Human Development & Quality of Life in Malawi
HDI 0.517 · UNDP rank 172 · latest published data
With HDI 0.517 for 2023, Malawi sits at rank 172 in UNDP's latest table and falls in the low human development group. What makes the country profile more informative than the rank alone is that the inequality adjustment is one of the most consequential parts of this profile: IHDI falls to 0.365, a 29.4% loss. Separately, the health component is anchored by life expectancy of 67.4 years.
What sits inside Malawi's HDI
For this comparison, Malawi's 2023 HDI inputs include life expectancy of 67.4, expected schooling of 9.9, mean schooling of 5.2, and GNI per capita of $1,634 in 2021 PPP dollars. Together they explain the headline index without turning any single input into a separate ranking.
Inequality changes the headline
In Malawi's profile, IHDI shows the effect of inequality on health, education and income achievements, the page keeps this distribution measure distinct from broader quality-of-life evidence. When looking across the UNDP tables, do not substitute a different denominator so the page stays faithful to the published evidence.
Gender and planetary-pressure adjustments
For Malawi, the available complementary indices are GDI 0.925, GII 0.581, PHDI 0.507. These measures answer different questions, so they are kept separate. For a like-for-like reading, keep missing fields explicitly missing because a composite score cannot explain every outcome on its own.
Quality-of-life coverage is conditional
No comparable OECD life-satisfaction observation is published on this page for Malawi. No value is inferred when the underlying source does not publish one. For the evidence on this page, separate the measure from subjective well-being so the number is not mistaken for another indicator.
What Malawi's numbers say together
Malawi's non-headline measures include IHDI 0.365 with a 29.4% loss; PHDI 0.507 after a 1.9% adjustment; GDI 0.925. These measures answer different questions, so they are kept separate.
Malawi's HDI is 0.517 for 2023, placing it at UNDP rank 172. The index summarizes health, education and income rather than every dimension of day-to-day well-being.
The IHDI is 0.365, and UNDP reports an overall loss of 29.4% relative to the headline index.
The GDI value is 0.925 in group 3; it should be read alongside, not merged into, HDI.
The PHDI is 0.507, with a 1.9% adjustment from the HDI value in UNDP's 2023 table.
Frequently asked questions
What is Malawi's HDI?
The UNDP table records Malawi at 0.517 on HDI in 2023, with global rank 172.
How does inequality affect Malawi's HDI?
For Malawi, IHDI is 0.365 and the associated inequality loss is 29.4%. This adjustment concerns the distribution of HDI achievements. For the evidence on this page, preserve the distinction between level and distribution so the page stays faithful to the published evidence.
Why is there no life satisfaction score on this page?
In this country profile, a subjective well-being figure for Malawi is published only when the source supplies a usable observation. A missing source value is shown as unavailable.
Is HDI the same as quality of life?
No. HDI is built from health, schooling and income indicators. Subjective well-being is kept outside the HDI calculation.
Sources & methodology
Sources for the development indicators and definitions shown above.
View sources used for this page
Primary source for 2023 HDI and its components, plus IHDI, GDI, GII and PHDI where reported.
Report edition underlying the 2023 human-development indices and ranking.
Data note: Reference years are shown with each indicator; unavailable observations remain unfilled.