Agricultural water withdrawals in Malawi
Malawi: Agricultural water withdrawals was 1.17 billion cubic meters in 2023. ▲ Rising
Latest (2023)
1.17 billion cubic meters
Change on year
unchanged
World rank
87th
of 180 countries
All-time high
1.17 billion cubic meters
in 2002
All-time low
809.00 million cubic meters
in 1994
Years of data
30
1994–2023
Agricultural water withdrawals in Malawi, 1994–2023
Source: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in cubic meters.
Analysis
In 2023, agricultural water withdrawals in Malawi stood at 1.17 billion cubic meters. That is the highest value across all 30 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is unchanged over ten years.
Over the whole period, agricultural water withdrawals in Malawi peaked at 1.17 billion cubic meters in 2002 and was at its lowest, 809.00 million cubic meters, in 1994.
Malawi ranks 87th of 180 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 30 years of available data.
Agricultural water withdrawals in Malawi, year by year
| Year | cubic meters | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 809.00 million cubic meters | — |
| 1995 | 853.62 million cubic meters | +5.5% |
| 1996 | 898.25 million cubic meters | +5.2% |
| 1997 | 942.88 million cubic meters | +5.0% |
| 1998 | 987.50 million cubic meters | +4.7% |
| 1999 | 1.03 billion cubic meters | +4.5% |
| 2000 | 1.08 billion cubic meters | +4.3% |
| 2001 | 1.12 billion cubic meters | +4.1% |
| 2002 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +4.0% |
| 2003 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2004 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2005 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2007 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2008 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2009 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2010 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2011 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2012 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2013 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2015 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2016 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2017 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2018 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2019 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2020 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2021 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2022 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
| 2023 | 1.17 billion cubic meters | +0.0% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1990s | 920.56 million cubic meters | 809.00 million cubic meters | 1.03 billion cubic meters | 6 |
| 2000s | 1.15 billion cubic meters | 1.08 billion cubic meters | 1.17 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.17 billion cubic meters | 1.17 billion cubic meters | 1.17 billion cubic meters | 10 |
| 2020s | 1.17 billion cubic meters | 1.17 billion cubic meters | 1.17 billion cubic meters | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 84 Haiti 1.21 billion cubic meters compare
- 85 United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland 1.18 billion cubic meters compare
- 86 Honduras 1.18 billion cubic meters compare
- 88 Nicaragua 1.08 billion cubic meters compare
- 89 Mozambique 1.08 billion cubic meters compare
- 90 Timor-Leste 1.07 billion cubic meters compare
More agriculture & rural data for Malawi
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 24.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3003 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 201.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8241 units per person (2025)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 30.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 30.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is agricultural water withdrawals in Malawi?
- Agricultural water withdrawals in Malawi was 1.17 billion cubic meters in 2023, according to Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest agricultural water withdrawals recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 1.17 billion cubic meters in 2002.
- What is the lowest agricultural water withdrawals recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 809.00 million cubic meters in 1994.
- How does Malawi rank for agricultural water withdrawals?
- Malawi ranks 87th out of 180 countries with data for 2023.
- Is agricultural water withdrawals rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is unchanged. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations - AQUASTAT (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Agricultural water withdrawals. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 30 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Water withdrawn each year for irrigation, livestock, and aquaculture.