Malawi’s current account balance rose to −14% of GDP in 2025.

Higher is better. A higher balance is better because a smaller deficit, or a surplus, means less reliance on foreign borrowing, aid or reserves to pay for what the country buys abroad. The latest figure, for 2025, is −14% of GDP, up from −15.1% of GDP a year earlier, an improvement of 1.1 percentage points. Since 2016 the balance has ranged from a low of −17.4% of GDP in 2017 to a high of −12% of GDP in 2019. The 2025 reading sits in the upper half of that range, closer to the 2019 high than to the 2017 low.

Why it matters. A deficit of −14% of GDP means Malawi spends far more foreign currency than it earns, and the gap has to be covered by loans, grants or foreign exchange reserves. Importers of fuel and fertiliser compete for limited dollars, which adds pressure on the kwacha and on prices in the shops. The government and its donors carry the financing burden, so the 2025 improvement eases that strain only slightly.