Malawi: population and ages
Malawi: 22.5 million people on 1 January 2026.
The UN projects growth until at least 2100, to 59.1 million.
Figures for 2026 are UN projections (medium variant). Estimates end in 2023.
- Population, 1 January 2026
- 22,497,799
- Median age
- 18.4
- Births in 2026
- 692,256
- Deaths in 2026
- 118,129
- Life expectancy at birth
- 67.9
- Children per woman
- 3.45
- Under 15
- 39.9%
- 65 and over
- 2.6%
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Population over time
In mid-1950 there were 2.95 million people, so the population is now 7.7 times as large.
The UN projects 692,000 births and 118,000 deaths in 2026, 574,000 more births than deaths.
Ages
The median age is 18.4, which is 12.7 years below the world’s 31.1.
40% of the people are under 15 and 2.6% are 65 or older (world: 24% and 11%).
In the UN projection, children under 15 outnumber people aged 65 and over in every year to 2100.
Women have 3.4 children on average at today’s rates (world: 2.2), against 6.8 in 1950.
Life expectancy at birth is 67.9 years, below the world’s 73.8. In 1950 it was 32.7.
Births, deaths and the years ahead
For mid-2050 the UN projects 37.4 million people, 64% more than now, with a median age of 24.6.
Development and urbanisation
In 2025, 11% of the people lived in cities, 59% in towns and semi-dense areas and 29% in rural areas. For 2050 the UN projects 15% in cities.
Degree of urbanisation: one rule for every country, a city has at least 50,000 people at 1,500 or more per km². National definitions of “urban” differ.
| Indicator | Latest value | Year |
|---|---|---|
| People using the internet | 19.0% | 2024 |
| Access to electricity | 15.6% | 2024 |
| Adult literacy (ages 15 and over) | 70.2% | 2020 |
| 73.1% | 2024 | |
| 49.2% | 2024 | |
| 2.0% | 2024 | |
| Human Development Index | 0.517 | 2023 |
Each value is the latest one published, with the year it refers to. Countries publish in different years. Sources: World Bank, World Development Indicators (ITU, SDG 7.1.1, UNESCO UIS), UNDP, Human Development Report, UN, World Urbanization Prospects 2025.
Longevity, ageing and the future
By the death rates of 2023, life expectancy at birth was 67.4 years. People who had reached 65 could expect 15.3 more years for women and 12.6 for men.
On 1 January 2026, there are 4.5 people aged 65 or more for every 100 aged 15 to 64. For 2050, the UN projects 7.4.
For 2100 the UN projects a population of 59.1 million, with a 95 percent prediction interval of 23.3 million to 149 million.
Life expectancy at birth is a period measure. It sums up the death rates of one year and is not a forecast of how long the babies born that year will live.
Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, life tables, probabilistic projections, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
International migrants
In mid-2024, 187,000 international migrants lived here, 0.9% of the population.
In mid-2024, 428,000 people from here lived in other countries.
| Country | People |
|---|---|
| Mozambique | 39,156 |
| Zambia | 30,614 |
| Democratic Republic of the Congo | 27,099 |
| Zimbabwe | 26,561 |
| Burundi | 9,834 |
| Country | People |
|---|---|
| South Africa | 220,437 |
| Zimbabwe | 111,872 |
| Mozambique | 65,284 |
| Zambia | 17,796 |
| Tanzania | 6,678 |
Counted by country of birth. Refugees are included. A migrant stock counts people living outside their country at mid-year, not journeys or yearly moves. Sources: International Migrant Stock 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
Cities
Cities of 50,000 people or more here, by the UN degree of urbanisation: 8.
| City | Population 2025 |
|---|---|
| Lilongwe | 961,399 |
| Blantyre | 909,289 |
| Mzuzu | 221,840 |
| Likuni | 151,695 |
| Zomba | 78,271 |
| Mangochi | 63,227 |
| Kasungu | 62,065 |
| Salima | 60,611 |
Sources: World Urbanization Prospects 2025, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).
Data and sources
| Year | Population (1 July) | Median age | Births | Deaths | Life expectancy | Children per woman |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950 | 2,950,300 | 16.1 | 145,952 | 95,476 | 32.7 | 6.82 |
| 1960 | 3,628,134 | 17.1 | 194,928 | 109,210 | 35.0 | 7.04 |
| 1970 | 4,633,944 | 16.9 | 250,048 | 133,228 | 36.6 | 7.30 |
| 1980 | 6,265,529 | 16.2 | 330,225 | 137,479 | 44.3 | 7.52 |
| 1990 | 9,545,852 | 16.2 | 462,370 | 212,217 | 43.6 | 6.74 |
| 2000 | 11,315,942 | 15.7 | 504,370 | 203,932 | 46.2 | 6.00 |
| 2010 | 14,826,463 | 15.7 | 603,227 | 158,766 | 57.8 | 5.26 |
| 2020 | 19,533,888 | 16.9 | 635,555 | 120,892 | 65.2 | 3.88 |
| 2030 | 25,160,287 | 19.5 | 727,191 | 126,136 | 68.6 | 3.23 |
| 2040 | 31,302,098 | 22.1 | 771,783 | 154,905 | 70.3 | 2.82 |
| 2050 | 37,361,683 | 24.6 | 801,293 | 200,984 | 71.7 | 2.55 |
| 2060 | 43,228,184 | 27.3 | 824,533 | 263,270 | 73.1 | 2.36 |
| 2070 | 48,410,340 | 29.9 | 824,833 | 334,363 | 74.5 | 2.22 |
| 2080 | 52,893,308 | 32.2 | 814,703 | 409,249 | 75.9 | 2.10 |
| 2090 | 56,481,188 | 34.4 | 798,616 | 483,655 | 77.3 | 2.02 |
| 2100 | 59,141,258 | 36.5 | 771,567 | 547,327 | 78.6 | 1.95 |
Rows from 2024 on are UN projections (medium variant), shown in italics.
The UN estimates every country and area within its present borders for every year since 1950, also for years before it became independent or took its present shape. Figures for earlier years therefore describe the people who lived on today’s territory.
Sources: World Population Prospects 2024, UN DESA Population Division (CC BY 3.0 IGO).