🇲🇼 Malawi: Politics & Democracy
Only partially — Malawi's V-Dem liberal democracy score of 46.2 (0–100 scale) puts it in hybrid territory: some electoral competition exists, but liberal-democratic checks are weak.
Current leaders
Lazarus Chakwera
Head of State · Malawi Congress Party
Democracy trend
Voting alignment
Malawi's closest UN General Assembly voting partners since 1946:
Frequently asked questions
Is Malawi a democracy?
Only partially — Malawi's V-Dem liberal democracy score of 46.2 (0–100 scale) puts it in hybrid territory: some electoral competition exists, but liberal-democratic checks are weak. It ranks #70 of 179 countries in 2025.
Is democracy in Malawi improving or declining?
Malawi's V-Dem liberal democracy score has improved by 1.8 points over the past decade, standing at 46.2 in 2025 (1-year change: −1.0).
Who leads Malawi?
Lazarus Chakwera is Malawi's head of state (Malawi Congress Party).