Share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. GDP per capita in Malawi
Malawi: Share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. GDP per capita was 66 percent in 2021. ▼ Falling
Share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. GDP per capita in Malawi, 2001–2021
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in percent.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 66 percent for share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. gdp per capita in 2021. That is the lowest value across all 21 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.5% on the previous year and down 12.0% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. gdp per capita in Malawi peaked at 75 percent in 2001 and was at its lowest, 66 percent, in 2021.
That places Malawi 17th out of 182 countries with data for 2021, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 21 years of available data.
Share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. GDP per capita in Malawi, year by year
| Year | percent | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 75 percent | — |
| 2002 | 73 percent | -2.7% |
| 2003 | 73 percent | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 73 percent | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 73 percent | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 73 percent | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 72 percent | -1.4% |
| 2008 | 71 percent | -1.4% |
| 2009 | 72 percent | +1.4% |
| 2010 | 74 percent | +2.8% |
| 2011 | 75 percent | +1.4% |
| 2012 | 74 percent | -1.3% |
| 2013 | 72 percent | -2.7% |
| 2014 | 70 percent | -2.8% |
| 2015 | 68 percent | -2.9% |
| 2016 | 68 percent | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 67 percent | -1.5% |
| 2018 | 67 percent | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 67 percent | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 67 percent | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 66 percent | -1.5% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000s | 72.78 percent | 71 percent | 75 percent | 9 |
| 2010s | 70.2 percent | 67 percent | 75 percent | 10 |
| 2020s | 66.5 percent | 66 percent | 67 percent | 2 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 14 Lao People's Democratic Republic 68 percent compare
- 14 Korea, Democratic People's Republic of 68 percent compare
- 16 Ghana 67 percent compare
- 17 Lesotho 66 percent compare
- 19 Burundi 65 percent compare
- 19 Guinea-Bissau 65 percent compare
- 19 Nigeria 65 percent compare
More energy & mining data for Malawi
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, annual growth rate 7.18 % change on previous year (2024)
- Coal consumption, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal consumption, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Primary energy use, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Coal production, per unit of GDP 0 terawatt-hours per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Fossil fuel consumption by fuel, per capita 0 terawatt-hours per person (2024)
- Fuel imports 16.5% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. gdp per capita in Malawi?
- Share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. gdp per capita in Malawi was 66 percent in 2021, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. gdp per capita recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 75 percent in 2001.
- What is the lowest share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. gdp per capita recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 66 percent in 2021.
- How does Malawi rank for share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. gdp per capita?
- Malawi ranks 17th out of 182 countries with data for 2021.
- Is share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. gdp per capita rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 12.0%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of calories from cereals, roots, and tubers vs. GDP per capita. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 21 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
A high share of calories from cereals, roots and tubers typically represents lower dietary diversity. GDP per capita is adjusted for inflation and differences in living costs between countries.