Claim: Norwegian Ambassador to Malawi Ingrid Mikelsen, in an interview with The Nation newspaper (archived here), stated that her government is supporting a three-year project to reduce teenage pregnancies and gender-based violence in Malawi. She cited Malawi’s position of 145 out of 188 countries on the Gender Inequality Index (GII) as one of the reasons for this support.

Verdict: Missing Context

Methodology

This fact-check was based on primary reports from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), specifically the Human Development Reports from 2019, 2021/2022, and 2023/2024.

To confirm the indicators used in the GII, data was cross-checked with international sources, including the World Bank, the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), UN Women, and the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).

The claim itself was traced back through news archives.

Evidence and Analysis

According to the UNDP’s Human Development Report 2021/2022, Malawi has a Gender Inequality Index (GII) value of 0.554. This places it at rank 142 out of 191 countries assessed for that period.

The UNDP’s most recent 2023/2024 Human Development Report has been released, focusing on the theme “Breaking the Gridlock,” however, detailed country-level GII rankings for the new reporting period are still being compiled and disseminated.

The specific ranking of “145th out of 188 countries” cited by the Ambassador corresponds to the data published in the UNDP’s 2019 Human Development Report.

While the figure was accurate for that year, using it in the current context without specifying the year is outdated and omits important context about annual fluctuations.

It is crucial to understand that a country’s GII rank is not static. It can change annually due to several factors:

  • Real-world changes in the underlying data for Malawi.
  • Performance shifts in other countries.
  • Methodological refinements by the UNDP.
  • Changes in the total number of countries included in the index.

For example, in the 2014 report, Malawi was ranked 129th out of 149 countries, highlighting the significant variability in rankings from year to year.

Conclusion

The claim that Malawi ranks 145th out of 188 countries on the Gender Inequality Index is factually incorrect based on the latest available information.

The most recent UNDP data places Malawi at 142nd out of 191 countries. Citing this figure without specifying the year is misleading.

According to the latest available data from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the situation has been updated.

The claim is therefore misleading because it uses old data without acknowledging that these figures change over time.

This fact-check was produced by Collins Mtika of the Centre for Investigative Journalism Malawi (CIJM) as part of the African Fact-Checking Alliance’s (AFCA) incubation programme. It was produced with peer-mentorship from Code for Africa’s fact-checking initiative, PesaCheck, with financial support from Norway.

AFCA mentorship respects the journalistic independence of the researchers, offering access to advanced techniques and tools. Editorial decision-making remains with the Centre for Investigative Journalism Malawi. Want to learn more? Visit: https://factcheck.africa/