Rural population growth in Malawi
Malawi: Rural population growth was 2.2% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Rural population growth in Malawi, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population growth in Malawi is 2.2%, measured in 2025.
That represents a change of down 2.7% on the previous year and down 19.1% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Malawi peaked at 5.1% in 1988 and was at its lowest, -1.6%, in 1994.
That places Malawi 16th out of 209 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Rural population growth in Malawi, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 2.3% | — |
| 1962 | 2.3% | +1.2% |
| 1963 | 2.3% | +1.1% |
| 1964 | 2.3% | +0.0% |
| 1965 | 2.3% | -0.6% |
| 1966 | 2.3% | +0.3% |
| 1967 | 2.3% | -1.0% |
| 1968 | 2.2% | -3.2% |
| 1969 | 2.1% | -3.7% |
| 1970 | 2.1% | -2.7% |
| 1971 | 2.1% | +0.0% |
| 1972 | 2.1% | +1.3% |
| 1973 | 2.2% | +2.5% |
| 1974 | 2.3% | +4.2% |
| 1975 | 2.4% | +4.9% |
| 1976 | 2.5% | +6.0% |
| 1977 | 2.8% | +9.9% |
| 1978 | 3.1% | +13.1% |
| 1979 | 3.4% | +9.7% |
| 1980 | 3.6% | +5.2% |
| 1981 | 3.7% | +2.4% |
| 1982 | 3.7% | +0.8% |
| 1983 | 3.7% | -0.0% |
| 1984 | 3.7% | -1.1% |
| 1985 | 3.6% | -2.0% |
| 1986 | 3.4% | -5.1% |
| 1987 | 4.5% | +31.1% |
| 1988 | 5.1% | +12.9% |
| 1989 | 4.3% | -14.6% |
| 1990 | 3.5% | -18.8% |
| 1991 | 2.6% | -25.6% |
| 1992 | 2.4% | -7.0% |
| 1993 | 1.0% | -59.7% |
| 1994 | -1.6% | -265.4% |
| 1995 | -0.6% | -64.7% |
| 1996 | 1.6% | -378.1% |
| 1997 | 1.7% | +6.3% |
| 1998 | 1.9% | +14.2% |
| 1999 | 2.2% | +12.3% |
| 2000 | 2.3% | +4.0% |
| 2001 | 2.3% | +1.7% |
| 2002 | 2.3% | +1.9% |
| 2003 | 2.4% | +2.8% |
| 2004 | 2.5% | +3.8% |
| 2005 | 2.6% | +3.9% |
| 2006 | 2.7% | +3.0% |
| 2007 | 2.7% | +2.4% |
| 2008 | 2.8% | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 2.9% | +1.8% |
| 2010 | 2.9% | -0.2% |
| 2011 | 2.8% | -1.1% |
| 2012 | 2.8% | -1.5% |
| 2013 | 2.8% | -1.1% |
| 2014 | 2.7% | -1.1% |
| 2015 | 2.7% | -1.8% |
| 2016 | 2.6% | -1.0% |
| 2017 | 2.6% | -0.6% |
| 2018 | 2.6% | -1.2% |
| 2019 | 2.5% | -3.4% |
| 2020 | 2.4% | -2.6% |
| 2021 | 2.4% | -3.4% |
| 2022 | 2.3% | -2.9% |
| 2023 | 2.3% | -1.7% |
| 2024 | 2.2% | -1.6% |
| 2025 | 2.2% | -2.7% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.3% | 2.1% | 2.3% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.5% | 2.1% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.9% | 3.4% | 5.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.5% | -1.6% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.5% | 2.3% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2010s | 2.7% | 2.5% | 2.9% | 10 |
| 2020s | 2.3% | 2.2% | 2.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More agriculture & rural data for Malawi
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), annual 24.6 % change on previous year (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 0.3003 current US$ per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added (current US$), per 201.66 current US$ per person (2025)
- Rural population, annual growth rate 2.19 % change on previous year (2025)
- Rural population, per unit of GDP 0.0012 units per US$ of GDP (2025)
- Rural population, per capita 0.8241 units per person (2025)
- Agriculture share gdp 30.03 (2025)
- Value added in the agricultural sector as of gdp vs gdp per capita 30.03 (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Malawi?
- Rural population growth in Malawi was 2.2% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 5.1% in 1988.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was -1.6% in 1994.
- How does Malawi rank for rural population growth?
- Malawi ranks 16th out of 209 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 19.1%. 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 Rural 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 rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. 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.