Share of global plastic waste imports in Malawi
Malawi: Share of global plastic waste imports was 0.0% in 2023. ◆ Volatile
Share of global plastic waste imports in Malawi, 1990–2023
Source: United Nations Comtrade Database (2025); United Nations Comtrade Database (2023) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for share of global plastic waste imports in Malawi is 0.0%, measured in 2023. That is the lowest value across all 28 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 100.0% on the previous year and down 100.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of global plastic waste imports in Malawi peaked at 0.0% in 2001 and was at its lowest, 0.0%, in 2023.
That places Malawi 168th out of 183 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Share of global plastic waste imports in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1990 | 0.0% | — |
| 1991 | 0.0% | +1137.2% |
| 1994 | 0.0% | -90.7% |
| 1995 | 0.0% | +202.1% |
| 1999 | 0.0% | +3013.1% |
| 2000 | 0.0% | -43.5% |
| 2001 | 0.0% | +601.0% |
| 2002 | 0.0% | -85.0% |
| 2003 | 0.0% | -65.6% |
| 2004 | 0.0% | -99.9% |
| 2005 | 0.0% | -85.6% |
| 2006 | 0.0% | +786.3% |
| 2007 | 0.0% | +10349.5% |
| 2008 | 0.0% | -13.5% |
| 2009 | 0.0% | +33.4% |
| 2010 | 0.0% | +464.6% |
| 2011 | 0.0% | -46.4% |
| 2012 | 0.0% | +342.7% |
| 2013 | 0.0% | -2.3% |
| 2014 | 0.0% | -83.3% |
| 2015 | 0.0% | +538.5% |
| 2016 | 0.0% | -89.7% |
| 2017 | 0.0% | +766.2% |
| 2018 | 0.0% | -67.8% |
| 2019 | 0.0% | +492.4% |
| 2020 | 0.0% | -56.9% |
| 2021 | 0.0% | +237.4% |
| 2023 | 0.0% | -100.0% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.0% is below the median for low income countries, which is 0.0%. (17 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.0% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0%. (41 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Share of global plastic waste imports 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | +10349.5% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1999 | +3013.1% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
| 1991 | +1137.2% | 0.0% | 0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 5 |
| 2000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 165 Saint Vincent and the Grenadines 0.0% compare
- 166 Greenland 0.0% compare
- 167 Sao Tome and Principe 0.0% compare
- 168 Brazil 0.0% compare
- 168 Bulgaria 0.0% compare
- 168 Ghana 0.0% compare
- 168 Greece 0.0% compare
- 168 Hungary 0.0% compare
- 168 Mexico 0.0% compare
- 168 Poland 0.0% compare
- 168 Senegal 0.0% compare
- 168 Slovakia 0.0% compare
- 168 South Korea 0.0% compare
- 168 Spain 0.0% compare
- 168 Switzerland 0.0% compare
- 168 United Kingdom 0.0% compare
- 168 United States 0.0% compare
- 168 Uzbekistan 0.0% compare
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 global plastic waste imports in Malawi?
- Share of global plastic waste imports in Malawi was 0.0% in 2023, 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 global plastic waste imports recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0% in 2001.
- What is the lowest share of global plastic waste imports recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0% in 2023.
- How does Malawi rank for share of global plastic waste imports?
- Malawi ranks 168th out of 183 countries with data for 2023.
- Is share of global plastic waste imports rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 100.0%. 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 global plastic waste imports. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 28 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Percentage of global plastic waste imports that a country accounts for.