Key features of democracy in Malawi
Malawi: Key features of democracy was 0.557 in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2025)
0.557
Change on year
down 1.1%
World rank
78th
of 176 countries
All-time high
0.611
in 2022
All-time low
0.01
in 1900
Years of data
126
1900–2025
Key features of democracy in Malawi, 1900–2025
Source: V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
In 2025, key features of democracy in Malawi stood at 0.557.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.1% on the previous year and up 3.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, key features of democracy in Malawi peaked at 0.611 in 2022 and was at its lowest, 0.01, in 1900.
That places Malawi 78th out of 176 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Key features of democracy in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1900 | 0.01 | — |
| 1901 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1902 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1903 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1904 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1905 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1906 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1907 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1908 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1909 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1910 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1911 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1912 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1913 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1914 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1915 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1916 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1917 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1918 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1919 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1920 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1921 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1922 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1923 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1924 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1925 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1926 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1927 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1928 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1929 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1930 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1931 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1932 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1933 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1934 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1935 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1936 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1937 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1938 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1939 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1940 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1941 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1942 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1943 | 0.01 | +0.0% |
| 1944 | 0.012 | +20.0% |
| 1945 | 0.013 | +8.3% |
| 1946 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1947 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1948 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1949 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1950 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1951 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1952 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1953 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1954 | 0.012 | -7.7% |
| 1955 | 0.013 | +8.3% |
| 1956 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1957 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1958 | 0.013 | +0.0% |
| 1959 | 0.017 | +30.8% |
| 1960 | 0.04 | +135.3% |
| 1961 | 0.117 | +192.5% |
| 1962 | 0.177 | +51.3% |
| 1963 | 0.237 | +33.9% |
| 1964 | 0.273 | +15.2% |
| 1965 | 0.236 | -13.6% |
| 1966 | 0.212 | -10.2% |
| 1967 | 0.211 | -0.5% |
| 1968 | 0.211 | +0.0% |
| 1969 | 0.211 | +0.0% |
| 1970 | 0.211 | +0.0% |
| 1971 | 0.211 | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 0.211 | +0.0% |
| 1973 | 0.211 | +0.0% |
| 1974 | 0.211 | +0.0% |
| 1975 | 0.211 | +0.0% |
| 1976 | 0.182 | -13.7% |
| 1977 | 0.163 | -10.4% |
| 1978 | 0.165 | +1.2% |
| 1979 | 0.168 | +1.8% |
| 1980 | 0.168 | +0.0% |
| 1981 | 0.168 | +0.0% |
| 1982 | 0.168 | +0.0% |
| 1983 | 0.168 | +0.0% |
| 1984 | 0.167 | -0.6% |
| 1985 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1987 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1988 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1989 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1990 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1991 | 0.167 | +0.0% |
| 1992 | 0.188 | +12.6% |
| 1993 | 0.252 | +34.0% |
| 1994 | 0.463 | +83.7% |
| 1995 | 0.566 | +22.2% |
| 1996 | 0.567 | +0.2% |
| 1997 | 0.567 | +0.0% |
| 1998 | 0.567 | +0.0% |
| 1999 | 0.512 | -9.7% |
| 2000 | 0.478 | -6.6% |
| 2001 | 0.478 | +0.0% |
| 2002 | 0.478 | +0.0% |
| 2003 | 0.478 | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 0.459 | -4.0% |
| 2005 | 0.443 | -3.5% |
| 2006 | 0.439 | -0.9% |
| 2007 | 0.442 | +0.7% |
| 2008 | 0.443 | +0.2% |
| 2009 | 0.5 | +12.9% |
| 2010 | 0.514 | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 0.521 | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 0.536 | +2.9% |
| 2013 | 0.56 | +4.5% |
| 2014 | 0.547 | -2.3% |
| 2015 | 0.54 | -1.3% |
| 2016 | 0.538 | -0.4% |
| 2017 | 0.546 | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 0.528 | -3.3% |
| 2019 | 0.48 | -9.1% |
| 2020 | 0.534 | +11.3% |
| 2021 | 0.603 | +12.9% |
| 2022 | 0.611 | +1.3% |
| 2023 | 0.571 | -6.5% |
| 2024 | 0.563 | -1.4% |
| 2025 | 0.557 | -1.1% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.557 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.227, 2.5× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.557 is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.317, 1.8× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1900s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 10 |
| 1910s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 10 |
| 1920s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 10 |
| 1930s | 0.01 | 0.01 | 0.01 | 10 |
| 1940s | 0.0117 | 0.01 | 0.013 | 10 |
| 1950s | 0.0133 | 0.012 | 0.017 | 10 |
| 1960s | 0.1925 | 0.04 | 0.273 | 10 |
| 1970s | 0.1944 | 0.163 | 0.211 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.1674 | 0.167 | 0.168 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.4016 | 0.167 | 0.567 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.4638 | 0.439 | 0.5 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.531 | 0.48 | 0.56 | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.5732 | 0.534 | 0.611 | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More social development data for Malawi
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 35,241 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
- Political Rights Rating 2 (2025)
- Electoral democracy 1 (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, annual growth rate -33.33 % change on previous year (2025)
- Political rights rating fh, gaps filled 2 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 551 (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0.0016 units per person (2025)
- Refugees under the mandate of the UNHCR by country or territory of 0 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is key features of democracy in Malawi?
- Key features of democracy in Malawi was 0.557 in 2025, according to V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest key features of democracy recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.611 in 2022.
- What is the lowest key features of democracy recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.01 in 1900.
- How does Malawi rank for key features of democracy?
- Malawi ranks 78th out of 176 countries with data for 2025.
- Is key features of democracy rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 3.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from V-Dem (2026) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Key features of democracy. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 126 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Central estimate of the extent to which political leaders are elected under comprehensive suffrage in free and fair elections, and freedoms of association and expression are guaranteed.