Malawi birth & fertility rate charts by year

Fertility rate in Malawi chart

According to the latest birth rate data available, the fertility rate in Malawi is 3.65, which is above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. In 1993, the fertility rate was 6.57 — a -44.5% decline in 30 years.

Check population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases the historical changes in birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Malawi	World
1960	7.04	4.69
1961	7.07	4.56
1962	7.1	5.02
1963	7.13	5.31
1964	7.11	5.13
1965	7.13	5.08
1966	7.17	4.97
1967	7.21	4.87
1968	7.26	4.98
1969	7.27	4.88
1970	7.3	4.84
1971	7.31	4.69
1972	7.33	4.55
1973	7.34	4.42
1974	7.34	4.26
1975	7.36	4.07
1976	7.39	3.97
1977	7.41	3.84
1978	7.43	3.77
1979	7.47	3.76
1980	7.52	3.73
1981	7.49	3.71
1982	7.45	3.72
1983	7.36	3.59
1984	7.27	3.57
1985	7.17	3.53
1986	7.07	3.51
1987	6.97	3.48
1988	6.88	3.39
1989	6.8	3.35
1990	6.74	3.31
1991	6.68	3.13
1992	6.63	3.04
1993	6.57	2.97
1994	6.49	2.92
1995	6.39	2.87
1996	6.29	2.82
1997	6.23	2.78
1998	6.21	2.75
1999	6.12	2.72
2000	6	2.73
2001	5.94	2.69
2002	5.9	2.66
2003	5.88	2.64
2004	5.86	2.63
2005	5.85	2.61
2006	5.8	2.61
2007	5.72	2.6
2008	5.61	2.6
2009	5.45	2.59
2010	5.26	2.57
2011	5.08	2.55
2012	4.9	2.56
2013	4.76	2.53
2014	4.57	2.52
2015	4.38	2.49
2016	4.22	2.49
2017	4.11	2.46
2018	4.02	2.39
2019	3.95	2.35
2020	3.88	2.28
2021	3.79	2.25
2022	3.72	2.22
2023	3.65	2.2
2024	3.59	2.19
2025	3.53	2.18
2026	3.45	2.18
2027	3.39	2.17
2028	3.33	2.16
2029	3.29	2.15
2030	3.23	2.14
2031	3.18	2.13
2032	3.13	2.12
2033	3.09	2.12
2034	3.05	2.11
2035	3.01	2.1
2036	2.97	2.09
2037	2.93	2.09
2038	2.89	2.08
2039	2.86	2.08
2040	2.82	2.08
2041	2.79	2.07
2042	2.76	2.07
2043	2.73	2.07
2044	2.7	2.07
2045	2.67	2.06
2046	2.64	2.06
2047	2.61	2.06
2048	2.59	2.05
2049	2.57	2.05
2050	2.54	2.05

Birth rates by women ages chart

In 2025, of all live births 22% were to women under 20 years old, 51.2% to women ages 20-29, and 26.8% to women ages 30 and above. In comparison, the percentages in 1990 were 17%, 52.1%, and 30.9% for the same age groups respectively. A chart displaying the historical birth rates in Malawi by maternal age is provided below.

Annual births per 1,000 women ages

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Children 0-14 as share of population
	Malawi	World
1960	43.1%	37.4%
1961	42.9%	37.5%
1962	42.8%	37.6%
1963	42.9%	37.8%
1964	43%	38%
1965	43.2%	38%
1966	43.4%	38%
1967	43.7%	38%
1968	43.9%	37.9%
1969	44.2%	37.8%
1970	44.4%	37.7%
1971	44.6%	37.6%
1972	44.8%	37.5%
1973	44.9%	37.3%
1974	45.1%	37.2%
1975	45.2%	37.1%
1976	45.2%	36.9%
1977	45.3%	36.7%
1978	45.3%	36.3%
1979	45.3%	35.9%
1980	45.4%	35.5%
1981	45.4%	35.2%
1982	45.4%	34.9%
1983	45.5%	34.6%
1984	45.5%	34.3%
1985	45.4%	34%
1986	45.4%	33.8%
1987	45.1%	33.6%
1988	45%	33.4%
1989	45.2%	33.2%
1990	45.4%	33%
1991	45.6%	32.9%
1992	45.8%	32.7%
1993	46%	32.5%
1994	46.1%	32.3%
1995	46.1%	32.1%
1996	46.2%	31.8%
1997	46.2%	31.5%
1998	46.2%	31.1%
1999	46.2%	30.8%
2000	46.2%	30.4%
2001	46.1%	30%
2002	46.1%	29.6%
2003	46.1%	29.2%
2004	46%	28.8%
2005	46%	28.5%
2006	46.1%	28.1%
2007	46.1%	27.9%
2008	46.1%	27.6%
2009	46.2%	27.5%
2010	46.2%	27.3%
2011	46.2%	27.1%
2012	46.1%	27%
2013	46%	26.9%
2014	45.7%	26.8%
2015	45.4%	26.6%
2016	45.1%	26.5%
2017	44.6%	26.4%
2018	44.2%	26.2%
2019	43.7%	26%
2020	43.1%	25.8%
2021	42.5%	25.6%
2022	41.9%	25.3%
2023	41.3%	25%
2024	40.7%	24.7%
2025	40.1%	24.4%
2026	39.6%	24.1%
2027	39.1%	23.8%
2028	38.6%	23.4%
2029	38.1%	23.1%
2030	37.7%	22.8%
2031	37.4%	22.6%
2032	37%	22.3%
2033	36.7%	22.1%
2034	36.4%	21.9%
2035	36%	21.7%
2036	35.7%	21.6%
2037	35.3%	21.5%
2038	35%	21.4%
2039	34.6%	21.3%
2040	34.2%	21.2%
2041	33.9%	21.1%
2042	33.5%	21%
2043	33.1%	21%
2044	32.7%	20.9%
2045	32.3%	20.8%
2046	31.9%	20.7%
2047	31.5%	20.7%
2048	31.2%	20.6%
2049	30.8%	20.5%
2050	30.5%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Malawi was 43.1% in 1960, 46% in 1993, and 40.7% as of the latest data in 2025.

