Population:
21,196,629
(July 2020 est.)
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
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
60
[see also: Population country ranks ]
Nationality:
noun:
Malawian(s)
adjective:
Malawian
Ethnic groups:
Chewa 34.3%, Lomwe 18.8%, Yao 13.2%, Ngoni 10.4%, Tumbuka 9.2%, Sena 3.8%, Mang'anja 3.2%, Tonga 1.8%, Nyanja 1.8%, Nkhonde 1%, other 2.2%, foreign .3%
(2018 est.)
Languages:
English (official), Chichewa (common), Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chilomwe, Chinkhonde, Chingoni, Chisena, Chitonga, Chinyakyusa, Chilambya
Religions:
Protestant 33.5% (includes Church of Central Africa Presbyterian 14.2%, Seventh Day Adventist/Baptist 9.4%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 2.3%), Roman Catholic 17.2%, other Christian 26.6%, Muslim 13.8%, traditionalist 1.1%, other 5.6%, none 2.1%
(2018 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: 45.87%
(male 4,843,107/female 4,878,983)
[see also: Age structure - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 20.51%
(male 2,151,417/female 2,195,939)
[see also: Age structure - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 27.96%
(male 2,944,936/female 2,982,195)
[see also: Age structure - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 2.98%
(male 303,803/female 328,092)
[see also: Age structure - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 2.68%
(male 249,219/female 318,938)
(2020 est.)
[see also: Age structure - 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
This is the population pyramid for Malawi. 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: 91
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 85.3
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.7
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 17.4
(2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]
Median age:
total: 16.8 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 16.7 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 16.9 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
222
Population growth rate:
3.3%
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
6
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]
Birth rate:
40.1 births/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
9
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]
Death rate:
7.2 deaths/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
120
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
89
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]
Population distribution:
population density is highest south of Lake Nyasa
Urbanization:
urban population: 17.2% of total population
(2019)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 4.19% annual rate of change
(2015-20 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]
Major urban areas - population:
1.075 million LILONGWE (capital), 905,000 Blantyre-Limbe
(2019)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 98 male(s)/female
(2020 est.)
[see also: Sex ratio country ranks ]
Mother's mean age at first birth:
18.9 years
(2015/16 est.)
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]
Maternal mortality rate:
349 deaths/100,000 live births
(2017 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
31
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]
Infant mortality rate:
total: 39.5 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 45.8 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 33.2 deaths/1,000 live births
(2020 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
40
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 63.2 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total population country ranks ]
male: 61.2 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 65.3 years
(2020 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
205
[See also: Healthy Life Expectancy ]
[See also: Health Performance ]
Total fertility rate:
5.31 children born/woman
(2020 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
11
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
59.2%
(2015/16)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 95.7% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 89.1% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 90.2% of population
unimproved:
urban: 4.3% of population
rural: 10.9% of population
total: 9.8% of population
(2015 est.)
Current Health Expenditure:
9.8%
(2016)
[see also: Current Health Expenditure country ranks ]
Physicians density:
0.02 physicians/1,000 population
(2016)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]
Hospital bed density:
1.3 beds/1,000 population
(2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 47.3% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - urban country ranks ]
rural: 39.8% of population
(2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - improved - rural country ranks ]
total: 41% of population
(2015 est.)
unimproved:
urban: 52.7% of population
(2015 est.)
rural: 60.2% of population
(2015 est.)
total: 59% of population
(2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
9.2%
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
9
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1 million
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
10
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
13,000
(2018 est.)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
18
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk:
very high
(2016)
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
(2016)
vectorborne diseases:
malaria and dengue fever
(2016)
water contact diseases:
schistosomiasis
(2016)
animal contact diseases:
rabies
(2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
5.8%
(2016)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
173
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
11.8%
(2015)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
56
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]
Education expenditures:
4% of GDP
(2017)
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
104
[see also: Education expenditures country ranks ]
Literacy:
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62.1%
[see also: Literacy - total population country ranks ]
male: 69.8%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 55.2%
(2015)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - total country ranks ]
male: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
female: 11 years
[see also: School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) - male country ranks ]
(2011)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 8.5%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 6.7%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 10.6%
(2017 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world (CIA rank, may be based on non-current data):
140
NOTE: 1) The information regarding Malawi on this page is re-published from the 2020 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Malawi People 2020 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Malawi People 2020 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
2) The rank that you see is the CIA reported rank, which may have the following issues:
a) They assign increasing rank number, alphabetically for countries with the same value of the ranked item, whereas we assign them the same rank.
b) The CIA sometimes assigns counterintuitive ranks. For example, it assigns unemployment rates in increasing order, whereas we rank them in decreasing order.
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This page was last modified 27-Jan-20