African Tax Observatory · Country brief · MalawiData pulled 14 October 2026 · taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/MWI

Centre 13°12′S 34°17′E

Gazetteer · Southern Africa · Low income

Malawi

Collected 19.8% of GDP in tax in 2024, 8 of 38 reporting members.

19.8%

Tax, % of GDP, 2024

+5.3

Points since 2011

1.01

Tax buoyancy

over 15 years

$297

Tax per person

PPP dollars

Plate I·Over time

Fifteen years, against the continent

Over time

Malawi against the continent

Measure

MalawiSouthern Africa medianATAF median and middle half

The shaded band is the middle half of ATAF members each year (25th to 75th percentile); the dashed line is the median of Southern Africa. The members reporting change from year to year, so the band can move because the set of countries changed; the CSV gives the count for each year.

Show the numbers as a table

Year	Malawi	Southern Africa median	ATAF median	ATAF 25th percentile	ATAF 75th percentile	Members reporting
2010		15.60	14.34	10.67	16.43	26
2011	14.55	15.19	14.84	10.99	16.62	33
2012	13.28	16.25	15.07	11.45	16.75	33
2013	13.99	15.43	13.83	11.23	16.89	32
2014	15.31	15.31	14.26	11.87	17.13	32
2015	14.49	15.87	15.08	12.33	18.55	33
2016	14.57	14.57	14.38	12.40	17.43	33
2017	16.23	15.89	14.75	11.50	16.95	35
2018	16.83	16.83	14.18	10.86	16.10	36
2019	16.60	17.80	13.57	11.51	17.23	38
2020	11.78	16.20	13.27	10.85	16.07	38
2021	11.90	15.74	12.72	10.44	16.06	40
2022	9.42	18.21	14.18	11.34	18.16	39
2023	17.92	20.06	14.43	11.30	18.82	37
2024	19.82	18.92	14.30	12.17	18.05	38
2025	16.83	19.51	13.74	12.18	20.53	34

Plate II·Peers, 2024

Each tax beside the medians

Against its peers, 2024

Each tax as a share of GDP, beside the medians

The line joins Malawi (orange) to the ATAF median (grey); the blue tick is the Southern Africa median. All three are for 2024.

Show the numbers as a table

Measure	Malawi	Southern Africa median	ATAF median
Tax-to-GDP	19.82	18.92	14.30
Domestic taxes	14.32	13.03	9.01
Customs taxes	5.50	4.70	4.87
VAT	6.02	7.29	5.20
PIT	3.93	4.12	2.04
CIT	3.80	3.28	2.72

Plate III·Tax heads

How Malawi's tax is made up

Tax heads

What each tax brings in, as a share of GDP

Domestic VATPersonal income taxCorporate income taxWithholding taxOther domestic taxesVAT on importsImport dutyExcise on importsOther customs taxesNot attributed to a headPresumptive tax

Each bar stacks the tax heads ATAF publishes for that year. Where the heads do not add up to total tax revenue, the gap is drawn in light grey and labelled, never spread across the heads. A head missing from a year was not reported for that year.

