Multidimensional Determinants of Household Stove Choice and Clean Cooking Transition in Urban Malawi

Despite global progress, over 2.3 billion people in Sub-Saharan Africa rely on biomass fuels, contributing to approximately 3.2 million annual premature deaths from household air pollution (HAP). In Malawi, >90% of households depend on firewood and charcoal, yet limited evidence exists on stove-level decision-making. This study examines determinants of primary stove choice among 1613 urban households in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu, and Zomba using a multinomial logit model. Traditional stoves remain dominant (charcoal jiko: 55.1%; three-stone fire: 12.4%), but electric hotplates (2.6%–8.7%) and LPG (0.3%–1.4%) show gradual uptake. Energy stacking is widespread: charcoal (82.8%), firewood (37.6%), electricity (33.7%), and LPG (7.2%). Higher income significantly increases adoption of improved (β = 0.842, p < 0.01) and clean-fuel stoves (β = 1.526, p < 0.01). Willingness to pay, perceived affordability, cooking speed, and fuel availability positively influence adoption, while liquidity constraints, energy stacking, and traditional cultural preferences are barriers. Clean fuel stoves exhibit larger coefficients across all determinants, indicating higher financial and behavioral thresholds. Model validation confirms stability (pseudo-R2 = 0.287; overall accuracy 68.4%). Policy must integrate subsidies, flexible financing, behavior change campaigns, and strengthened supply chains to accelerate clean cooking transitions in urban Malawi.