Government and power in Malawi

Who leads Malawi, how the World Bank's governance indicators score it, how many women sit in parliament and government, what the state spends and taxes, and the official bodies that hold power to account. System of government: Unitary presidential republic.

Who leads Malawi?

• Head of state: Arthur Peter Mutharika (President of the Republic of Malawi and Commander-in-Chief of the Malawi Defence Force)
• Head of government: No Prime Minister
• Foreign minister: George Chapatula Chaponda (Minister for Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Malawi)

Source: Heads of State, Heads of Government, Ministers for Foreign Affairs: Public List (United Nations Protocol and Liaison Service), list dated 15 October 2026. All world leaders.

Governance scores

The World Bank's Worldwide Governance Indicators combine surveys of households and firms with assessments by public, private and non-governmental bodies. Each score runs from 0 to 100; higher means the sources rate governance better. They measure perceptions, and each has a margin of error.

Voice and accountability

Measures how far citizens can choose their government, and freedom of expression, association and the media.

Political stability and absence of violence

Measures the likelihood of political instability or politically motivated violence, including terrorism.

Government effectiveness

Measures the quality of public services and the civil service, and how independent they are from political pressure.

Regulatory quality

Measures the government's ability to make and carry out policies that let the private sector develop.

Rule of law

Measures confidence in and respect for the rules of society, including contract enforcement, property rights, the police and the courts.

Control of corruption

Measures how far public power is used for private gain, including petty and grand corruption and "capture" of the state by elites.

Official bodies that hold power in Malawi

Government

• Malawi Government portal
  Government services, ministry information, press releases and official notices.

Parliament

• National Assembly
  Hansard, bills, order papers and members of the National Assembly.

Elections

• Malawi Electoral Commission
  Election results, voter registration data and electoral calendars.

Courts

• Malawi Judiciary
  Court judgments, cause lists and information on the Supreme Court of Appeal and High Court.

Public audit

• National Audit Office
  Auditor General reports on government accounts, ministries and public bodies.

Ombudsman

• Office of the Ombudsman
  Investigation reports and determinations on complaints about public bodies.

Access to information

• Malawi Human Rights Commission (oversight of the Access to Information Act)
  Human rights reports and investigations, and oversight and compliance monitoring of the Access to Information Act.

Asset declarations

• Office of the Director of Public Officers' Declarations
  Declarations of assets, liabilities and business interests by public officers, compliance reports and lists of defaulters.

Public contracts

• Public Procurement and Disposal of Assets Authority (PPDA)
  Procurement regulations, tender notices, contract awards, debarment lists and reviews of public procurement.

Laws and the official gazette

• Malawi Law Commission
  Law reform reports and reviews of Malawi's statutes.

Government below the national level

• Regions (3: Northern, Central, Southern): No elected government
• Local councils (35: 28 district, 4 city, 2 municipal, 1 town): One councillor elected per ward for five years; traditional authorities, sub-traditional authorities and MPs sit as non-voting members; five more non-voting members are appointed for special interests; council elects a chair (called mayor in cities and municipalities)
• District executive: District commissioner or chief executive officer appointed through the public service

How local power works in Malawi

Places in Malawi

• All 3 regions
• The 4 largest cities
• Official statistics for Malawi

Sources

• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Voice and accountability (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 70f2804fd1e2…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Political stability and absence of violence (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1317de0c85e1…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Government effectiveness (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a775e808dc65…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Regulatory quality (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 83b57e36ff8c…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Rule of law (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0bccc3c054e8…)
• World Bank: Worldwide Governance Indicators: Control of corruption (governance score 0-100), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 3b15a5340cdd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Seats held by women in national parliament (SG.GEN.PARL.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 1ae1dc13981a…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Women in ministerial positions (SG.GEN.MNST.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a4e448a5b8bd…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Central government spending (GC.XPN.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 808094019f50…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Tax revenue (GC.TAX.TOTL.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08c94b750f31…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Military spending (MS.MIL.XPND.GD.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 a7f6913a783b…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Armed forces personnel (MS.MIL.TOTL.P1), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 fa4663c743ba…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Statistical Performance Indicator (overall score) (IQ.SPI.OVRL), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 08ac7cde9129…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: Births registered (SP.REG.BRTH.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 f8d443034ba7…)
• World Bank: World Development Indicators: People using the internet (IT.NET.USER.ZS), read 23 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0d78dc658329…)

Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.