Show the numbers as a table

Year	Tax head	Revenue (PPP $)	% of GDP
2011	Domestic VAT	326918941	2.24
2011	Personal income tax	529463440	3.62
2011	Corporate income tax	247201848	1.69
2011	Withholding tax	199616902	1.37
2011	Other domestic taxes	20424260	0.14
2011	VAT on imports	328014375	2.24
2011	Import duty	204868267	1.40
2011	Excise on imports	208877969	1.43
2011	Other customs taxes	7485502	0.05
2011	Not attributed to a head	53086210	0.36
2012	Domestic VAT	328819397	2.18
2012	Personal income tax	512969884	3.40
2012	Corporate income tax	264687503	1.75
2012	Withholding tax	173636394	1.15
2012	Presumptive tax	63505	0.00
2012	Other domestic taxes	12659974	0.08
2012	VAT on imports	320989263	2.12
2012	Import duty	184433577	1.22
2012	Excise on imports	150875130	1.00
2012	Other customs taxes	3850814	0.03
2012	Not attributed to a head	54110717	0.36
2013	Domestic VAT	356251096	2.12
2013	Personal income tax	609197348	3.62
2013	Corporate income tax	320975041	1.91
2013	Withholding tax	198475620	1.18
2013	Other domestic taxes	23729534	0.14
2013	VAT on imports	361331029	2.15
2013	Import duty	286927185	1.70
2013	Excise on imports	171374960	1.02
2013	Other customs taxes	3877515	0.02
2013	Not attributed to a head	23220401	0.14
2014	Domestic VAT	393361264	2.27
2014	Personal income tax	671490118	3.87
2014	Corporate income tax	327060113	1.89
2014	Withholding tax	234957652	1.36
2014	Other domestic taxes	20305604	0.12
2014	VAT on imports	486594643	2.81
2014	Import duty	280538186	1.62
2014	Excise on imports	184709844	1.07
2014	Other customs taxes	3551302	0.02
2014	Not attributed to a head	51342385	0.30
2015	Domestic VAT	359827816	2.09
2015	Personal income tax	730391577	4.25
2015	Corporate income tax	310314290	1.81
2015	Withholding tax	209752742	1.22
2015	Presumptive tax	66757	0.00
2015	Other domestic taxes	18411089	0.11
2015	VAT on imports	428730446	2.49
2015	Import duty	247146995	1.44
2015	Excise on imports	141567998	0.82
2015	Other customs taxes	3596433	0.02
2015	Not attributed to a head	40939741	0.24
2016	Domestic VAT	342223300	1.94
2016	Personal income tax	826281782	4.69
2016	Corporate income tax	260629031	1.48
2016	Withholding tax	218938664	1.24
2016	Presumptive tax	91068	0.00
2016	Other domestic taxes	26618896	0.15
2016	VAT on imports	452962587	2.57
2016	Import duty	239002529	1.36
2016	Excise on imports	136480257	0.77
2016	Other customs taxes	4065368	0.02
2016	Not attributed to a head	59126500	0.34
2017	Domestic VAT	430404592	2.33
2017	Personal income tax	793847304	4.31
2017	Corporate income tax	341654019	1.85
2017	Withholding tax	255073637	1.38
2017	Presumptive tax	50892	0.00
2017	Other domestic taxes	155895743	0.85
2017	VAT on imports	516454606	2.80
2017	Import duty	277896980	1.51
2017	Excise on imports	166142360	0.90
2017	Other customs taxes	6899677	0.04
2017	Not attributed to a head	48557096	0.26
2018	Domestic VAT	511897217	2.69
2018	Personal income tax	879745833	4.62
2018	Corporate income tax	360652254	1.90
2018	Withholding tax	273778194	1.44
2018	Presumptive tax	100585	0.00
