Is Malawi a good place to live for remote workers?

Malawi scores 57/100 on our equal-weighted livability composite (internet 22.2 Mbps, safety 89, healthcare 52, air quality 78; English not scored) — rank 96 of 167.

How fast is the internet in Malawi?

Median fixed broadband is around 22.2 Mbps.

What does $3,000/month get you in Malawi?

Single-person essentials run about $617/month at local prices, so $3,000 lives "like royalty" (4.9× essentials).

Livability · rank 96/167

Is 🇲🇼 Malawi (Lilongwe) a good place to live?

Quality score 57/100 against essentials of $617/month.

The five metrics

Internet 9 22.2 Mbps median broadband, 19% online

Safety 89 1.8 homicides/100k (2012)

Healthcare 52 UHC service coverage 52/100 (2023)

Air quality 78 PM2.5 14.8 µg/m³ (2023)

Beside the score, not inside it

Neither of these is part of the composite above, deliberately. Folding governance into a quality-of-life number would bury a political judgement where you could not see it or argue with it, and connection price is a different question from connection speed — somewhere fast and expensive and somewhere slow and cheap are different trade-offs, not one average.

Rule of law: middling; World Bank WGI estimate -0.15 · corruption control -0.65 · stability -0.38 (2024). Scale −2.5 to +2.5, higher is better.
What connectivity costs: $8.57 /mo broadband; Mobile 10GB $3.43/month. ITU price basket. The speed above is scored; this price is not.

What your budget buys

Monthly budget	vs essentials ($617)	Verdict
$2,000	3.2×	like royalty
$3,000	4.9×	like royalty
$5,000	8.1×	like royalty

Essentials from the Pint & Property basket. Rank countries by your own priorities in the interactive matrix.

Similar value-for-money

🇧🇩 Bangladesh — quality 44.6, essentials $484/mo
🇧🇴 Bolivia — quality 65.9, essentials $717/mo
🇧🇬 Bulgaria — quality 76.9, essentials $842/mo
🇯🇴 Jordan — quality 77.4, essentials $852/mo

Frequently asked questions

Is Malawi a good place to live for remote workers?: Malawi scores 57/100 on our equal-weighted livability composite (internet 22.2 Mbps, safety 89, healthcare 52, air quality 78; English not scored) — rank 96 of 167.
How fast is the internet in Malawi?: Median fixed broadband is around 22.2 Mbps.
What does $3,000/month get you in Malawi?: Single-person essentials run about $617/month at local prices, so $3,000 lives "like royalty" (4.9× essentials).