Greenhouse gas emissions in Malawi
Malawi: Greenhouse gas emissions was 25.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024. ◆ Volatile
Latest (2024)
25.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
Change on year
down 2.9%
World rank
122nd
of 199 countries
All-time high
27.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 2004
All-time low
-1.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents
in 1912
Years of data
175
1850–2024
Greenhouse gas emissions in Malawi, 1850–2024
Source: Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in tonnes of CO₂ equivalents.
Analysis
The most recent figure for greenhouse gas emissions in Malawi is 25.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, measured in 2024.
That represents a change of down 2.9% on the previous year and up 8.8% over ten years.
Over the whole period, greenhouse gas emissions in Malawi peaked at 27.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2004 and was at its lowest, -1.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents, in 1912.
That places Malawi 122nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024, putting it in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1850s | 1.45 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 908,751 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 2.38 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1860s | 585,002 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 400,642 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 828,679 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1870s | 296,476 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 268,176 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 363,878 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1880s | 444,397 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 345,463 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 491,212 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1890s | 72,478 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | -167,431 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 424,317 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1900s | -550,436 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | -1.05 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | -205,354 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1910s | -817,233 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | -1.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | -532,627 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1920s | 2.36 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 349,226 tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.76 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1930s | 4.88 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 3.92 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5.65 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1940s | 7.56 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 6.13 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 8.64 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1950s | 12.86 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 11.31 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 16.30 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1960s | 19.15 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 25.77 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1970s | 14.22 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 20.86 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1980s | 11.74 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 9.44 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 14.52 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 1990s | 17.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 7.29 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 24.73 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2000s | 24.08 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 20.14 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 27.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2010s | 22.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 19.08 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 26.52 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 10 |
| 2020s | 25.09 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 23.25 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 26.24 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents | 5 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 119 Yemen 26.66 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 120 Bosnia and Herzegovina 26.47 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 121 Botswana 26.20 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 123 Liberia 24.54 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 124 Kyrgyzstan 22.58 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
- 125 Croatia 22.46 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents compare
More climate change data for Malawi
- Share of global CO₂ emissions and population 0.6% (2100)
- Population growth 2.6% (2025)
- Population, total 22.22 million (2025)
- Urban population growth 4.4% (2025)
- Urban population 3.91 million (2025)
- Urban population 17.6% (2025)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. GDP per capita 0.0869 tonnes per person (2024)
- Cumulative CO₂ emissions 57.56 million tonnes (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita 0.0869 tonnes per person (2024)
- CO₂ emissions per capita vs. share of electricity generation from renewables 0.0869 tonnes per person (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is greenhouse gas emissions in Malawi?
- Greenhouse gas emissions in Malawi was 25.00 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2024, according to Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 27.33 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 2004.
- What is the lowest greenhouse gas emissions recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.07 million tonnes of CO₂ equivalents in 1912.
- How does Malawi rank for greenhouse gas emissions?
- Malawi ranks 122nd out of 199 countries with data for 2024.
- Is greenhouse gas emissions rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 8.8%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Jones et al. (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Greenhouse gas emissions. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 175 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).
About this data
Greenhouse gas emissions are measured in tonnes of carbon dioxide-equivalents over a 100-year timescale.