Water productivity, GDP per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal in Malawi
Malawi: Water productivity, GDP per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal was 8.5 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal in 2022. ▲ Rising
Water productivity, GDP per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal in Malawi, 1994–2022
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization (AQUASTAT), World Bank, and OECD (2026) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal.
Analysis
In 2022, water productivity, gdp per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal in Malawi stood at 8.5 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.
That represents a change of up 0.9% on the previous year and up 43.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, water productivity, gdp per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal in Malawi peaked at 8.5 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal in 2022 and was at its lowest, 3.42 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal, in 2002.
Malawi ranks 140th of 179 countries on this measure, in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 29 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 3.92 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 3.58 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 4.05 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 6 |
| 2000s | 4.05 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 3.42 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 5.2 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 10 |
| 2010s | 6.67 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 5.55 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 7.99 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 10 |
| 2020s | 8.32 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 8.05 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 8.5 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal | 3 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 137 Libya 8.84 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal compare
- 138 Peru 8.62 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal compare
- 139 Bangladesh 8.52 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal compare
- 141 Senegal 8.26 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal compare
- 142 Chile 7.89 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal compare
- 143 Thailand 7.86 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal compare
More environment data for Malawi
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF 19.02 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Total greenhouse gas emissions excluding LULUCF per capita 0.8785 t CO2e/capita (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Agriculture 5.42 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Building (Energy) 0.7527 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Fugitive Emissions (Energy) 1.9 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Industrial Combustion (Energy) 0.0074 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions (total) excluding LULUCF 9.34 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Power Industry (Energy) 0.0006 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Transport (Energy) 0.0087 Mt CO2e (2024)
- Methane (CH4) emissions from Waste 1.25 Mt CO2e (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is water productivity, gdp per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal in Malawi?
- Water productivity, gdp per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal in Malawi was 8.5 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal in 2022, according to Food and Agriculture Organization (AQUASTAT), World Bank, and OECD (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest water productivity, gdp per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 8.5 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal in 2022.
- What is the lowest water productivity, gdp per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.42 constant 2015 US$ GDP per cubic meter of total freshwater withdrawal in 2002.
- How does Malawi rank for water productivity, gdp per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal?
- Malawi ranks 140th out of 179 countries with data for 2022.
- Is water productivity, gdp per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 43.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization (AQUASTAT), World Bank, and OECD (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Water productivity, GDP per cubic meter of freshwater withdrawal. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 29 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water productivity is calculated as total gross domestic product (GDP), measured in constant 2015 US$ divided by annual total water withdrawal.