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Malawi — Labor participation
Labor Force Participation Rate for Malawi, 1990–2025.
Latest value · 2025
62.58%
Labor Force Participation Rate · % of population ages 15+ · -22.4% since 1990
Labor participation for Malawi was 62.58% in 2025, according to the latest World Bank data. The series covers 36 years, from 1990 to 2025. The highest recorded value was 80.86% in 1999. Across that span the compound annual growth rate works out to -0.72% per year.
Malawi ranks 86 of 187 economies on this measure (1 = highest), putting it in the top 46%. The median for Sub-Saharan Africa is 64.31%, so Malawi sits below it. It peaked in 1999 and has fallen 23% since. Over the last decade (2015–2025) the figure moved down 7%.
Key figures
Latest (2025)
62.58%
First (1990)
80.65%
Change
-22.4%
Highest
80.86%
in 1999
Lowest
62.58%
in 2025
Average
74.12%
Annual growth (CAGR)
-0.72%
Years of data
36
Recent years
| Year | % of population ages 15+ |
|---|---|
| 2025 | 62.58% |
| 2024 | 62.93% |
| 2023 | 63% |
| 2022 | 63.07% |
| 2021 | 62.93% |
| 2020 | 68.26% |
| 2019 | 63.27% |
| 2018 | 63.37% |
| 2017 | 63.47% |
| 2016 | 65.23% |
| 2015 | 66.96% |
| 2014 | 68.64% |
Reading this correctly. Proportion of the population aged 15 and above that is economically active: supplying labor for the production of goods and services. Figures are in % of population ages 15+. Comparing this series with a different measure of the same concept (for example a nominal figure against a purchasing-power-parity figure) will give misleading results.
Related data
Source. World Bank Open Data, indicator
SL.TLF.CACT.ZS — Labor Force Participation Rate. Data licensed under CC BY 4.0. Values are reproduced as published; this page computes the summary statistics (change, CAGR, extremes) from the underlying annual series. View the original dataset on data.worldbank.org.