Demographics of Malawi


This article is about the demographic features of the population of Malawi, including population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.
Malawi derives its name from the Maravi, a Bantu people who came from the southern Congo about 600 years ago. On reaching the area north of Lake Malawi, the Maravi divided. One branch, the ancestors of the present-day Chewas, moved south to the west bank of the lake. The other, the ancestors of the Nyanjas, moved down the east bank to the southern part of the country.
By AD 1500, the two divisions of the tribe had established a kingdom stretching from north of the present-day city of Nkhotakota to the Zambezi River in the south, and from Lake Malawi in the east, to the Luangwa River in Zambia in the west.
Migrations and tribal conflicts precluded the formation of a cohesive Malawian society until the turn of the 20th century. In more recent years, ethnic and tribal distinctions have diminished. Regional distinctions and rivalries, however, persist. Despite some clear differences, no significant friction currently exists between tribal groups, and the concept of a Malawian nationality has begun to take hold. Predominantly a rural people, Malawians are generally conservative and traditionally nonviolent.
The Chewas constitute 90% of the population of the central region; the Nyanja tribe predominates in the south and the Tumbuka in the north. In addition, significant numbers of the Tongas live in the north; Ngonis—an offshoot of the Zulus who came from South Africa in the early 19th century—live in the lower northern and lower central regions; and the Yao, who are mostly Muslim, predominate in the Southern Region of the country and live in a wide band from Blantyre and Zomba north to Lake Malawi and east to the border with Mozambique. Bantus of other tribes came from Mozambique as refugees.

Population

According to the total population was in, compared to only 2 881 000 in 1950. The proportion of children below the age of 15 in 2010 was 45.8%, 51.1% was between 15 and 65 years of age, while 3.1% was 65 years or older.
Total population Population aged 0–14 Population aged 15–64 Population aged 65+
19502 88145.751.23.1
19553 16645.751.52.8
19603 52545.951.62.6
19653 97545.352.32.4
19704 53146.351.42.3
19755 30246.950.62.5
19806 24047.150.32.6
19857 26847.550.02.5
19909 38145.951.42.7
19959 88344.752.23.1
200011 22945.851.13.1
200512 82346.150.93.1
201014 90145.851.13.1

Total and Percent Distribution of Population by Single Year of Age (Census 09.03.2018)

AgePopulationPercent
Total17,563,749100
0-42,552,40614.53
0522,8022.98
1509,3512.90
2490,8112.79
3511,3652.91
4518,0772.95
5-92,632,87814.99
5529,1113.01
6546,7083.11
7526,3473.00
8532,8463.03
9497,8662.83
10-142,533,30314.42
10539,2643.07
11489,8872.79
12517,8322.95
13492,1222.80
14494,1982.81
15-192,035,94511.59
15452,0172.57
16339,2481.93
17384,6822.19
18497,8312.83
19362,1672.06
20-241,651,5769.40
20357,6672.04
21323,5111.84
22304,5191.73
23330,2221.88
24335,6571.91
25-291,229,4117.00
25291,1981.66
26274,7391.56
27213,3371.21
28238,6301.36
29211,5071.20
30-341,107,2266.30
30243,9691.39
31209,1551.19
32226,3601.29
33218,6201.24
34209,1221.19
35-39968,9985.52
35221,0781.26
36207,4991.18
37165,5640.94
38210,2521.20
39164,6050.94
40-44729,6004.15
40168,6370.96
41137,9670.79
42147,4380.84
43151,3630.86
44124,1950.71
45-49535,8683.05
45129,1720.74
46121,9960.69
4789,5760.51
48112,1160.64
4983,0080.47
50-54387,8122.21
5099,6320.57
5157,3090.33
5263,6900.36
5372,6710.41
5494,5100.54
55-59306,9211.75
5569,2740.39
5663,9140.36
5750,5340.29
5875,0910.43
5948,1080.27
60-64234,9181.34
6069,0060.39
6138,7530.22
6244,2640.25
6340,1190.23
6442,7760.24
65-69240,5511.37
6547,8610.27
6650,0780.29
6735,4560.20
6859,6590.34
6947,4970.27
70-74144,7880.82
7039,3800.22
7127,6180.16
7226,6220.15
7331,6560.18
7419,5120.11
75-79124,7180.71
7525,6350.15
7628,4920.16
7719,0960.11
7835,1740.20
7916,3210.09
80-8463,6750.36
8016,8460.10
819,9870.06
8212,9080.07
8314,2080.08
849,7260.06
85-8954,7540.31
8512,0540.07
8614,6280.08
878,3310.05
8815,3270.09
894,4140.03
90-9415,1300.09
905,0410.03
912,4660.01
922,7460.02
932,8970.02
941,9800.01
95+13,2710.08

