Rural population in Malawi
Malawi: Rural population was 18.31 million in 2025. ▲ Rising
Latest (2025)
18.31 million
Change on year
up 2.2%
World rank
29th
of 218 countries
All-time high
18.31 million
in 2025
All-time low
3.48 million
in 1960
Years of data
66
1960–2025
Rural population in Malawi, 1960–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population in Malawi is 18.31 million, measured in 2025. That is the highest value across all 66 years on record.
That represents a change of up 2.2% on the previous year and up 27.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population in Malawi peaked at 18.31 million in 2025 and was at its lowest, 3.48 million, in 1960.
That places Malawi 29th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently rising across the 66 years of available data.
Rural population in Malawi, year by year
| Year | Value | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3.48 million | — |
| 1961 | 3.56 million | +2.3% |
| 1962 | 3.65 million | +2.3% |
| 1963 | 3.73 million | +2.4% |
| 1964 | 3.82 million | +2.4% |
| 1965 | 3.91 million | +2.3% |
| 1966 | 4.00 million | +2.4% |
| 1967 | 4.09 million | +2.3% |
| 1968 | 4.19 million | +2.3% |
| 1969 | 4.28 million | +2.2% |
| 1970 | 4.37 million | +2.1% |
| 1971 | 4.46 million | +2.1% |
| 1972 | 4.56 million | +2.1% |
| 1973 | 4.66 million | +2.2% |
| 1974 | 4.76 million | +2.3% |
| 1975 | 4.88 million | +2.4% |
| 1976 | 5.00 million | +2.6% |
| 1977 | 5.14 million | +2.8% |
| 1978 | 5.31 million | +3.2% |
| 1979 | 5.49 million | +3.5% |
| 1980 | 5.69 million | +3.7% |
| 1981 | 5.91 million | +3.8% |
| 1982 | 6.13 million | +3.8% |
| 1983 | 6.37 million | +3.8% |
| 1984 | 6.60 million | +3.8% |
| 1985 | 6.85 million | +3.7% |
| 1986 | 7.09 million | +3.5% |
| 1987 | 7.41 million | +4.6% |
| 1988 | 7.80 million | +5.2% |
| 1989 | 8.14 million | +4.4% |
| 1990 | 8.44 million | +3.6% |
| 1991 | 8.66 million | +2.7% |
| 1992 | 8.87 million | +2.5% |
| 1993 | 8.96 million | +1.0% |
| 1994 | 8.82 million | -1.6% |
| 1995 | 8.77 million | -0.6% |
| 1996 | 8.91 million | +1.6% |
| 1997 | 9.06 million | +1.7% |
| 1998 | 9.24 million | +2.0% |
| 1999 | 9.44 million | +2.2% |
| 2000 | 9.66 million | +2.3% |
| 2001 | 9.88 million | +2.3% |
| 2002 | 10.11 million | +2.4% |
| 2003 | 10.36 million | +2.4% |
| 2004 | 10.62 million | +2.5% |
| 2005 | 10.90 million | +2.6% |
| 2006 | 11.20 million | +2.7% |
| 2007 | 11.51 million | +2.8% |
| 2008 | 11.83 million | +2.9% |
| 2009 | 12.18 million | +2.9% |
| 2010 | 12.53 million | +2.9% |
| 2011 | 12.89 million | +2.9% |
| 2012 | 13.25 million | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 13.62 million | +2.8% |
| 2014 | 14.00 million | +2.8% |
| 2015 | 14.38 million | +2.7% |
| 2016 | 14.77 million | +2.7% |
| 2017 | 15.16 million | +2.7% |
| 2018 | 15.56 million | +2.6% |
| 2019 | 15.96 million | +2.5% |
| 2020 | 16.35 million | +2.5% |
| 2021 | 16.74 million | +2.4% |
| 2022 | 17.13 million | +2.3% |
| 2023 | 17.52 million | +2.3% |
| 2024 | 17.92 million | +2.2% |
| 2025 | 18.31 million | +2.2% |
Malawi compared with similar countries
- Malawi's 18.31 million is above the median for low income countries, which is 15.21 million, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Malawi's 18.31 million is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 9.41 million, 1.9× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 3.87 million | 3.48 million | 4.28 million | 10 |
| 1970s | 4.86 million | 4.37 million | 5.49 million | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.80 million | 5.69 million | 8.14 million | 10 |
| 1990s | 8.92 million | 8.44 million | 9.44 million | 10 |
| 2000s | 10.82 million | 9.66 million | 12.18 million | 10 |
| 2010s | 14.21 million | 12.53 million | 15.96 million | 10 |
| 2020s | 17.33 million | 16.35 million | 18.31 million | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 26 Mozambique 22.37 million compare
- 27 Madagascar 21.97 million compare
- 28 Iran 20.91 million compare
- 30 Uzbekistan 18.15 million compare
- 31 Italy 17.86 million compare
- 32 Sri Lanka 17.31 million compare
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)
- Share of GDP from agriculture 30.0% (2025)
- Agriculture as a share of GDP vs. GDP per capita 30.0% (2025)
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 2.7% (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population in Malawi?
- Rural population in Malawi was 18.31 million in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 18.31 million in 2025.
- What is the lowest rural population recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.48 million in 1960.
- How does Malawi rank for rural population?
- Malawi ranks 29th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 27.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is rising.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 66 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
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.