Malawi has been ranked 134 out of 150 in the Competitiveness and Industrial Development list. The position, being 2 steps downwards from 2018 rankings from the United Nations Industrial Development Organization (Unido) report, has been attributed to the manufacturing sector that continues to slack.

The manufacturing sector in Malawi has been underperforming, seemingly justified by poor harvests and power outages. In 2019, tables turned as harvests were expected to boom and power is stable. However, a study by African Development Bank (AfDB) noted a decrease in the manufacturing share in an overall GDP, from 9.5 in 2015 to 9.1 in December, as this year is expected to lower to 9%. Reserve Bank of Malawi (RBM) projected figures that were contrary to AfDB, predicting a 3.5% growth in 2019.

The central bank justified its prediction by the expected bumper harvests of maize, as the poor harvests in 2018 influenced low manufacturing figures. In addition, RBM has also stated that in the medium term, finalisation of the Malawi-Mozambique power interconnection project will translate to more growth in the sector.

Meanwhile the rank drop has raised brows, while Malawi is performing poorly regional level; comparing with her surrounding neighbours she ranks 22 our of 29 as Mozambique is ranked 16, Zambia ranks 13 and Zimbabwe is ranked 13, according to the Unido report.

The Unido report called 2018 Competitiveness and Industrial Development is not slightly different from 2018 edition of the Global Competitiveness Report published by the World Economic Forum, which ranked 129 out of 140 countries.