The World Bank conducts investmentclimate assessments (ICAs) across the globe to analyzeprivate sector performance and to determine principalconstraints affecting the private sector in respectivecountries. The 2016 Malawi ICA focuses on supportingdialogue on investment climate by analyzing the challengesreported by private enterprises in the country. It is thesecond in a series, following the first one that waspublished in 2006. The 2016 Malawi ICA is based on theanalysis of results from the World Bank enterprise surveyconducted in 2014. Regression analysis on productivitylevels of firms was conducted to present some insights intothe competitiveness of manufacturing firms. The productivityanalysis reveals that firms in Malawi have higher levels oflabor productivity and capital intensity, but lower levelsof capital productivity than their counterparts inneighboring countries. Unit labor costs are lower than inmost comparator countries. The results are predominantlywith respect to large firms, with medium firms in Malawifacing lower levels of labor productivity and capitalintensity, but higher levels of labor costs than small andlarge firms. Apart from the foregoing measures of partialproductivity, total factor productivity is lower than inmost comparator countries.