deforestation caused by consumption, not domestic production.