Number of people without access to electricity in Malawi

Malawi: Number of people without access to electricity was 18.28 million people in 2024. ▲ Rising

Latest (2024)
18.28 million people
Change on year
up 2.6%
World rank
9th
of 214 countries
All-time high
18.28 million people
in 2024
All-time low
9.81 million people
in 1992
Years of data
33
1992–2024

Number of people without access to electricity in Malawi, 1992–2024

05.0M10.0M15.0M20.0M1992200820241992: 9.8M people1993: 10.1M people1994: 10.0M people1995: 9.9M people1996: 10.0M people1997: 10.2M people1998: 10.4M people1999: 10.6M people2000: 10.8M people2001: 11.0M people2002: 11.2M people2003: 11.4M people2004: 11.6M people2005: 12.0M people2006: 12.7M people2007: 12.6M people2008: 12.9M people2009: 13.2M people2010: 13.5M people2011: 14.1M people2012: 14.5M people2013: 14.7M people2014: 14.6M people2015: 15.2M people2016: 15.6M people2017: 15.7M people2018: 15.2M people2019: 16.9M people2020: 17.3M people2021: 17.2M people2022: 17.7M people2023: 17.8M people2024: 18.3M people

Source: Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

The most recent figure for number of people without access to electricity in Malawi is 18.28 million people, measured in 2024. That is the highest value across all 33 years on record.

Compared with earlier readings it is up 2.6% on the previous year and up 24.8% over ten years.

Over the whole period, number of people without access to electricity in Malawi peaked at 18.28 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 9.81 million people, in 1992.

Malawi ranks 9th of 214 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 33 years of available data.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1990s 10.13 million people 9.81 million people 10.58 million people 8
2000s 11.94 million people 10.77 million people 13.20 million people 10
2010s 15.02 million people 13.54 million people 16.89 million people 10
2020s 17.65 million people 17.20 million people 18.28 million people 5

Countries ranked near Malawi

  1. 6 Mozambique 21.85 million people compare
  2. 7 Niger 21.27 million people compare
  3. 8 Madagascar 18.38 million people compare
  4. 10 Chad 17.58 million people compare
  5. 11 Sudan 17.15 million people compare
  6. 12 Angola 16.86 million people compare

See the full ranking of 214 places →

More energy & mining data for Malawi

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is number of people without access to electricity in Malawi?
Number of people without access to electricity in Malawi was 18.28 million people in 2024, according to Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest number of people without access to electricity recorded in Malawi?
The highest recorded value was 18.28 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest number of people without access to electricity recorded in Malawi?
The lowest recorded value was 9.81 million people in 1992.
How does Malawi rank for number of people without access to electricity?
Malawi ranks 9th out of 214 countries with data for 2024.
Is number of people without access to electricity rising or falling in Malawi?
Over the last ten years it is up 24.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
Where does this Malawi data come from?
The figures come from Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Number of people without access to electricity. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 33 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator
Number of people without access to electricity
Unit
people
Source
Data compiled from multiple sources by the World Bank – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
214 places, 6,702 data points, 1990–2024
Last refreshed

Access to electricity means having an electricity source that can provide very basic lighting, and charge a phone or power a radio for 4 hours per day.