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People of Malawi

Population:13603181
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.)
Age structure:0-14 years: 46.1% (male 3,143,724/female 3,130,937)
15-64 years: 51.2% (male 3,491,114/female 3,474,209)
65 years and over: 2.7% (male 155,954/female 207,243) (2007 est.)
Median age:total: 16.7 years
male: 16.6 years
female: 16.8 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:2.383% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:42.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:18.25 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.004 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1.005 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.753 male(s)/female
total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:total: 92.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 96.27 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 87.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:total population: 42.98 years
male: 43.35 years
female: 42.61 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:5.74 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:14.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:900,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:84,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and plague are high risks in some locations
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2007)
Nationality:noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian
Ethnic groups:Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European
Religions:Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3% (1998 census)
Languages:Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census)
Literacy:definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62.7%
male: 76.1%
female: 49.8% (2003 est.)

Malawi Quickstats

  • Population: 13,603,181
  • Area: 118,480 sq km
  • Density: 109 /km² (91st)
  • GDP (total): $7.67 billion (143rd)
  • GDP (per capita): $596 (181st)
  • Literacy: 62.7%

Languages of Malawi

  • Chichewa 57.2%
  • Chinyanja 12.8%
  • Chiyao 10.1%
  • Chitumbuka 9.5%
  • Other 10.4%

Useful to know

  • Currency: Kwacha (D) (MWK)
  • Dial code: +265

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