---
title: "What Is a Good Salary in Malawi? — Geo-Parity"
description: "Median wage in Malawi ≈ $32/mo; top 10% above $96/mo, minimum $43/mo. Full local wage ladder from World Bank data."
canonical: "https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/malawi/"
json: "https://geo-parity.com/api/wage-bands.json?country=MW"
generator: geo-parity markdown twin
---
Local Salaries · Malawi

# What is a good salary in 🇲🇼 Malawi (Lilongwe)?

The median is about **$32/month**; top-10% earners clear **$96/month**.

## The local wage ladder

| Band | Monthly | Annual | Local currency |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Survival floorsingle-person essentials | $617 | $7,404 | 716,395 MWK/mo |
| Statutory minimumILOSTAT statutory monthly minimum wage, 2023 (USD). | $43 | $516 | 49,927 MWK/mo |
| Median (p50)typical earner | $32 | $384 | 37,155 MWK/mo |
| Comfortable (p75)upper-middle | $57 | $684 | 66,182 MWK/mo |
| Top 10% (p90)high earner | $96 | $1,152 | 111,465 MWK/mo |
| Top 1% (p99)elite | $235 | $2,820 | 272,857 MWK/mo |

Modelled from World Bank GNI $600 (2025) and Gini 38.5 (consumption-based, widened to 45.5). Check where you stand in the [interactive benchmarker](https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/?country=MW).

## Countries with similar median pay

- [🇨🇩 DR Congo](https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/dr-congo/) — median $33/mo
- [🇳🇪 Niger](https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/niger/) — median $33/mo
- [🇱🇷 Liberia](https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/liberia/) — median $37/mo
- [🇨🇫 Central African Republic](https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/central-african-republic/) — median $24/mo

See also: [what everyday life costs in Malawi](https://geo-parity.com/ppp/malawi/)

## Frequently asked questions

- **What is a good salary in Malawi?**: The median wage is about $32/month ($384/year). A "comfortable" p75 salary is around $57/month, and you'd be a top-10% earner above $96/month.
- **What is a top 10% salary in Malawi?**: Roughly $96/month ($1,152/year) puts you in the top 10%; the top 1% starts near $235/month.
- **What is the minimum wage in Malawi?**: About $43/month. ILOSTAT statutory monthly minimum wage, 2023 (USD).
- **How are these Malawi salary figures calculated?**: A log-normal wage model calibrated from World Bank GNI per capita ($600, 2025) and the Gini index (38.5, consumption-based — widened to 45.5 income-equivalent). Estimates for benchmarking, not payroll data.

Log-normal model from World Bank data — estimates for benchmarking, not payroll data. Agents: GET /api/wage-bands.json?country=MW.

---

Source: Geo-Parity — https://geo-parity.com/wage-bands/malawi/ · JSON: https://geo-parity.com/api/wage-bands.json?country=MW