Urban population growth in Malawi
Malawi: Urban population growth was 4.4% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Malawi, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Malawi recorded 4.4% for urban population growth in 2025.
The figure is up 3.2% on the previous year and up 39.2% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Malawi peaked at 9.1% in 1971 and was at its lowest, 1.9%, in 1994.
Malawi ranks 13th of 215 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 5.6% | 4.7% | 8.2% | 9 |
| 1970s | 7.9% | 6.4% | 9.1% | 10 |
| 1980s | 6.5% | 5.9% | 8.1% | 10 |
| 1990s | 4.4% | 1.9% | 7.3% | 10 |
| 2000s | 3.2% | 3.1% | 3.5% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.3% | 3.0% | 3.4% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.0% | 3.6% | 4.4% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Malawi
- 10 Mali 4.8% compare
- 11 Ethiopia 4.6% compare
- 12 Solomon Islands 4.4% compare
- 14 Central African Republic 4.3% compare
- 15 Somalia 4.3% compare
- 16 Burkina Faso 4.3% compare
More climate change data for Malawi
- Population growth 2.6% (2025)
- Population, total 22.22 million (2025)
- Urban population 3.91 million (2025)
- Urban population 17.6% (2025)
- Population in urban agglomerations of more than 1 million 6.3% (2025)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 1.36 billion cubic meters (2022)
- Annual freshwater withdrawals, total 8.4% (2022)
- Terrestrial protected areas 23.1% (2025)
- Terrestrial and marine protected areas 23.1% (2025)
- CPIA public sector management and institutions cluster average 3 1=low to 6=high (2025)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Malawi?
- Urban population growth in Malawi was 4.4% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Malawi?
- The highest recorded value was 9.1% in 1971.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Malawi?
- The lowest recorded value was 1.9% in 1994.
- How does Malawi rank for urban population growth?
- Malawi ranks 13th out of 215 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Malawi?
- Over the last ten years it is up 39.2%. 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 Urban 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 urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.