Population growth in Malawi
Malawi: Population growth was 2.6% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Population growth in Malawi, 1961–2025
Source: World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division. Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 2.6% for population growth in 2025.
The figure is down 0.8% on the previous year and down 7.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, population growth in Malawi peaked at 5.4% in 1988 and was at its lowest, -1.2%, in 1994.
That places Malawi 23rd out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Population growth in Malawi, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.4% | — |
| 1962 | 2.4% | +1.4% |
| 1963 | 2.4% | +1.3% |
| 1964 | 2.5% | +0.3% |
| 1965 | 2.4% | -0.3% |
| 1966 | 2.5% | +0.5% |
| 1967 | 2.5% | +0.7% |
| 1968 | 2.5% | +0.3% |
| 1969 | 2.5% | -0.6% |
| 1970 | 2.5% | -0.1% |
| 1971 | 2.5% | +1.6% |
| 1972 | 2.6% | +2.1% |
| 1973 | 2.6% | +2.5% |
| 1974 | 2.7% | +3.3% |
| 1975 | 2.8% | +3.4% |
| 1976 | 2.9% | +3.8% |
| 1977 | 3.1% | +6.7% |
| 1978 | 3.4% | +10.1% |
| 1979 | 3.7% | +8.1% |
| 1980 | 3.9% | +4.3% |
| 1981 | 3.9% | +1.9% |
| 1982 | 3.9% | +0.5% |
| 1983 | 3.9% | -0.1% |
| 1984 | 3.9% | -0.9% |
| 1985 | 3.8% | -1.5% |
| 1986 | 3.7% | -4.3% |
| 1987 | 4.8% | +29.6% |
| 1988 | 5.4% | +13.1% |
| 1989 | 4.7% | -12.6% |
| 1990 | 3.9% | -16.3% |
| 1991 | 3.1% | -22.1% |
| 1992 | 2.9% | -5.4% |
| 1993 | 1.5% | -49.9% |
| 1994 | -1.2% | -179.9% |
| 1995 | -0.1% | -87.5% |
| 1996 | 2.0% | -1455.3% |
| 1997 | 2.0% | +1.8% |
| 1998 | 2.2% | +7.8% |
| 1999 | 2.3% | +8.0% |
| 2000 | 2.4% | +2.7% |
| 2001 | 2.4% | +0.9% |
| 2002 | 2.4% | +1.2% |
| 2003 | 2.5% | +2.2% |
| 2004 | 2.6% | +3.3% |
| 2005 | 2.7% | +3.5% |
| 2006 | 2.8% | +2.9% |
| 2007 | 2.8% | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 2.9% | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 3.0% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 2.9% | -0.3% |
| 2011 | 2.9% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 2.9% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 2.8% | -1.2% |
| 2015 | 2.8% | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 2.7% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 2.7% | -0.7% |
| 2018 | 2.7% | -1.4% |
| 2019 | 2.7% | -0.8% |
| 2020 | 2.6% | -0.6% |
| 2021 | 2.6% | -1.6% |
| 2022 | 2.6% | -1.0% |
| 2023 | 2.6% | +0.1% |
| 2024 | 2.6% | +0.2% |
| 2025 | 2.6% | -0.8% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 2.6% is above the median for low income countries, which is 2.6%, 1.0× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 2.6% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 2.3%, 1.1× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Population growth in Malawi changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | +1455.3% | -0.1% | 2.0% |
| 1994 | -179.9% | 1.5% | -1.2% |
| 1995 | +87.5% | -1.2% | -0.1% |
| 1993 | -49.9% | 2.9% | 1.5% |
| 1987 | +29.6% | 3.7% | 4.8% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.4% | 2.4% | 2.5% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.9% | 2.5% | 3.7% | 10 |
| 1980s | 4.2% | 3.7% | 5.4% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.9% | -1.2% | 3.9% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.6% | 2.4% | 3.0% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.8% | 2.7% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.6% | 2.6% | 2.6% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More climate change data for Malawi
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 415.04 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 4,106 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 1,605 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 2,501 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 6.06 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 89.31 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 3,185 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 2,819 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 366.56 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 10.64 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is population growth in Malawi?
- Population growth in Malawi was 2.6% in 2025, according to World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division.
- What is the highest population growth recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 5.4% in 1988.
- What is the lowest population growth recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.2% in 1994.
- How does Malawi rank for population growth?
- Malawi ranks 23rd out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is population growth rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 7.1%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from World Population Prospects, United Nations (UN), note: Derived from total population, publisher: UN Population Division, published as part of Population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Population is based on the de facto definition of population, which counts all residents regardless of legal status or citizenship.