Malawi vs Sri Lanka: Rural population
Malawi
18.31 million
in 2025
Sri Lanka
17.31 million
in 2025
Malawi rank
29th
Sri Lanka rank
32nd
Rural population over time
- Malawi
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Malawi currently reports 18.31 million against 17.31 million in Sri Lanka, a difference of 1.00 million.
That makes Malawi's figure about 1.1 times Sri Lanka's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 66 shared years of data; in 1960 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
Malawi ranks 29th and Sri Lanka ranks 32nd of 218 countries.
Sri Lanka has averaged higher in every one of the 7 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.87 million | 8.67 million | 4.80 million | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 4.86 million | 10.45 million | 5.59 million | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 6.80 million | 12.40 million | 5.60 million | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 8.92 million | 14.68 million | 5.77 million | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 10.82 million | 17.04 million | 6.21 million | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 14.21 million | 17.21 million | 3.00 million | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 17.33 million | 17.58 million | 253,900 | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher rural population, Malawi or Sri Lanka?
- Malawi, at 18.31 million against 17.31 million in Sri Lanka as of 2025.
- What is the difference in rural population between Malawi and Sri Lanka?
- 1.00 million, with Malawi ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Sri Lanka?
- 66 years are reported by both, from 1960 to 2025.
- How do Malawi and Sri Lanka rank globally for rural population?
- Malawi ranks 29th and Sri Lanka ranks 32nd of 218 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as Rural population. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population. Aggregation of urban and rural population may not add up to total population because of different country coverages.