World Factbook
Malawi
Dziko la Malawi
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
78.6% (2020 est.)
female
62.7% (2020 est.)
total population
70.2% (2020 est.)
Languages
English (official), Chewa (dominant), Lambya, Lomwe, Ngoni, Nkhonde, Nyakyusa, Nyanja, Sena, Tonga, Tumbuka, Yao
note: Chewa and Nyanja are mutually intelligible dialects; Nkhonde and Nyakyusa are mutually intelligible dialects
Religions
Protestant 33.5% (includes Church of Central Africa Presbyterian 14.2%, Seventh Day Adventist/Baptist 9.4%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 2.3%), Roman Catholic 17.2%, other Christian 26.6%, Muslim 13.8%, traditionalist 1.1%, other 5.6%, none 2.1% (2018 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.01 male(s)/female
0-14 years
0.99 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.96 male(s)/female
total population
0.96 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.8 male(s)/female
Birth rate
28.04 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
3.57 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
20 years
total
19.4 years (2025 est.)
female
20.6 years
Population
male
10,674,594
total
21,763,309 (2024 est.)
female
11,088,715
Nationality
noun
Malawian(s)
adjective
Malawian
Tobacco use
male
11.7% (2025 est.)
total
6.3% (2025 est.)
female
1.4% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
18.3% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
4.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
37.7% (male 4,080,567/female 4,132,710)
15-64 years
58.4% (male 6,217,761/female 6,487,273)
65 years and over
3.9% (2024 est.) (male 376,266/female 468,732)
Ethnic groups
Chewa 34.3%, Lomwe 18.8%, Yao 13.2%, Ngoni 10.4%, Tumbuka 9.2%, Sena 3.8%, Mang'anja 3.2%, Tonga 1.8%, Nyanja 1.8%, Nkhonde 1%, other 2.2%, foreign 0.3% (2018 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
7% (2020)
women married by age 15
7.5% (2020)
women married by age 18
37.7% (2020)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
71.3 (2024 est.)
youth dependency ratio
64.6 (2024 est.)
potential support ratio
15 (2024 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
6.7 (2024 est.)
Physician density
0.05 physicians/1,000 population (2022)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
7.4% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
3.3% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-2.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.33 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 68.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 71.9% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 85.9% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 31.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 28.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 14.1% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
2.7% of GDP (2022 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
16% national budget (2024 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
36.4 deaths/1,000 live births
total
28.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
27.4 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
2.16% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.65 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
population density is highest south of Lake Nyasa, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
69.9 years
female
76.1 years
total population
73 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
225 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 73.4% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 75.8% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 87.1% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 26.6% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 24.2% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 12.9% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
0.08 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
2.04 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.25 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
1.7 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.276 million LILONGWE (capital), 1.031 million Blantyre-Limbe (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
5.8% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
19.1 years (2015/16 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 20-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
62.1% (2020 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
11.6% (2020 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)
male
10 years (2021 est.)
total
10 years (2021 est.)
female
10 years (2021 est.)