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Malawi

Population

22,963,623

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026View source
Population rank
62nd
Share of world
0.27%
Annual change
+569,4152.59%

Population of Malawi

020M40M60M80M100M120M140M160M202623M2050 projection37.4M↑ 63% from 202619601980200020202040206020802100

Source: United Nations — World Population Prospects (2024 Revision)

95% prediction interval

Current population estimate: 22,963,623. 2050 projection: 37,361,682.Use the arrow keys on the chart to inspect individual years.

Historical population estimates for Malawi. Annual change is shown as a percentage.
202622,785,5352.59%62
202522,216,1202.61%62
202019,533,8882.67%62
201919,025,7522.69%65
201818,528,0812.71%65
201718,039,7152.75%65
201517,085,5872.88%66
201014,826,4632.92%67
200512,840,0312.56%69
200011,315,9422.20%70

Showing 10 of 19 years.

Population by City

Lilongwe is home to 1,344,144 people, 5.90% of Malawi's population.

City population1M500K200K
Lilongwe 1.3MBlantyre 932.2KMzuzu 330.1KZomba 120.6KKaronga 86.5KKasungu 80.2KMangochi 68.1KBalaka 52.8KLiwonde 52.7KSalima 46.0K
Largest cities by 2026 population and share of the national population.
1Lilongwe1.3M5.90%
2Blantyre932.2K4.09%
3Mzuzu330.1K1.45%
4Zomba120.6K0.53%
5Karonga86.5K0.38%
6Kasungu80.2K0.35%
7Mangochi68.1K0.30%
8Balaka52.8K0.23%
9Liwonde52.7K0.23%
10Salima46.0K0.20%

Malawi by the Numbers

Estimated as of Oct 22, 2026

Population
Malawi is home to an estimated 22,963,623 people, the 62nd largest population in the world.
Daily change
Malawi has a net population change of approximately 1,576 people per day, driven by 1,895 births, 323 deaths, and net immigration of 4 people.
Share of world
Malawi makes up 0.27% of the world's population and 1.44% of Africa's.
Density
241.7 people per km² of land (625.9 per mi²), ranking 65th among countries and territories.
Urban living
17.59% of people live in urban areas.

Malawi Demographics

Age & longevity

MaleFemale100+ years, male: 47100+ years, female: 19095–99 years, male: 40195–99 years, female: 1,29690–94 years, male: 2,29790–94 years, female: 6,03785–89 years, male: 8,94285–89 years, female: 19,14080–84 years, male: 23,36380–84 years, female: 42,10975–79 years, male: 41,37475–79 years, female: 64,44970–74 years, male: 64,90070–74 years, female: 85,91965–69 years, male: 100,25465–69 years, female: 131,58460–64 years, male: 137,58060–64 years, female: 194,44355–59 years, male: 191,75555–59 years, female: 240,82550–54 years, male: 293,35450–54 years, female: 292,97245–49 years, male: 432,59745–49 years, female: 445,70640–44 years, male: 529,53040–44 years, female: 618,41335–39 years, male: 622,54035–39 years, female: 722,90230–34 years, male: 764,56930–34 years, female: 820,99625–29 years, male: 932,19625–29 years, female: 958,97220–24 years, male: 1,131,21120–24 years, female: 1,155,94015–19 years, male: 1,334,81215–19 years, female: 1,353,86610–14 years, male: 1,411,75110–14 years, female: 1,417,0275–9 years, male: 1,481,0765–9 years, female: 1,476,8440–4 years, male: 1,620,4770–4 years, female: 1,610,887100+95–9990–9485–8980–8475–7970–7465–6960–6455–5950–5445–4940–4435–3930–3425–2920–2415–1910–145–90–4500K500K1M1M1.5M1.5M

Hover or tap an age group to see exact counts. Use the up and down arrow keys to inspect age groups.

Median age

19.4 yrs

World: 31

Life expectancy

67.9 yrs

World: 73.8

Male

48.82%

Female

51.18%

Life expectancy 64.6Life expectancy 71.1

Ethnicity

34.3%

Chewa

  • Chewa34.3%
  • Lomwe18.8%
  • Yao13.2%
  • Ngoni10.4%
  • Tumbuka9.2%
  • Sena3.8%
  • Mang'anja3.2%
  • Other2.2%
  • Tonga1.8%
  • Nyanja1.8%
  • Nkhonde1%
  • foreign0.3%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2018 est.

Religion

33.5%

Protestant, the largest religion

  • Protestant33.5%
  • Other Christian26.6%
  • Roman Catholic17.2%
  • Muslim13.8%
  • Other5.6%
  • None2.1%
  • traditionalist1.1%
Data notes

Source estimate: 2018 est.

Protestant: includes Church of Central Africa Presbyterian 14.2%, Seventh Day Adventist/Baptist 9.4%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 2.3%

Related Pages

Sources

  1. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - United Nations population estimates and projections.
  2. World Population Prospects (2024 Revision) - Malawi United Nations Graphs/Profiles
  3. World Bank / UN World Urbanization Prospects - 2025: Urban population (% of total population), using national definitions.
  4. National Statistical Office