Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malawi
Malawi: Share of the population that owns a mobile phone was 57.2% in 2024. ▲ Rising
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malawi, 2016–2024
Source: International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 57.2% for share of the population that owns a mobile phone in 2024. That is the highest value across all 7 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 1.1% on the previous year and up 34.9% over ten years.
Over the whole period, share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malawi peaked at 57.2% in 2024 and was at its lowest, 42.4%, in 2016.
That places Malawi 171st out of 182 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the bottom quarter.
Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malawi, year by year
| Year | % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | 42.4% | — |
| 2019 | 43.8% | +3.3% |
| 2020 | 45.7% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 52.3% | +14.4% |
| 2022 | 55.9% | +6.9% |
| 2023 | 56.6% | +1.3% |
| 2024 | 57.2% | +1.1% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 57.2% is above the median for low income countries, which is 53.8%, 1.1× the median. (16 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 57.2% is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 69.1%, 83% of the median. (39 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010s | 43.1% | 42.4% | 43.8% | 2 |
| 2020s | 53.5% | 45.7% | 57.2% | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More science & technology data for Malawi
- Mobile landline subscriptions, per unit of GDP 0 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, gaps filled 69.26 (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per capita 0.6926 units per person (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per unit of GDP 0.0013 units per US$ of GDP (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, gaps filled 15.00 million (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, per square kilometre 136.74 units per square kilometre (2023)
- Mobile landline subscriptions, annual growth rate 13.38 % change on previous year (2024)
- Mobile cellular subscriptions by country, annual growth rate 16.34 % change on previous year (2024)
- Scientific and technical journal articles 377.51 (2023)
- Scientific and technical journal articles, per capita 0 units per person (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malawi?
- Share of the population that owns a mobile phone in Malawi was 57.2% in 2024, according to International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 57.2% in 2024.
- What is the lowest share of the population that owns a mobile phone recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 42.4% in 2016.
- How does Malawi rank for share of the population that owns a mobile phone?
- Malawi ranks 171st out of 182 countries with data for 2024.
- Is share of the population that owns a mobile phone rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 34.9%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from International Telecommunication Union – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Share of the population that owns a mobile phone. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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CSV · JSON — 7 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Proportion of individuals who own a mobile telephone, by sex (%).