2018	Other domestic taxes	118996308	0.63
2018	VAT on imports	534498745	2.81
2018	Import duty	291127328	1.53
2018	Excise on imports	186557233	0.98
2018	Other customs taxes	637138	0.00
2018	Not attributed to a head	43635802	0.23
2019	Domestic VAT	593686019	2.89
2019	Personal income tax	976207101	4.76
2019	Corporate income tax	273043529	1.33
2019	Withholding tax	301733082	1.47
2019	Presumptive tax	173412	0.00
2019	Other domestic taxes	126548041	0.62
2019	VAT on imports	555004993	2.71
2019	Import duty	320335728	1.56
2019	Excise on imports	200349370	0.98
2019	Other customs taxes	2933172	0.01
2019	Not attributed to a head	56863487	0.28
2020	Domestic VAT	596372836	2.07
2020	Personal income tax	997659119	3.47
2020	Corporate income tax	276052892	0.96
2020	Withholding tax	299325623	1.04
2020	Other domestic taxes	158583163	0.55
2020	VAT on imports	467020832	1.62
2020	Import duty	278377332	0.97
2020	Excise on imports	176422233	0.61
2020	Not attributed to a head	135068034	0.47
2021	Domestic VAT	634988099	2.12
2021	Personal income tax	913884183	3.04
2021	Corporate income tax	351590860	1.17
2021	Withholding tax	335731655	1.12
2021	Other domestic taxes	171689131	0.57
2021	VAT on imports	536471496	1.79
2021	Import duty	282605006	0.94
2021	Excise on imports	171384090	0.57
2021	Other customs taxes	21323267	0.07
2021	Not attributed to a head	152619005	0.51
2022	Domestic VAT	504287618	1.75
2022	Personal income tax	601109358	2.09
2022	Corporate income tax	301246797	1.05
2022	Withholding tax	268635127	0.93
2022	Presumptive tax	104433	0.00
2022	Other domestic taxes	117893555	0.41
2022	VAT on imports	410909142	1.43
2022	Import duty	232313192	0.81
2022	Excise on imports	151266198	0.52
2022	Other customs taxes	18518463	0.06
2022	Not attributed to a head	108297125	0.38
2023	Domestic VAT	841158230	2.88
2023	Personal income tax	1096425622	3.76
2023	Corporate income tax	844913373	2.89
2023	Withholding tax	471640742	1.62
2023	Presumptive tax	3598541	0.01
2023	Other domestic taxes	52843780	0.18
2023	VAT on imports	716411124	2.45
2023	Import duty	473448158	1.62
2023	Excise on imports	324741220	1.11
2023	Other customs taxes	23599422	0.08
2023	Not attributed to a head	382679730	1.31
2024	Domestic VAT	1112622606	3.42
2024	Personal income tax	1276834626	3.93
2024	Corporate income tax	1234201841	3.80
2024	Withholding tax	538652883	1.66
2024	Presumptive tax	1080504	0.00
2024	Other domestic taxes	268794144	0.83
2024	VAT on imports	842828066	2.59
2024	Import duty	524350542	1.61
2024	Excise on imports	368683926	1.13
2024	Other customs taxes	52139318	0.16
2024	Not attributed to a head	219924179	0.68
2025	Domestic VAT	1189619941	2.82
2025	Personal income tax	1303123666	3.09
2025	Corporate income tax	1582782506	3.75
2025	Withholding tax	573275092	1.36
2025	Presumptive tax	140894	0.00
2025	Other domestic taxes	321467999	0.76
2025	VAT on imports	768463979	1.82
2025	Import duty	570971988	1.35
2025	Excise on imports	404484184	0.96
2025	Other customs taxes	60146647	0.14
2025	Not attributed to a head	327199174	0.78

