Malawi vs Papua New Guinea: Urban population (% of total population)
Malawi
17.6%
in 2025
Papua New Guinea
15.8%
in 2025
Malawi rank
215th
Papua New Guinea rank
217th
Urban population (% of total population) over time
- Malawi
- Papua New Guinea
How they compare
Malawi currently reports 17.6% against 15.8% in Papua New Guinea, a difference of 1.8%.
That makes Malawi's figure about 1.1 times Papua New Guinea's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Malawi ahead.
Malawi ranks 215th and Papua New Guinea ranks 217th of 218 countries.
Across the 7 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 3 and Papua New Guinea in 4.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Papua New Guinea | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 4.6% | 5.6% | 1.0% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1970s | 7.5% | 12.3% | 4.9% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1980s | 10.1% | 14.1% | 4.0% | Papua New Guinea |
| 1990s | 13.3% | 14.4% | 1.1% | Papua New Guinea |
| 2000s | 15.1% | 13.1% | 2.0% | Malawi |
| 2010s | 15.8% | 13.3% | 2.5% | Malawi |
| 2020s | 16.9% | 14.9% | 2.0% | Malawi |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher urban population, Malawi or Papua New Guinea?
- Malawi, at 17.6% against 15.8% in Papua New Guinea as of 2025.
- What is the difference in urban population between Malawi and Papua New Guinea?
- 1.8%, with Malawi ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Papua New Guinea?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Malawi and Papua New Guinea rank globally for urban population?
- Malawi ranks 215th and Papua New Guinea ranks 217th of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Urban population (% of total population). Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. The data are collected and smoothed by United Nations Population Division.