More about the demographics of Malawi.

Natural population change by year

For the past 10 years, the natural population change in Malawi, excluding migration, has been +2.67% annually. On average, 501,939 more people were born each year than died.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	Malawi
1960	85,718
1961	89,091
1962	92,463
1963	95,933
1964	97,658
1965	100,040
1966	103,512
1967	106,668
1968	110,329
1969	113,120
1970	116,822
1971	121,015
1972	125,728
1973	131,529
1974	137,819
1975	145,254
1976	153,422
1977	161,930
1978	172,503
1979	182,123
1980	192,746
1981	199,436
1982	205,386
1983	209,422
1984	212,146
1985	216,179
1986	218,519
1987	220,566
1988	226,911
1989	237,967
1990	250,159
1991	260,193
1992	269,066
1993	276,538
1994	275,439
1995	266,745
1996	270,048
1997	277,433
1998	285,407
1999	295,629
2000	300,439
2001	310,833
2002	322,863
2003	341,133
2004	361,133
2005	381,130
2006	397,123
2007	410,290
2008	421,781
2009	434,811
2010	444,468
2011	454,149
2012	460,684
2013	470,293
2014	472,418
2015	472,484
2016	474,779
2017	484,655
2018	494,348
2019	506,104
2020	514,659
2021	517,400
2022	533,450
2023	549,096

Maternal mortality chart

The maternal mortality rate in Malawi was 225 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 — a 0.23% chance of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. This is a -55.5% decrease compared to the year 2000.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Malawi	World
1985	1,115	460
1986	1,118	438
1987	1,123	429
1988	1,154	414
1989	1,136	401
1990	1,112	391
1991	1,080	395
1992	1,042	395
1993	1,000	389
1994	912	382
1995	782	371
1996	713	366
1997	672	358
1998	658	360
1999	576	340
2000	506	328
2001	447	321
2002	404	311
2003	346	301
2004	304	291
2005	283	283
2006	286	276
2007	333	269
2008	430	264
2009	512	258
2010	517	253
2011	486	247
2012	447	239
2013	410	235
2014	367	231
2015	354	228
2016	312	220
2017	284	215
2018	267	211
2019	260	207
2020	256	211
2021	286	242
2022	239	203
2023	225	197

Under-five mortality rate chart

The under-5 mortality rate in Malawi was 38.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023 — a 3.83% chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five. This is down from 173.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	Malawi	World
1960	-	18.5%
1961	35.9%	18.1%
1962	35.8%	17.8%
1963	35.7%	17.5%
1964	35.5%	17.7%
1965	35.4%	17.5%
1966	35.3%	17.3%
1967	35.1%	17%
1968	35%	16.5%
1969	34.7%	15.5%
1970	34.4%	15.2%
1971	33.9%	15.1%
1972	33.2%	14.4%
1973	32.4%	14.1%
1974	31.5%	13.7%
1975	30.6%	13.4%
1976	29.7%	13%
1977	28.7%	12.5%
1978	27.6%	12.1%
1979	26.5%	11.7%
1980	25.6%	11.4%
1981	24.9%	11%
1982	24.5%	10.8%
1983	24.5%	10.6%
1984	24.8%	10.4%
1985	25.1%	10.1%
1986	25.4%	9.81%
1987	25.5%	9.47%
1988	25.3%	9.31%
1989	24.9%	9.02%
1990	24.3%	8.81%
1991	23.6%	8.66%
1992	22.8%	8.46%
1993	22%	8.19%
1994	21.3%	7.98%
1995	20.7%	7.76%
1996	20.2%	7.52%
1997	19.7%	7.28%
1998	19.2%	7.05%
1999	18.4%	6.76%
2000	17.3%	6.48%
2001	16%	6.21%
2002	14.6%	5.94%
2003	13.2%	5.65%
2004	11.9%	5.43%
2005	11%	5.16%
2006	10.3%	4.92%
2007	9.83%	4.7%
2008	9.31%	4.5%
2009	8.81%	4.31%
2010	8.3%	4.11%
2011	7.67%	3.97%
2012	6.98%	3.77%
2013	6.4%	3.61%
2014	6.02%	3.48%
2015	5.67%	3.35%
2016	5.35%	3.23%
2017	5.06%	3.11%
2018	4.75%	2.97%
2019	4.55%	2.86%
2020	4.31%	2.75%
2021	4.15%	2.66%
2022	3.99%	2.59%
2023	3.83%	2.49%