The mix in 2024

Every shilling, franc or rand of tax, by head

Rectangle areas are proportional to revenue in 2024 (US dollars at purchasing-power parity). Total tax revenue: $6.4bn.

Show the numbers as a table

Tax head	Revenue (PPP $)	Share of tax revenue
Domestic VAT	1112622606	0.17
Personal income tax	1276834626	0.20
Corporate income tax	1234201841	0.19
Withholding tax	538652883	0.08
Presumptive tax	1080504	0.00
Other domestic taxes	268794144	0.04
VAT on imports	842828066	0.13
Import duty	524350542	0.08
Excise on imports	368683926	0.06
Other customs taxes	52139318	0.01
Not attributed to a head	219924179	0.03

Every published number

Malawi in the ATAF Databank

All 23 freely available indicators, exactly as ATAF publishes them. A blank cell means ATAF has no figure for that year; nothing is filled in.

Malawi: ATAF Databank indicators by year
Indicator	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018	2019	2020	2021	2022	2023	2024	2025
Nominal GDP (PPP)	$14.6bn	$15.1bn	$16.8bn	$17.3bn	$17.2bn	$17.6bn	$18.4bn	$19.0bn	$20.5bn	$28.7bn	$30.0bn	$28.8bn	$29.2bn	$32.5bn	$42.2bn
Real GDP	1,069,252.1m	1,091,543.3m	1,159,845.0m	1,232,001.0m	1,270,193.0m	1,334,972.9m	1,372,731.0m	1,402,289.3m	1,463,753.5m	7,262,379.3m	7,593,419.8m	7,812,474.0m	7,167,116.0m	8,167,217.6m	14,918,276.7m
Final Consumption (PPP)		$1.3bn	$15.9bn	$15.6bn	$14.4bn		$15.7bn	$16.4bn			$28.4bn			$32.0bn
Total Tax Revenues (PPP)	$2.1bn	$2.0bn	$2.4bn	$2.7bn	$2.5bn	$2.6bn	$3.0bn	$3.2bn	$3.4bn	$3.4bn	$3.6bn	$2.7bn	$5.2bn	$6.4bn	$7.1bn
Total Number Of Registered Taxpayers			40k	42k			17k			20k		8,820		205k
Non-Tax-Revenues (PPP)
Domestic Tax Revenues (PPP)	$1.4bn	$1.3bn	$1.5bn	$1.7bn	$1.7bn	$1.7bn	$2.0bn	$2.2bn	$2.3bn	$2.5bn	$2.6bn	$1.9bn	$3.7bn	$4.7bn	$5.3bn
Customs Tax Revenues (PPP)	$749.2m	$660.1m	$823.5m	$955.4m	$821.0m	$832.5m	$967.4m	$1.0bn	$1.1bn	$921.8m	$1.0bn	$813.0m	$1.5bn	$1.8bn	$1.8bn
Revenue From Agriculture, Forest & Fishing (PPP)													$236.4m
Revenue From Mining & Quarrying (PPP)													$5.5m	$3.3m	$3.3m
Revenue From Secondary Sector (PPP)													$863.0m
Revenue From Tertiary Sector (PPP)													$2.5bn
Domestic VAT Revenues (PPP)	$326.9m	$328.8m	$356.3m	$393.4m	$359.8m	$342.2m	$430.4m	$511.9m	$593.7m	$596.4m	$635.0m	$504.3m	$841.2m	$1.1bn	$1.2bn
VAT Refunded (PPP)	$37.2m	$34.9m	$54.6m	$38.4m	$41.4m	$30.7m	$64.5m	$80.1m	$74.6m				$143.3m	$55.6m
PIT Revenues (PPP)	$529.5m	$513.0m	$609.2m	$671.5m	$730.4m	$826.3m	$793.8m	$879.7m	$976.2m	$997.7m	$913.9m	$601.1m	$1.1bn	$1.3bn	$1.3bn
CIT Revenues (PPP)	$247.2m	$264.7m	$321.0m	$327.1m	$310.3m	$260.6m	$341.7m	$360.7m	$273.0m	$276.1m	$351.6m	$301.2m	$844.9m	$1.2bn	$1.6bn
Withholding Tax Revenues (PPP)	$199.6m	$173.6m	$198.5m	$235.0m	$209.8m	$218.9m	$255.1m	$273.8m	$301.7m	$299.3m	$335.7m	$268.6m	$471.6m	$538.7m	$573.3m
Presumptive Tax Revenues (PPP)		$63.5k			$66.8k	$91.1k	$50.9k	$100.6k	$173.4k			$104.4k	$3.6m	$1.1m	$140.9k
Other Domestic Tax Revenues (PPP)	$20.4m	$12.7m	$23.7m	$20.3m	$18.4m	$26.6m	$155.9m	$119.0m	$126.5m	$158.6m	$171.7m	$117.9m	$52.8m	$268.8m	$321.5m
VAT On Import Revenues (PPP)	$328.0m	$321.0m	$361.3m	$486.6m	$428.7m	$453.0m	$516.5m	$534.5m	$555.0m	$467.0m	$536.5m	$410.9m	$716.4m	$842.8m	$768.5m
Import Duty Revenues (PPP)	$204.9m	$184.4m	$286.9m	$280.5m	$247.1m	$239.0m	$277.9m	$291.1m	$320.3m	$278.4m	$282.6m	$232.3m	$473.4m	$524.4m	$571.0m
Excises on Imports Revenues (PPP)	$208.9m	$150.9m	$171.4m	$184.7m	$141.6m	$136.5m	$166.1m	$186.6m	$200.3m	$176.4m	$171.4m	$151.3m	$324.7m	$368.7m	$404.5m
Other Customs Tax Revenues (PPP)	$7.5m	$3.9m	$3.9m	$3.6m	$3.6m	$4.1m	$6.9m	$637.1k	$2.9m		$21.3m	$18.5m	$23.6m	$52.1m	$60.1m

Values are rounded for display; the CSV has them exactly as published. Revenue and GDP are US dollars at purchasing-power parity.

Data-quality checks

What the automatic checks found

These are rule-based checks, run on every pull. A flag says the numbers deserve a second look, not that they are wrong; the methods page explains each rule.

Year	Check	Detail
2023	Domestic heads do not add up	The six domestic tax heads sum to 90% of reported domestic tax revenue.

Source: ATAF Databank, the African Tax Administration Forum; World Bank World Development Indicators. Tax and GDP are in US dollars at purchasing-power parity, so their ratio equals the ratio in local currency. Cite as: Kaijamahe, W. H. (2026). Malawi. In African Tax Observatory (Edition 1, October 2026) [Data set and atlas]. TaxIntellilytics Stories. https://www.taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/MWI Every figure and its method: taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/methods

Cite this sheet

Malawi, in Edition 1

Kaijamahe, W. H. (2026). Malawi. In African Tax Observatory (Edition 1, October 2026) [Data set and atlas]. TaxIntellilytics Stories. https://www.taxintellilyticsstories.com/africa/countries/MWI

Southern Africa

Neighbouring profiles

Angola Botswana Eswatini Lesotho Mozambique Namibia South Africa Zambia Zimbabwe Compare Malawi with its neighbours →