Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Malawi
Malawi: Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces was 358.88 Square kilometres in 2022. ◆ Volatile
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Malawi, 2005–2022
Source: Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. Measured in Square kilometres.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 358.88 Square kilometres for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in 2022. That is the highest value across all 5 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 25.6% on the previous year and up 408.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Malawi peaked at 358.88 Square kilometres in 2022 and was at its lowest, 13.1 Square kilometres, in 2005.
Malawi ranks 93rd of 164 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Square kilometres | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 13.1 Square kilometres | — |
| 2010 | 70.62 Square kilometres | +439.3% |
| 2015 | 189.48 Square kilometres | +168.3% |
| 2020 | 285.71 Square kilometres | +50.8% |
| 2022 | 358.88 Square kilometres | +25.6% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 358.88 Square kilometres is above the median for low income countries, which is 247.02 Square kilometres, 1.5× the median. (18 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 358.88 Square kilometres is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 385.9 Square kilometres, 93% of the median. (34 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 13.1 Square kilometres | 13.1 Square kilometres | 13.1 Square kilometres | 1 |
| 2010s | 130.05 Square kilometres | 70.62 Square kilometres | 189.48 Square kilometres | 2 |
| 2020s | 322.29 Square kilometres | 285.71 Square kilometres | 358.88 Square kilometres | 2 |
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)
- Sawnwood, coniferous — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- Wood-based panels — Production, annual growth rate 0 % change on previous year (2024)
- 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)
Frequently asked questions
- What is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Malawi?
- Land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces in Malawi was 358.88 Square kilometres in 2022, according to Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development.
- What is the highest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 358.88 Square kilometres in 2022.
- What is the lowest land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 13.1 Square kilometres in 2005.
- How does Malawi rank for land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces?
- Malawi ranks 93rd out of 164 countries with data for 2022.
- Is land cover and land cover change — gain of artificial surfaces rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 408.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, published as part of Land cover and land cover change — Gain of artificial surfaces. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 5 observations, free to reuse under OECD Terms and Conditions (attribution required).
About this data
The land cover dataset provides a global assessment of land cover and land cover change to monitor pressures on ecosystems and biodiversity. By using geospatial data with high spatio-temporal resolution, it develops a set of internationally comparable indicators with a long time series and a five-year interval from 2000 to 2022 for the Climate Change Initiative Land Cover dataset, and from 1975 to 2030 for the Global Human Settlement Layer dataset. Please see the working paper for a more complete description of the methods. The dataset has a global coverage on the national level, while on the sub-national TL2 level (i.e. large subnational regions) results are reported for all OECD countries as well as for Argentina, Brazil, China, India, Indonesia and South Africa. The following country aggregates are included: Euro area, European Union, Advanced economies, Emerging market economies, G7, G20, OECD, OECD Europe, OECD Asia Oceania, OECD Americas, the LAC region and the World. Data source(s): Climate Change Initiative land cover data and Global Human Settlement Layer built-up area data. Contact: ENV.Stat@oecd.org Database documentation