Malawi
Results are from an analysis of the 2010 Third Integrated Household Survey (IHS). Information on methodology is in the report and in the method briefs.
Prevalence of Functional Difficulties
In Malawi, the share of adults aged 15 and older with any functional difficulty stands at 10.7%. Separating by level of difficulty, the prevalence rates of some difficulty and at least a lot of difficulty are 9.3% and 1.4% respectively. The prevalence of functional difficulties is higher for women (12.4%) than for men (8.9%). Functional difficulties are more prevalent among older age groups, at 4.3% for ages 15 to 29, 7.9% for ages 30 to 44, 19.5% for ages 45 to 64, and 46.9% for ages 65 and over. Across the six functional domains considered, difficulties with seeing (5.9%) and mobility (4.3%) are most common.
About two in ten households have an adult with any functional difficulty: at the household level, the prevalence of any functional difficulty is at 21.5%, including 18.2% with some difficulty and 3.2% with at least a lot of difficulty. The prevalence of functional difficulties is higher in rural areas compared to urban areas: 11.3% vs. 8.1% among adults and 22.1% vs. 18% among households, for rural and urban areas, respectively.
Table 1: Malawi: Prevalence of functional difficulties (%)
| Group | Any difficulty | Some difficulty | At least a lot of difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| All adults | 10.72 | 9.31 | 1.41 |
| Females | 12.36 | 10.79 | 1.57 |
| Males | 8.94 | 7.70 | 1.24 |
| Rural residents | 11.25 | 9.67 | 1.58 |
| Urban residents | 8.06 | 7.48 | 0.58 |
| Ages 15 to 29 | 4.33 | 3.85 | 0.48 |
| Ages 30 to 44 | 7.86 | 7.00 | 0.86 |
| Ages 45 to 64 | 19.52 | 17.35 | 2.18 |
| Ages 65 and over | 46.89 | 38.50 | 8.38 |
| Seeing | 5.92 | 5.41 | 0.51 |
| Hearing | 2.25 | 1.98 | 0.27 |
| Mobility | 4.32 | 3.64 | 0.68 |
| Cognitive | 1.81 | 1.66 | 0.15 |
| Self-care | 0.52 | 0.42 | 0.10 |
| Communication | 0.42 | 0.33 | 0.09 |
| All households | 21.47 | 18.24 | 3.24 |
| Rural households | 22.11 | 18.55 | 3.57 |
| Urban households | 18.01 | 16.55 | 1.46 |
Source: Malawi 2010 IHS, own calculations
Key indicators on the deprivations and wellbeing experienced by persons with and without functional difficulties are presented in Table 2. Table 2 begins with information on the multidimensional poverty headcount—the rate of persons deprived in more than one dimension in the areas of education, work, health, and standard of living. Persons with at least a lot of functional difficulty have a multidimensional poverty headcount of 95% compared to 88% for persons with some functional difficulty and 86% for persons with no difficulty.
Table 2: Malawi: Key indicators for adults age 15+ by functional difficulty status (% and percentage points)
| Group | Any difficulty | Some difficulty | At least a lot of difficulty |
|---|---|---|---|
| All adults | 10.72 | 9.31 | 1.41 |
| Females | 12.36 | 10.79 | 1.57 |
| Males | 8.94 | 7.70 | 1.24 |
| Rural residents | 11.25 | 9.67 | 1.58 |
| Urban residents | 8.06 | 7.48 | 0.58 |
| Ages 15 to 29 | 4.33 | 3.85 | 0.48 |
| Ages 30 to 44 | 7.86 | 7.00 | 0.86 |
| Ages 45 to 64 | 19.52 | 17.35 | 2.18 |
| Ages 65 and over | 46.89 | 38.50 | 8.38 |
| Seeing | 5.92 | 5.41 | 0.51 |
| Hearing | 2.25 | 1.98 | 0.27 |
| Mobility | 4.32 | 3.64 | 0.68 |
| Cognitive | 1.81 | 1.66 | 0.15 |
| Self-care | 0.52 | 0.42 | 0.10 |
| Communication | 0.42 | 0.33 | 0.09 |
| All households | 21.47 | 18.24 | 3.24 |
| Rural households | 22.11 | 18.55 | 3.57 |
| Urban households | 18.01 | 16.55 | 1.46 |
Source: Malawi 2010 IHS, own calculations
Education
The share of adults who have less than primary school as their highest level of schooling attained is significantly higher among persons with at least a lot of functional difficulty (85%) and persons with some difficulty (74%) compared to persons with no difficulty (63%). This boils down to gaps of 11 percentage points (p.p.) between persons with some functional difficulty and persons with no difficulty and 22 p.p. between persons with at least a lot of functional difficulty and persons with no difficulty.
Work
Persons with at least a lot of functional difficulty have a lower employment population ratio (or share of the population working) than persons with no difficulty, at 59% and 78%, respectively. Persons with some difficulty have an employment population ratio similar to that of persons with no difficulty.
Health
Rates of access to safely managed drinking water and sanitation are overall similar for the different functional difficulty groups. However, there is a statistically significant difference in the rates of access to safely managed sanitation between persons with at least a lot of functional difficulty and persons with no difficulty, at 44% and 51%, respectively.
Standard of Living
There are significant differences in terms of the share of individuals with clean fuel, electricity, and asset ownership, with lower rates for persons with some difficulty and even lower rates for persons with at least a lot of difficulty. There are small (less than 1 p.p.) but significant differences in the rates of access to adequate housing, with higher rates for persons with some difficulty but lower rates for persons with at least a lot of difficulty compared to persons with no difficulty.
More results for Malawi are available in results tables on the ddi website.