Age groupPopulationPercent
0-147,718,58743.95
15-649,188,27552.31
65+656,8873.74

TFR - 4.17
Structure of the population :
Age GroupMale Female Total
0-417,317,017,2
5-917,416,817,1
10-1415,114,314,7
15-1910,69,09,8
20-247,68,17,8
25-296,87,77,3
30-345,75,85,8
35-394,84,44,6
40-443,13,13,1
45-492,62,72,7
50-542,22,72,5
55-591,82,11,9
60-641,71,91,8
65-691,11,41,2
70-740,81,11,0
75-790,60,90,8
80+0,61,00,8

Structure of the population :
Age GroupMale Female Total
0-416,816,416,6
5-916,116,316,2
10-1415,716,015,9
15-198,56,97,7
20-247,28,57,8
25-296,17,36,7
30-346,46,96,7
35-395,35,05,2
40-443,83,33,5
45-493,21,92,5
50-542,63,73,1
55-591,51,91,7
60-641,31,81,5
65-691,01,21,1
70-740,90,80,8
75-790,70,80,7
80+0,70,90,8

UN population projections

Numbers are in thousands. UN medium variant projections
Registration of vital events is in Malawi not complete. The Population Departement of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.
Births and deaths
YearPopulationLive birthsDeathsNatural increaseCrude birth rateCrude death rateRate of natural increaseTFR
2008*13 077 160516 629135 865380 76437,910,027,95,2

Total Fertility Rate and Crude Birth Rate :
YearCBR TFR CBR TFR CBR TFR
1984527.58
199242.96.73 40.55.51 43.26.88
200045.56.3 40.84.5 46.26.7
200442.46.0 37.04.2 43.46.4
201039.25.7 36.04.0 39.86.1
2015-1632.24.4 29.53.0 32.64.7
201732.14.227.42.833.04.5

Fertility data as of 2016 :
RegionTotal fertility ratePercentage of women age 15-49 currently pregnantMean number of children ever born to women age 40-49
Northern4.28.15.7
Central4.47.86.2
Southern4.67.35.7
Total4.47.65.9

Life expectancy birth

Other demographic statistics

Demographic statistics according to the World Population Review in 2019.
The following demographic are from the CIA World Factbook unless otherwise indicated.

Population

Age structure

Median age

Birth rate

Death rate

[Total fertility rate]

Population growth rate

Mother's mean age at first birth

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Net migration rate

Religions

Protestant 27.2%, Catholic 18.4%, other Christian 41%, Muslim 12.1%, other 0.3%, none 1%

Urbanization

Life expectancy at birth

Sex ratio

1 Doctor/65,000 Malawians

Nationality

definition: age 15 and over can read and write

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

White Malawians

There has been reported a 7,400 white population. White Malawians are descended from English, Scottish, Dutch, French, Italian, Greek, Spanish, Portuguese, Belgian, Norwegian, Swedish, or Germans. White Malawians live in Lilongwe, Blantyre, Mzuzu, Zomba, Karonga, Chilumba, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chizumulu Island, Likoma, and Chipoka.