National Statistical Office (NSO)

The National Statistical Office of Malawi is the main government department responsible for the collection and dissemination of official statistics. With headquarters based in Zomba, our 300 employees operate under the 2013 Statistics Act.

The NSO also has regional offices in the major urban centres of  Lilongwe ,  Mzuzu , and  Blantyre . Many of the NSO's statistical products may be obtained at these offices as well as the headquarters in  Zomba .

 

NSO Departments

Headquarters and Administration Situated off Chimbiya Road, Zomba, the NSO Headquarters contains the offices of the Commissioner of Statistics and Deputy Commissioner of Statistics, together with the general administration, accounts and human resources departments. The administration section also deals with first enquiries for statistical data from the general public, and with product sales.

Economics The Economics Division produces statistics on foreign trade, national accounts, balance of payments, business activity, employment, consumer prices (including inflation), industrial production, poverty and tourism. Major surveys include the Annual Economic Survey, the 5-yearly Integrated Household Survey, and Small and Medium Scale business surveys. The computer section, responsible for maintaining the office computers and wide area network, is also situated in this campus.  

Demography The Demography Division is reponsible for the population census, which takes place every ten years, and a number of other demographic and social surveys, such as the Demographic and Health Survey (DHS).

Agriculture The Agriculture Division conducts agricultural surveys, like the National Census of Agriculture and Livestock. Another survey conducted by the division is the Welfare Monitoring Surveys (WMS).