Demographic profile
Malawi is the 62nd most populous of the 237 countries and territories tracked on this site, home to about 0.27% of everyone alive. Within Eastern Africa, it ranks 7 of 20.
Each day brings roughly 1,978 births and 456 deaths, adding about 555,899 people over a year. At the current natural-increase rate of 2.5% annually, the population would double in roughly 28 years if the rate held. Real trajectories bend as fertility, mortality and migration shift, which is why the chart below shows both history and projection.
Among its first-level divisions, the largest by our modelled allocation is Southern, holding an estimated 51.3% of the national population. The full breakdown of all 3 states and regions is in the table below. Regional figures outside Sudan are modelled estimates built on real region names, and are flagged as such.
Literacy stands near 70.0% and adult smoking prevalence around 9.0%, with life expectancy at about 37.6 years. Baselines come from UN World Population Prospects, the World Bank, WHO surveys, WorldPop and HDX; the counters project them forward in real time — the method, and every caveat, is documented on our data sources page.
Quick answers
What is the population of Malawi in 2026? Approximately 22,234,176 people (live projection; the counter above updates every second).
How fast is Malawi growing? About 2.5% per year — roughly 1,978 births and 456 deaths every day.
What share of the world lives in Malawi? Around 0.27% — ranked 62 worldwide by population.