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Malawi flag

Malawi

A narrow, landlocked country in southeastern Africa, Malawi is dominated by Lake Malawi, which runs nearly the entire length of the country and contains more fish species than any other lake on Earth. The capital Lilongwe replaced Zomba in 1975, while Blantyre is the commercial center. Known as the 'Warm Heart of Africa' for its friendly people, Malawi's economy depends heavily on tobacco and agriculture.

Major cities: Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu, Zomba

2024
21.7M
UN
2050
37.4M
UN
2100
59.1M
UN
~2200
57.0M
GPU
~2500
17.0M
GPU
Population21.7M
Fertility (TFR)3.59
Life expectancy67.6
Median age17.6
Infant mortality29.4 per 1,000
Pop. density224/km²
Urbanization17%
Youth share (0-14)41%
Land area94,280 km²
LanguageChichewa 57.2%
ReligionChristian
HDI0.517 (#172)
RegionAfrica

Latest available year is shown in parentheses where the source series varies across indicators. Governance metrics use World Bank percentile ranks; battle deaths and military spending are context variables, not direct fertility drivers.

UN WPP 2024 — verified data through 2100
YearPopulationTFRLife Exp.CBRCDRNet MigrationGrowth
19502.95M6.8232.749.532.40K1.7%
19553.25M6.8433.651.430.80K2.1%
19603.63M7.0435.053.730.10K2.4%
19654.10M7.1335.754.129.70K2.4%
19704.63M7.3036.654.028.8-2K2.5%
19755.29M7.3640.152.725.2+5K2.7%
19806.27M7.5244.352.721.9+52K3.1%
19857.62M7.1744.650.422.0+75K2.8%
19909.55M6.7443.648.422.2+71K2.6%
199510.2M6.3943.846.820.6-66K2.6%
200011.3M6.0046.244.618.0-28K2.7%
200512.8M5.8552.544.014.3-31K3.0%
201014.8M5.2657.840.710.7-9K3.0%
201517.1M4.3862.335.37.6-6K2.8%
202019.5M3.8865.232.56.2-3K2.6%
2024Now21.7M3.5967.631.15.3-2K2.6%
202522.2M3.5367.730.85.2-6K2.6%
203025.2M3.2368.628.95.0+5K2.4%
203528.2M3.0169.526.74.9+5K2.2%
204031.3M2.8270.324.74.9-8K2.0%
204534.4M2.6771.022.95.1-3K1.8%
205037.4M2.5571.721.45.4-1K1.6%
205540.4M2.4472.420.25.7+6K1.4%
206043.2M2.3673.119.16.1-1K1.3%
206545.9M2.2873.818.06.5-10K1.1%
207048.4M2.2274.517.06.9-8K1.0%
207550.7M2.1675.216.27.3+5K0.9%
208052.9M2.1075.915.47.7+12K0.8%
208554.8M2.0676.614.88.2-8K0.7%
209056.5M2.0277.314.18.6-2K0.6%
209557.9M1.9877.913.58.9-15K0.5%
210059.1M1.9578.613.09.3+26K0.4%