Urban population growth (annual %) in Malawi
Malawi: Urban population growth (annual %) was 4.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Malawi, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 4.4% for urban population growth in 2025.
The figure is up 3.2% on the previous year and up 39.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Malawi peaked at 9.1% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 1994.
Malawi ranks 13th of 218 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Malawi, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 4.7% | — |
| 1962 | 4.8% | +2.7% |
| 1963 | 4.9% | +2.2% |
| 1964 | 5.0% | +1.3% |
| 1965 | 5.0% | +0.7% |
| 1966 | 5.0% | +0.2% |
| 1967 | 5.8% | +15.8% |
| 1968 | 7.2% | +24.7% |
| 1969 | 8.2% | +13.6% |
| 1970 | 8.8% | +7.0% |
| 1971 | 9.1% | +3.0% |
| 1972 | 9.1% | -0.1% |
| 1973 | 8.8% | -2.4% |
| 1974 | 8.5% | -4.1% |
| 1975 | 8.0% | -5.7% |
| 1976 | 7.4% | -7.2% |
| 1977 | 6.8% | -8.0% |
| 1978 | 6.5% | -5.2% |
| 1979 | 6.4% | -1.7% |
| 1980 | 6.3% | -1.7% |
| 1981 | 6.1% | -1.8% |
| 1982 | 6.0% | -1.6% |
| 1983 | 6.0% | -0.9% |
| 1984 | 6.0% | -0.5% |
| 1985 | 6.0% | +0.0% |
| 1986 | 5.9% | -0.9% |
| 1987 | 7.1% | +21.0% |
| 1988 | 8.1% | +12.9% |
| 1989 | 7.8% | -3.4% |
| 1990 | 7.3% | -6.6% |
| 1991 | 6.5% | -10.5% |
| 1992 | 6.3% | -2.8% |
| 1993 | 4.7% | -25.0% |
| 1994 | 1.9% | -60.0% |
| 1995 | 2.6% | +37.3% |
| 1996 | 4.3% | +66.3% |
| 1997 | 3.9% | -9.9% |
| 1998 | 3.5% | -10.1% |
| 1999 | 3.3% | -6.6% |
| 2000 | 3.2% | -2.4% |
| 2001 | 3.1% | -2.5% |
| 2002 | 3.1% | -1.7% |
| 2003 | 3.1% | -0.3% |
| 2004 | 3.1% | +1.2% |
| 2005 | 3.2% | +2.0% |
| 2006 | 3.2% | +2.1% |
| 2007 | 3.3% | +2.2% |
| 2008 | 3.4% | +3.2% |
| 2009 | 3.5% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | -0.6% |
| 2011 | 3.4% | -1.3% |
| 2012 | 3.3% | -1.7% |
| 2013 | 3.3% | -1.4% |
| 2014 | 3.2% | -1.4% |
| 2015 | 3.2% | -2.0% |
| 2016 | 3.1% | -1.3% |
| 2017 | 3.1% | -1.0% |
| 2018 | 3.0% | -2.3% |
| 2019 | 3.4% | +11.0% |
| 2020 | 3.6% | +7.0% |
| 2021 | 3.8% | +4.4% |
| 2022 | 3.9% | +4.4% |
| 2023 | 4.1% | +4.7% |
| 2024 | 4.3% | +4.2% |
| 2025 | 4.4% | +3.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 4.4% is above the median for low income countries, which is 4.0%, 1.1× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 4.4% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.4%, 1.3× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) 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 | +66.3% | 2.6% | 4.3% |
| 1994 | -60.0% | 4.7% | 1.9% |
| 1995 | +37.3% | 1.9% | 2.6% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.6% | 4.7% | 8.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 7.9% | 6.4% | 9.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.5% | 5.9% | 8.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.4% | 1.9% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.3% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.0% | 3.6% | 4.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 10 Mali 4.8% compare
- 11 Ethiopia 4.6% compare
- 12 Solomon Islands 4.4% compare
- 14 Central African Republic 4.3% compare
- 15 Somalia 4.3% compare
- 16 Burkina Faso 4.3% compare
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 urban population growth in Malawi?
- Urban population growth in Malawi was 4.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 9.1% in 1971.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 1994.
- How does Malawi rank for urban population growth?
- Malawi ranks 13th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.2%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban 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 urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.