- More than half (58%) of Malawians identify the most pressing problem facing the country as food shortage or famine (Figure 1).
- From 2014 to 2024, food shortage or famine consistently appeared as one of the top two most important problems cited by Malawians, beaten only in 2022 by management of the economy (Table 1).
- Six in 10 rural and peri-urban dwellers (60%) cite food shortage or famine as their most urgent concern, compared to 45% of urban residents (Figure 2).
- There is little difference across genders in their assessment of the five most urgent priorities, although women are 5 percentage points more likely than men to say food shortage or famine is a problem requiring government intervention (61% vs. 56%) (Figure 3).
- Participants without formal schooling lead in rating food shortage or famine as the most important problem (67%), compared to 62% among adults with primary education and 50% among those with secondary or post-secondary education (Figure 4).
Food shortage or famine tops the list of problems that Malawians say the government should address, cited by nearly six in 10 citizens as a priority, according to the latest Afrobarometer survey.
Between 2014 and 2024, food shortage or famine was consistently cited by citizens as one of the two most pressing problems requiring government intervention.
Other persistent problems include health and farming or agriculture.
Food shortage or famine is more of an issue among rural and peri-urban Malawians and women than urban residents and men. Concern also decreases with education level.
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