Using improved drinking water sources vs. GDP per capita in Malawi

Malawi: Using improved drinking water sources vs. GDP per capita was 94.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
94.2%
Change on year
up 1.1%
World rank
176th
of 231 countries
All-time high
94.2%
in 2024
All-time low
68.3%
in 2000
Years of data
25
2000–2024

Using improved drinking water sources vs. GDP per capita in Malawi, 2000–2024

0204060801002000201220242000: 68.3 %2001: 69.4 %2002: 70.5 %2003: 71.6 %2004: 72.7 %2005: 73.8 %2006: 74.9 %2007: 76 %2008: 77.1 %2009: 78.1 %2010: 79.2 %2011: 80.3 %2012: 81.4 %2013: 82.5 %2014: 83.6 %2015: 84.6 %2016: 85.7 %2017: 86.8 %2018: 87.9 %2019: 88.9 %2020: 90 %2021: 91.1 %2022: 92.1 %2023: 93.2 %2024: 94.2 %

Source: WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.

Analysis

In 2024, using improved drinking water sources vs. gdp per capita in Malawi stood at 94.2%. That is the highest value across all 25 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 12.7% over ten years.

Over the whole period, using improved drinking water sources vs. gdp per capita in Malawi peaked at 94.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 68.3%, in 2000.

Malawi ranks 176th of 231 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 25 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
2000s 73.2% 68.3% 78.1% 10
2010s 84.1% 79.2% 88.9% 10
2020s 92.1% 90.0% 94.2% 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 173 Ghana 94.4% compare
  2. 174 Gabon 94.4% compare
  3. 175 Moldova 94.3% compare
  4. 177 Venezuela 93.8% compare
  5. 178 Sudan 93.7% compare
  6. 179 Bolivia 93.5% compare

See the full ranking of 231 places →

More environment data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is using improved drinking water sources vs. gdp per capita in Malawi?
Using improved drinking water sources vs. gdp per capita in Malawi was 94.2% in 2024, according to WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest using improved drinking water sources vs. gdp per capita recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 94.2% in 2024.
What is the lowest using improved drinking water sources vs. gdp per capita recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 68.3% in 2000.
How does Malawi rank for using improved drinking water sources vs. gdp per capita?
Malawi ranks 176th out of 231 countries with data for 2024.
Is using improved drinking water sources vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 12.7%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Using improved drinking water sources vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

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About this data

Indicator
Using improved drinking water sources vs. GDP per capita
Unit
%
Source
WHO/UNICEF Joint Monitoring Programme for Water Supply, Sanitation and Hygiene (2025) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
231 places, 5,586 data points, 2000–2024
Last refreshed

Proportion of people who use an improved drinking water source, regardless of collection time. An improved drinking water source is a safely designed drinking water source and includes e.g. piped water, boreholes or tubewells and packaged or delivered water.