Fertility rate: births per woman in Malawi
Malawi: Fertility rate: births per woman was 3.65 live births per woman in 2023. ▼ Falling
Fertility rate: births per woman in Malawi, 1950–2023
Source: Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in live births per woman.
Analysis
In 2023, fertility rate: births per woman in Malawi stood at 3.65 live births per woman. That is the lowest value across all 74 years on record.
Compared with earlier readings it is down 1.9% on the previous year and down 23.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, fertility rate: births per woman in Malawi peaked at 7.52 live births per woman in 1980 and was at its lowest, 3.65 live births per woman, in 2023.
That places Malawi 40th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the top quarter.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 6.88 live births per woman | 6.8 live births per woman | 7.01 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1960s | 7.15 live births per woman | 7.04 live births per woman | 7.27 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1970s | 7.37 live births per woman | 7.29 live births per woman | 7.46 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.2 live births per woman | 6.8 live births per woman | 7.52 live births per woman | 10 |
| 1990s | 6.43 live births per woman | 6.12 live births per woman | 6.74 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2000s | 5.8 live births per woman | 5.45 live births per woman | 6 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2010s | 4.53 live births per woman | 3.95 live births per woman | 5.26 live births per woman | 10 |
| 2020s | 3.76 live births per woman | 3.65 live births per woman | 3.88 live births per woman | 4 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
More reference data data for Malawi
- Number of child deaths per woman 0.1976 under-five deaths per woman (2024)
- Fertility rate vs. Human Development Index 3.65 live births per woman (2023)
- Fertility rate: births per woman 3.65 live births per woman (2023)
- Human Development Index 0.517 (2023)
- Rule of Law - Governance score 54.45 0-100 (2024)
- Rule of Law - Governance estimate -0.1463 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance estimate -0.1094 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
- Voice and Accountability - Governance score 54.93 0-100 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance score 59.4 0-100 (2024)
- Political Stability - Governance estimate -0.3802 approx. -2.5 to +2.5 (2024)
Frequently asked questions
- What is fertility rate: births per woman in Malawi?
- Fertility rate: births per woman in Malawi was 3.65 live births per woman in 2023, according to Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
- What is the highest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 7.52 live births per woman in 1980.
- What is the lowest fertility rate: births per woman recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 3.65 live births per woman in 2023.
- How does Malawi rank for fertility rate: births per woman?
- Malawi ranks 40th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
- Is fertility rate: births per woman rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is down 23.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Malawi data come from?
- The figures come from Human Fertility Database (2025); UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Fertility rate: births per woman. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
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About this data
The average number of live births a hypothetical cohort of women would have at the end of their reproductive period if they were subject during their whole lives to the fertility rates of a given period and if they were not subject to mortality.