Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in Malawi
Malawi: Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land was 0.0171 in 2019. ▲ Rising
Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in Malawi, 1961–2019
Source: USDA Economic Research Service (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
Analysis
The most recent figure for farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in Malawi is 0.0171, measured in 2019.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 2.3% on the previous year and up 4.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in Malawi peaked at 0.0253 in 1994 and was at its lowest, 0.0051, in 1963.
That places Malawi 148th out of 175 countries with data for 2019, putting it in the bottom quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 59 years of available data.
Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 0.0054 | — |
| 1962 | 0.0053 | -3.1% |
| 1963 | 0.0051 | -3.4% |
| 1964 | 0.0058 | +13.6% |
| 1965 | 0.0076 | +32.6% |
| 1966 | 0.0097 | +27.1% |
| 1967 | 0.0128 | +31.7% |
| 1968 | 0.0147 | +14.8% |
| 1969 | 0.0166 | +12.9% |
| 1970 | 0.0181 | +9.0% |
| 1971 | 0.0173 | -4.4% |
| 1972 | 0.0172 | -0.6% |
| 1973 | 0.0169 | -1.7% |
| 1974 | 0.0176 | +4.1% |
| 1975 | 0.0191 | +8.5% |
| 1976 | 0.0192 | +0.5% |
| 1977 | 0.0198 | +3.1% |
| 1978 | 0.0201 | +1.5% |
| 1979 | 0.0209 | +4.0% |
| 1980 | 0.0238 | +13.9% |
| 1981 | 0.0233 | -2.1% |
| 1982 | 0.0222 | -4.7% |
| 1983 | 0.0236 | +6.3% |
| 1984 | 0.0236 | +0.0% |
| 1985 | 0.024 | +1.7% |
| 1986 | 0.0236 | -1.7% |
| 1987 | 0.0239 | +1.3% |
| 1988 | 0.0238 | -0.4% |
| 1989 | 0.0239 | +0.4% |
| 1990 | 0.0233 | -2.5% |
| 1991 | 0.022 | -5.6% |
| 1992 | 0.0233 | +5.9% |
| 1993 | 0.023 | -1.3% |
| 1994 | 0.0253 | +10.0% |
| 1995 | 0.0228 | -9.9% |
| 1996 | 0.0218 | -4.4% |
| 1997 | 0.0214 | -1.8% |
| 1998 | 0.0204 | -4.7% |
| 1999 | 0.0195 | -4.4% |
| 2000 | 0.019 | -2.6% |
| 2001 | 0.018 | -5.3% |
| 2002 | 0.0186 | +3.3% |
| 2003 | 0.017 | -8.6% |
| 2004 | 0.0172 | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 0.0172 | +0.0% |
| 2006 | 0.0163 | -5.2% |
| 2007 | 0.0187 | +14.7% |
| 2008 | 0.0167 | -10.7% |
| 2009 | 0.0163 | -2.4% |
| 2010 | 0.0159 | -2.5% |
| 2011 | 0.0163 | +2.5% |
| 2012 | 0.0158 | -3.1% |
| 2013 | 0.0158 | +0.0% |
| 2014 | 0.0154 | -2.5% |
| 2015 | 0.0161 | +4.5% |
| 2016 | 0.0166 | +3.1% |
| 2017 | 0.0162 | -2.4% |
| 2018 | 0.0175 | +8.0% |
| 2019 | 0.0171 | -2.3% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 0.0171 is above the median for low income countries, which is 0.0097, 1.8× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 0.0171 is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 0.0218, 78% of the median. (46 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in Malawi changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1965 | +32.6% | 0.0058 | 0.0076 |
| 1967 | +31.7% | 0.0097 | 0.0128 |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 0.0092 | 0.0051 | 0.0166 | 9 |
| 1970s | 0.0186 | 0.0169 | 0.0209 | 10 |
| 1980s | 0.0236 | 0.0222 | 0.024 | 10 |
| 1990s | 0.0223 | 0.0195 | 0.0253 | 10 |
| 2000s | 0.0175 | 0.0163 | 0.019 | 10 |
| 2010s | 0.0163 | 0.0154 | 0.0175 | 10 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 145 Mongolia 0.0308 compare
- 146 Cape Verde 0.026 compare
- 147 Mauritania 0.0176 compare
- 149 Nigeria 0.0129 compare
- 150 United Arab Emirates 0.0123 compare
- 151 Ethiopia 0.0115 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 farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in Malawi?
- Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land in Malawi was 0.0171 in 2019, according to USDA Economic Research Service (2021) – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest farm machinery per unit of agricultural land recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 0.0253 in 1994.
- What is the lowest farm machinery per unit of agricultural land recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 0.0051 in 1963.
- How does Malawi rank for farm machinery per unit of agricultural land?
- Malawi ranks 148th out of 175 countries with data for 2019.
- Is farm machinery per unit of agricultural land rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 4.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from USDA Economic Research Service (2021) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Farm machinery per unit of agricultural land. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 59 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Farm machinery is measured in units of horsepower. This is divided by total agricultural land to give the average machinery use per hectare of agricultural land.