Malawi
2021 Economic Complexity Research : -0.15, Rank 73 of 140
2021 Product Exports | Imports: $947M | $1.65B, 163 of 226 | 168 of 226
2021 Economic Complexity Research : -0.15, Rank 73 of 140
2021 Product Exports | Imports: $947M | $1.65B, 163 of 226 | 168 of 226
Overview In 2021 Malawi was the number 163 economy in the world in terms of total exports and the number 168 in total imports.
Exports The top exports of Malawi are Raw Tobacco ($437M), Gold ($90.3M), Soybeans ($69M), Raw Sugar ($66.9M), and Tea ($64.3M), exporting mostly to Germany ($105M), United Arab Emirates ($96M), India ($89.4M), Russia ($71.4M), and Ukraine ($56.7M).
Imports The top imports of Malawi are Packaged Medicaments ($85.3M), Broadcasting Equipment ($75.6M), Vaccines, blood, antisera, toxins and cultures ($46.8M), Wheat ($44.4M), and Cars ($42.7M), importing mostly from South Africa ($469M), China ($280M), India ($156M), Zambia ($124M), and United Arab Emirates ($98.3M).
Location Malawi borders Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia by land.
The following section uses the most recent trade data from partners of Malawi.
Disclaimer: data is presented based on availability and only countries that use the harmonized system are being shown.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
The data obtained is mirror data. The trade of countries that do not report current data can be reconstructed based on data reported by partner countries with current data available.
*All data is converted to USD using January 2020 exchange rates when data is reported in local currency.
Top Export (2021): Raw Tobacco, $437M
Top Destination (2021): Germany, $105M
In 2021, Malawi exported a total of $947M, making it the number 163 exporter in the world. During the last five reported years the exports of Malawi have changed by -$246M from $1.19B in 2016 to $947M in 2021.
The most recent exports are led by Raw Tobacco ($437M), Gold ($90.3M), Soybeans ($69M), Raw Sugar ($66.9M), and Tea ($64.3M). The most common destination for the exports of Malawi are Germany ($105M), United Arab Emirates ($96M), India ($89.4M), Russia ($71.4M), and Ukraine ($56.7M).
Malawi Exports Services (2019): $182M
Malawi Imports Services (2019): $358M
In 2019, Malawi exported $182M worth of services. The top services exported by Malawi in 2019 were Computer and information services ($44.1M), Transportation ($30.3M), Business travel ($30.2M), Insurance services ($25.9M), and Financial services ($18.7M).
The top services imported by Malawi in 2019 were Transportation ($94.4M), Other business services ($62.5M), Business travel ($53.7M), Personal travel ($53.5M), and Insurance services ($33.8M).
Malawi has a high level of specialization in Raw Tobacco (1.02k), Tea (176), Railway Maintenance Vehicles (118), Ground Nuts (74.7), and Dried Legumes (71.9). Specialization is measured using RCA, an index that takes the ratio between Malawi observed and expected exports in each product.
The highest complexity exports of Malawi according to the product complexity index (PCI) are Electric (electrically heated gas) soldering, brazing, welding machines and apparatus, capable or... (1.94), Bulldozers, graders, levellers, scrapers, angledozers, mechanical shovels, excavators, shovel loaders, tamping machines... (1.1), Paintings, drawings, pastels, executed entirely by hand; not drawings of heading no.... (0.54), Inorganic acids and other inorganic oxygen compounds of non-metals; n.e.c. in heading... (0.33), and Railway or tramway maintenance or service vehicles; whether or not self-propelled (e.g.... (0.22). PCI measures the knowledge intensity of a product by considering the knowledge intensity of its exporters.
The top export opportunities for Malawi according to the relatedness index, were Manganese Ore (0.096), Sorghum (0.088), Tin Ores (0.088), Insect Resins (0.086), and Cocoa Beans (0.083). Relatedness measures the distance between a country's current exports and each product. The barchart show only products that Malawi is not specialized in.
The product space is a network connecting products that are likely to be co-exported. The product space can be used to predict future exports, since countries are more likely to start exporting products that are related to current exports. Relatedness measures the distance between a product, and all of the products a country currently specializes in.
The Complexity-Relatedness diagram compares the risk vs strategic value of a country's potential export oppotunities. Relatedness is predictive of the probability that a country increases its exports in a product. Complexity, is associated with higher levels of income, economic growth, less income inequality, and lower greenhouse emissions.