Recent Economic
Growth Performance

The Government of Malawi has invested significant political capital in restoring macro-economic stability. Fiscal discipline has been maintained since 2004, and has established uninterrupted three-year track record of good macro-economic management which has translated into improved macro-economic indicators. Real GDP growth was 7.9 percent in 2006 and 7.5 percent in 2007. Inflation reached 9.2 percent in January 2007, the first time it has hit a single digit in four years. As of December, 2007, inflation was at 7.5 percent. The Bank Rate also fell to 17.5 percent in August 2007 after reaching a record high of 45 percent in 2003/04.

This progress has been rewarded by the restoration of the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility support from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in August 2005 and the attainment of debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative in September, 2006 and further debt relief from the IMF under the Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative (MDRI). Malawi is also the only country that qualified for a compact under Millennium Challenge Account (MCA) in financial year 2007/2008. The MCA is a U.S. development assistance program that rewards countries based on their performance in governing justly, investing in their citizens and encouraging economic freedom. see Malawi’s score