• The minimum average cost of a typical household’s monthly survival expenditure in Malawi increased by 10.8 percent from October to November 2022, reaching a record high at MK 92,200. The continued increase in the prices of maize grain, pulses, fish and sugar significantly contributed to the overall rise in the Survival Minimum Expenditure Basket (SMEB) in the country.
• During this period, the rural Northern Region recorded the highest increase of 13.3 percent in the SMEB while the lowest rise in expenditure of 7.7 percent was observed in the urban areas.
• The cost of the urban SMEB was the highest at MK 107,056 per month compared to the cost in rural areas. Among the rural areas, the cost of the SMEB was the highest in the Southern Region at MK 90,306 per month followed by the Central and Northern Regions where the cost of a November 2022 SMEB was MK 86,162 and MK 85,357, respectively.
• The price of beans increased by 8.1 percent to MK 1,644 per kg in the current month from MK 1,521 per kg in October. The prices of cowpeas and pigeon peas also increased by 8.2 percent and 11.3 percent, respectively, during the same period. Cowpeas sold for MK 1,005 per kg while pigeon peas traded at MK 644 per kg.
Why living in Malawi is so expensive? Because we have a developed country lifestyle as a reference and in some least developed countries maintaining such a standard of living is hard and expensive. Thus, living costs in Malawi for locals and expats differ significantly.
We calculate prices for Malawi as a population-weighted mean of 9 cities. Since large cities tend to have a higher cost of living, it''s better to visit specific city pages below for more relevant information.
Livingcost is a crowdsourced database with a cost of living calculator for prices comparison in 9294 cities in 197 countries all over the world. The cost of living calculated as a consumer basket for a moderate lifestyle in developed countries and thus might seem too high for some least developed countries where maintaining such a standard of living is expensive.
A weak harvest has intensified food insecurity. The production of staple foods has fallen behind national needs, preventing a large share of households from accessing sufficient nutrition. Many households are expected to enter the 2024/25 lean season with limited food stocks, depleted finances, and precarious health conditions. Given the grain deficit in the country, limited food stocks in the region, and little recent progress in expanding irrigated maize production, increased grain imports are urgently needed.
The 19th edition of the Malawi Economic Monitor outlines urgent policy measures required to stabilize the economy, protect vulnerable households, and enhance long-term growth. The focus should be on:
i)Restoring macroeconomic stability: Planned macro-fiscal reforms must be implemented and sustained to achieve fiscal consolidation, ensure the success of external debt restructuring, and contain the growth of domestic borrowing.
ii)Bolstering food security, building resilience, and protecting the poor: Given the food deficit in the upcoming lean season, it will be essential to import maize to alleviate food insecurity while also advancing policy measures to build resilience. The existing social protection infrastructure must be effectively leveraged to provide targeted and adaptable support to poor and vulnerable households.
iii)Strengthening productive capacity and diversifying exports: With climate-induced natural disasters and extreme weather events likely to intensify, promoting sustainable farming practices and investing in irrigation systems will be essential to build resilience and ensure adequate food security.
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