Share of plastic waste exports in Malawi
Malawi: Share of plastic waste exports was 0.0% in 2021. ◆ Volatile
Share of plastic waste exports in Malawi, 2005–2021
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
In 2021, share of plastic waste exports in Malawi stood at 0.0%.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 10.0% on the previous year and up 59.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of plastic waste exports in Malawi peaked at 0.0% in 2017 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2013.
That places Malawi 126th out of 162 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of plastic waste exports in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 | 0.0% | — |
| 2007 | 0.0% | -88.4% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | +1535.9% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | +15.4% |
| 2012 | 0.0% | +49.1% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
| 2014 | 0.0% | — |
| 2015 | 0.0% | +33.4% |
| 2016 | 0.0% | +10.2% |
| 2017 | 0.0% | +168.1% |
| 2018 | 0.0% | -54.4% |
| 2019 | 0.0% | -38.7% |
| 2020 | 0.0% | -33.7% |
| 2021 | 0.0% | +10.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.0% is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.0%, 4% of the median. (14 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0%, 2% of the median. (33 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of plastic waste exports 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 | +1535.9% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 2 |
| 2010s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 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)
- 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 share of plastic waste exports in Malawi?
- Share of plastic waste exports in Malawi was 0.0% in 2021, according to United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0% in 2017.
- What is the lowest share of plastic waste exports recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2013.
- How does Malawi rank for share of plastic waste exports?
- Malawi ranks 126th out of 162 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of plastic waste exports rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 59.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of plastic waste exports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 14 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste exports that a country accounts for.