Distillers Malawi
A one-page guide to Malawi for the spirits trade: the country, its people, its economy and how it drinks.
At a glance
- Capital
- Lilongwe
- Official languages
- English
- Currency
- Malawian kwacha (MWK)
- Time zone
- UTC+2 (CAT)
- Area
- 118,480 km²
People
- Population
- 22.2 million (2025)
- Population growth
- 2.6% a year
- Living in towns and cities
- 17.6%
- Aged under 15
- 40.1%
- Aged 65 and over
- 2.6%
- Life expectancy
- 67.6 years
Economy
- GDP
- US$14.9 billion (2025)
- GDP per person
- US$672 (2025)
- Economic growth
- 1.9% (2025)
- Inflation
- 28.4% (2025)
Climate
Hot in the low-lying south and temperate in the northern highlands. Rainy season runs November to April, peaking in late March; May to September is almost dry. Landlocked, so spirits arrive overland through neighbouring ports.
Alcohol
- Alcohol is
- Legal
- Legal drinking age
- 18 (selling, serving or supplying alcohol to under-18s is prohibited)
- Alcohol per adult a year
- 3.3 litres of pure alcohol (2019)
- What people drink
- Beer 4.2%, wine 0.8%, spirits 9.5%, other 85.5% (2019)
- Traditional drinks
- Kachasu / lutuku (home-distilled maize spirit, about 20-30% ABV, sometimes much higher)
Sources: World Bank (population, economy and demographics), WHO Global Health Observatory (alcohol per adult and drinking mix); Legal drinking age (Wikipedia); Kachasu (Wikipedia); Malawi (Wikipedia); World Bank country data; WHO Global status report on alcohol and health 2024 (via Wikipedia table); UN Comtrade public API, HS 2208; The Nation (Malawi, 2015): Malawi Distilleries fears closure. Figures are the latest each source publishes; the year is shown beside each one.