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Malawi

World bank, 2019
Poverty headcount ratio at $2.15 a day (2017 PPP) (% of population)
70%
Population below international poverty line

Equivalent to 52,000 Malawi Kwacha per worker per month.
WageIndicator Foundation, 2024

27
per month
National minimum wage

Equivalent to 164,872 Malawian kwacha per worker per month.
Global Living Wage Coalition, 2023

88
per month
Rural living wage
World bank, 2022
Employment in agriculture (% of total employment) (modeled ILO estimate)
62%
Agricultural workforce
World bank, 2023
Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (% of GDP)
22%
Agriculture share of GDP

ITUC Global Rights Index, 2023
Repeated violation of rights

2
low
Risk to workers' rights

Context

The population of Malawi is almost 21 million people, [1] with over 82% of the population residing in rural areas.[2] Agriculture plays an important role in the country’s economy, accounting for a quarter of the nation’s GDP.[3] Approximately 62% of the population is formally employed in the agricultural sector,[4] however, most people make a living from agriculture or supplement their incomes through agriculture-related activities.

Footnotes
  1. ^ World Bank. (2023). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.POP.TOTL?locations=MW
  2. ^ World Bank. (2023). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SP.RUR.TOTL.ZS?locations=MW
  3. ^ World Bank. (2023). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/NV.AGR.TOTL.ZS?locations=MW
  4. ^ World Bank. (2022). https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SL.AGR.EMPL.ZS?locations=MW
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Wages

Minimum wage

The government of Malawi set the minimum wage at 52,000 Malawi Kwacha (27 EUR) per month, both for rural and urban areas.[1] Although there is a government mandated minimum wage, a large percentage of the population works in the informal sector, meaning that these rights are not ensured for a large part of the workers. In Malawi is estimated that 88% of the working population are employed in the informal sector.[2] In rural Malawi, where the majority of the population resides, only 6% of workers are waged or salaried, and three quarters of the workers are subsistence farmers.[3] Lack of income and low employment opportunities in rural Malawi have created an environment in which citizens are willing to work for low wages.[4]

Living wage

The Global Living Wage Coalition benchmark estimates the living wage for rural Southern Malawi to be 164,872 Malawi Kwacha (88 EUR) per month.[5] This estimate is based on a family of 5 with 1.59 full time workers. The study is focused on a tea growing region and provides context of wages for workers on tea estates, as these are among the few formal jobs available in rural Malawi. Tea states are concentrated in the Southern region of Malawi and are estimated to employ some 50,000 workers. The wages that tea workers receive are typically higher than the government established minimum wage, which makes tea estates essential drivers of the rural economy. Still, current wages of tea workers are well below the estimated living wage.[6]

Footnotes
  1. ^ WageIndicator Foundation. (2024). https://wageindicator.org/salary/minimum-wage/malawi
  2. ^ U.S. Department of State. (2023). https://www.state.gov/reports/2023-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/malawi/
  3. ^ Anker R. & Anker M. (2018). Living Wage for rural Malawi with Focus on Tea Growing area of Southern Malawi. https://www.globallivingwage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LivingWageReport_Malawi.pdf
  4. ^ Anker R. & Anker M. (2018). Living Wage for rural Malawi with Focus on Tea Growing area of Southern Malawi. https://www.globallivingwage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/LivingWageReport_Malawi.pdf
  5. ^ Global Living Wage Coalition. (2023). Living Wage Update: 2023-Malawi Tea Estate Sector.https://www.globallivingwage.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/Update-report_Malawi_Rural_2023_JUNE.pdf
  6. ^ Global Living Wage Coalition. (2023). https://www.globallivingwage.org/countries/malawi/

What's happening

initiative

Ethical Tea Partnership

The Ethical Tea Parntership runs a full range of programmes to help tea farmers in Malawi improve their economic standing.

initiative

Malawi Tea 2020

Coalition of Malawian tea producers, trade unions and tea buyers creating an industry that provides living wages, living incomes, and improved nutrition.

resource

Living Wage Benchmark, rural Malawi

Living Wage estimate with a focus on tea growers in Southern Malawi. Global Living Wage Coalition, 2019.

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