Number of undernourished people in Malawi
Malawi: Number of undernourished people was 4.5 in 2023. ▲ Rising
Number of undernourished people in Malawi, 2001–2023
Source: United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 4.5 for number of undernourished people in 2023. That is the highest value across all 23 years on record.
The figure is up 4.7% on the previous year and up 87.5% over ten years.
Over the whole period, number of undernourished people in Malawi peaked at 4.5 in 2023 and was at its lowest, 2.1, in 2009.
Malawi ranks 23rd of 97 countries on this measure, in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 23 years of available data.
Number of undernourished people in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 2.7 | — |
| 2002 | 2.8 | +3.7% |
| 2003 | 2.9 | +3.6% |
| 2004 | 2.9 | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 2.8 | -3.4% |
| 2006 | 2.6 | -7.1% |
| 2007 | 2.4 | -7.7% |
| 2008 | 2.2 | -8.3% |
| 2009 | 2.1 | -4.5% |
| 2010 | 2.1 | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 2.1 | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 2.2 | +4.8% |
| 2013 | 2.4 | +9.1% |
| 2014 | 2.6 | +8.3% |
| 2015 | 2.8 | +7.7% |
| 2016 | 2.9 | +3.6% |
| 2017 | 3.2 | +10.3% |
| 2018 | 3.4 | +6.2% |
| 2019 | 3.7 | +8.8% |
| 2020 | 3.9 | +5.4% |
| 2021 | 4.1 | +5.1% |
| 2022 | 4.3 | +4.9% |
| 2023 | 4.5 | +4.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 2.6 | 2.1 | 2.9 | 9 |
| 2010s | 2.74 | 2.1 | 3.7 | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.2 | 3.9 | 4.5 | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More development goals data for Malawi
- Red List Index 0.8845 (2025)
- Number of refugees per 100,000 population, by country of origin 2.52 (2025)
- Manufacturing value added per capita 70.35 (2025)
- Number of transboundary breeds 31 (2025)
- Number of transboundary breeds (not extinct) 31 (2025)
- Number of transboundary breeds with unknown risk status 31 (2025)
- Number of local breeds with unknown risk status 16 (2025)
- Number of local breeds (not extinct) 16 (2025)
- Number of local breeds kept in the country 17 (2025)
- Infant deaths 25,217 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is number of undernourished people in Malawi?
- Number of undernourished people in Malawi was 4.5 in 2023, according to United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database.
- What is the highest number of undernourished people recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 4.5 in 2023.
- What is the lowest number of undernourished people recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.1 in 2009.
- How does Malawi rank for number of undernourished people?
- Malawi ranks 23rd out of 97 countries with data for 2023.
- Is number of undernourished people rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 87.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from United Nations Statistics Division, SDG Global Database, published as part of Number of undernourished people (millions). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 23 observations, free to reuse under UN SDG Global Database (open, attribution requested).