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Insights Centre
Sectors · Manufacturing across SADC

Manufacturing in Malawi

Where factories cluster, which zones are filling up, what each country makes and where value addition is missing.

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Value added by manufacturing, 2024US$1.4bn12.3% of the economy · 12th largest of 16 in SADC
Real growth+2.0%a year over the last five years, at constant prices
Exports of the pillar's goods, 2024US$56m-57% on five years earlier · 15th in SADC
Deals in the last 12 months13 tracked in Malawi in all

Manufacturing added US$1.4bn to Malawi's economy in 2024

Value added by manufacturing, the industries in the national accounts closest to manufacturing, US$, at the prices of each year and at constant 2020 prices (which show real growth)

0$500m$1bn$2bn199019921994199619982000200220042006200820102012201420162018202020222024Prices of each yearUS$1.4bnConstant 2020 pricesUS$1.5bn
Source: UN Statistics Division·dotzedw Insights Centre

Malawi has SADC's 12th largest manufacturing sector

Value added by manufacturing, US$, latest year, with its share of each economy

South AfricaUS$51.3bn14.2% of the economy
AngolaUS$8.9bn7.8% of the economy
ZimbabweUS$7.1bn16.5% of the economy
DRCUS$6.2bn8.8% of the economy
TanzaniaUS$5.9bn7.8% of the economy
ZambiaUS$2.3bn9.5% of the economy
MadagascarUS$2.1bn13.3% of the economy
MauritiusUS$1.7bn12.9% of the economy
MozambiqueUS$1.5bn7.3% of the economy
EswatiniUS$1.4bn31.2% of the economy
NamibiaUS$1.4bn11.7% of the economy
MalawiUS$1.4bn12.3% of the economy
BotswanaUS$1.1bn5.9% of the economy
LesothoUS$289m14.0% of the economy
ComorosUS$137m9.1% of the economy
SeychellesUS$90m4.9% of the economy
Source: UN Statistics Division·dotzedw Insights Centre

Manufacturing, value added (US$): Malawi against SADC

Manufacturing, value added (US$), US$, latest year for each country. Click a bar for that country's manufacturing page.

$0$2bn$4bn$6bn$8bn$10bnSouth Africa$52.3bnAngola$8.3bnZimbabwe$7.6bnDRC$7.2bnTanzania$6.6bn (2023)Zambia$2.5bnMadagascar$2.3bn (2024)Mauritius$1.8bnNamibia$1.5bnEswatini$1.4bnMozambique$1.4bnMalawi$1.2bn (2024)Botswana$1.1bnLesotho$288.6m (2024)Comoros$130.1mSeychelles$129.1mAxis cut: longest bar not to scalemedian $1.7bn

Source: World Bank·dotzedw Insights Centre

Malawi's trade in manufacturing goods since 2012

Exports and imports of the products in this pillar's subsectors, each product counted once, US$

0$500m$1bn$2bn2012201420162018202020222024ExportsUS$56mImportsUS$1.3bn
Source: CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

Subsectors

10 in this pillar

Food and beverages in Malawi

Tracks
Mills, breweries, bottlers, sugar mills, dairies and meat plants; plant openings; processed against raw food exports.
Signals ahead
Harvest size, plant expansions, import duties.

Select a figure for its trend. Source: CEPII BACI, dotzedw deals tracker.

Trade in detail

Malawi exported US$18m and imported US$92m of food and beverages in 2024; exports down 74% on five years earlier, 0.2% of what SADC sells abroad.

Malawi's main exports in this subsector, 2024

Sugar (170114)US$13m
Sugar (170199)US$1.2m
Ethanol (220710)US$905k
Food preparations (210690)US$707k
Sweets (170490)US$551k

Malawi's trade in food and beverages every year since 2012, by partner is part of the Individual plan

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Open these deals in the deals tracker

What Malawi sells abroad across manufacturing

Malawi's exports by subsector, 2024, US$, with its share of SADC's exports. A product can count in two subsectors.

Food and beveragesUS$18m0.2% of SADC · -74% on five years earlier
Metals, smelting and refiningUS$15m0% of SADC · +181% on five years earlier
Textiles, clothing and footwearUS$10m0.2% of SADC · -73% on five years earlier
Packaging, plastics and paperUS$6.3m0.2% of SADC · -20% on five years earlier
Chemicals and fertiliserUS$3.3m0.1% of SADC · +141% on five years earlier
Automotive and componentsUS$1.9m0% of SADC · -54% on five years earlier
Electrical goods, batteries and solarUS$662k0.1% of SADC · -83% on five years earlier
PharmaceuticalsUS$562k0.1% of SADC · +439% on five years earlier
Cement and building materialsUS$2k0% of SADC · +2272% on five years earlier
Source: CEPII BACI·dotzedw Insights Centre

Who is moving

Open in the deals tracker

1 deals in the last 12 months involving Malawi, placed in subsectors by what they say.

Sources and method