Population:
18,570,321
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 62
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian

Ethnic groups:
Chewa 32.6%, Lomwe 17.6%, Yao 13.5%, Ngoni 11.5%, Tumbuka 8.8%, Nyanja 5.8%, Sena 3.6%, Tonga 2.1%, Ngonde 1%, other 3.5%

Languages:
English (official), Chichewa (common), Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chilomwe, Chinkhonde, Chingoni, Chisena, Chitonga, Chinyakyusa, Chilambya

Religions:
Christian 82.6%, Muslim 13%, other 1.9%, none 2.5% (2008 est.)

Demographic profile:
Malawi has made great improvements in maternal and child health, but has made less progress in reducing its high fertility rate. In both rural and urban areas, very high proportions of mothers are receiving prenatal care and skilled birth assistance, and most children are being vaccinated. Malawi’s fertility rate, however, has only declined slowly, decreasing from more than 7 children per woman in the 1980s to about 5.5 today. Nonetheless, Malawians prefer smaller families than in the past, and women are increasingly using contraceptives to prevent or space pregnancies. Rapid population growth and high population density is putting pressure on Malawi’s land, water, and forest resources. Reduced plot sizes and increasing vulnerability to climate change, further threaten the sustainability of Malawi’s agriculturally based economy and will worsen food shortages. About 80% of the population is employed in agriculture. Historically, Malawians migrated abroad in search of work, primarily to South Africa and present-day Zimbabwe, but international migration became uncommon after the 1970s, and most migration in recent years has been internal. During the colonial period, Malawians regularly migrated to southern Africa as contract farm laborers, miners, and domestic servants. In the decade and a half after independence in 1964, the Malawian Government sought to transform its economy from one dependent on small-scale farms to one based on estate agriculture. The resulting demand for wage labor induced more than 300,000 Malawians to return home between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s. In recent times, internal migration has generally been local, motivated more by marriage than economic reasons.

Age structure:
0-14 years: 46.53% (male 4,299,076/female 4,341,129)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 20.49% (male 1,889,240/female 1,915,843)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 27.26% (male 2,512,247/female 2,549,766)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 3.03% (male 268,691/female 294,713)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 2.69% (male 220,608/female 279,008) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 94.5%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 87.9%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 6.7%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 14.9% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 16.5 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 16.3 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 16.6 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 226

Population growth rate:
3.32% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 2
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
41.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 94
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 91
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 16.3% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 3.77% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
LILONGWE (capital) 905,000; Blantyre-Limbe 808,000 (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.79 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:
18.9
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2010 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
634 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 44.8 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 51.5 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 38 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 44

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 61.2 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 59.2 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 63.2 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 197

Total fertility rate:
5.54 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
46.1% (2010)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
11.4% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 35
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.02 physicians/1,000 population (2009)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
1.3 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 95.7% of population rural: 89.1% of population total: 90.2% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 4.3% of population rural: 10.9% of population total: 9.8% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 47.3% of population rural: 39.8% of population total: 41% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 52.7% of population rural: 60.2% of population total: 59% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
9.11% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 9
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
976,300 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
26,700 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)

Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
4.3% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 168
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
16.7% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 52
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
5.6% of GDP (2015)
country comparison to the world: 60
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 65.8%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 73%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 58.6% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 11 years (2011)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 993,318
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 26% (2006 est.)
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - percentage country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 8.6%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 9.1%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 8.2% (2013 est.)