Malawi vs Zambia Demographics: Median age, Gender, Race, Religion

Median age history and projection chart in
Malawi vs Zambia

Table

Year	Median age
	Malawi	Zambia
1960	18.2	17
1961	18.3	16.9
1962	18.3	16.8
1963	18.3	16.7
1964	18.3	16.6
1965	18.4	16.6
1966	18.3	16.5
1967	18.3	16.5
1968	18.3	16.4
1969	18.2	16.4
1970	18	16.2
1971	17.9	16.1
1972	17.8	15.9
1973	17.7	15.8
1974	17.6	15.7
1975	17.5	15.5
1976	17.5	15.4
1977	17.4	15.4
1978	17.4	15.3
1979	17.4	15.3
1980	17.3	15.2
1981	17.3	15.3
1982	17.3	15.3
1983	17.3	15.4
1984	17.3	15.4
1985	17.3	15.5
1986	17.3	15.5
1987	17.4	15.6
1988	17.5	15.6
1989	17.4	15.7
1990	17.3	15.7
1991	17.2	15.7
1992	17.1	15.8
1993	17	15.8
1994	16.9	15.8
1995	16.9	15.8
1996	16.8	15.8
1997	16.8	15.8
1998	16.8	15.8
1999	16.7	15.8
2000	16.8	15.9
2001	16.8	15.9
2002	16.8	16
2003	16.8	16.1
2004	16.8	16.2
2005	16.8	16.3
2006	16.8	16.3
2007	16.8	16.4
2008	16.8	16.5
2009	16.7	16.6
2010	16.7	16.7
2011	16.8	16.8
2012	16.8	16.9
2013	16.9	17
2014	17	17.1
2015	17.1	17.2
2016	17.2	17.4
2017	17.4	17.5
2018	17.6	17.7
2019	17.8	17.9
2020	18	18
2021	18.2	18.2
2022	18.4	18.4
2023	18.7	18.6
2024	18.9	18.8
2025	19.1	18.9
2026	19.4	19.2
2027	19.7	19.4
2028	20	19.6
2029	20.2	19.9
2030	20.5	20.1
2031	20.8	20.3
2032	21.1	20.6
2033	21.3	20.8
2034	21.6	21
2035	21.9	21.3
2036	22.1	21.5
2037	22.4	21.7
2038	22.6	21.9
2039	22.9	22.1
2040	23.1	22.4
2041	23.3	22.6
2042	23.6	22.8
2043	23.8	23
2044	24.1	23.2
2045	24.3	23.5
2046	24.6	23.7
2047	24.8	23.9
2048	25.1	24.1
2049	25.4	24.4
2050	25.6	24.6

In 1960, the median age in Malawi was 18.2 years compared to 17 years in Zambia. As of 2024, the median age had increased to 18.9 years in Malawi and to 18.8 years in Zambia.

According to United Nations projections, the median age in Malawi is expected to increased to around 25.6 years by 2050 compared to 24.6 years in Zambia. The aging demographics forecast is based on previous years' birth rates and increasing life expectancy.

Demographic pyramid: age and gender distribution

Table

Age range	Share of population
	Malawi		Zambia
	Male	Female	Male	Female
0-4	7.25%	7.21%	7.52%	7.51%
5-9	6.66%	6.65%	6.85%	6.85%
10-14	6.45%	6.49%	6.35%	6.37%
15-19	5.89%	5.99%	5.61%	5.66%
20-24	4.84%	4.95%	4.67%	4.74%
25-29	4.01%	4.15%	3.99%	4.06%
30-34	3.27%	3.61%	3.42%	3.46%
35-39	2.7%	3.18%	2.96%	2.97%
40-44	2.34%	2.61%	2.45%	2.44%
45-49	1.77%	1.73%	1.94%	1.97%
50-54	1.17%	1.24%	1.38%	1.47%
55-59	0.8%	1.06%	0.94%	1.06%
60-64	0.6%	0.81%	0.63%	0.77%
65-69	0.43%	0.54%	0.39%	0.53%
70-74	0.28%	0.38%	0.22%	0.34%
75-79	0.2%	0.31%	0.11%	0.18%
80+	0.16%	0.3%	0.06%	0.12%

The chart above is a variation of a population pyramid and represents a comparison of age and gender structure. Malawi has high demographic potential with 77.4% of people in the 0-34 age group compared to 77.1% and similar potential in Zambia.

Age dependency chart

Table

Year	Age dependency ratio
	Malawi			Zambia
	Total	Young	Old	Total	Young	Old
1960	85.5%	79.9%	5.61%	95.6%	90%	5.58%
1961	85%	79.4%	5.56%	96.2%	90.6%	5.61%
1962	84.5%	79%	5.51%	96.8%	91.2%	5.66%
1963	84.6%	79.1%	5.48%	97.7%	92%	5.72%
1964	85%	79.5%	5.46%	98.6%	92.8%	5.78%
1965	85.6%	80.1%	5.46%	99.2%	93.4%	5.83%
1966	86.4%	81%	5.47%	99.5%	93.7%	5.87%
1967	87.3%	81.8%	5.5%	99.8%	93.9%	5.9%
1968	88.2%	82.6%	5.53%	100.2%	94.3%	5.94%
1969	89%	83.5%	5.54%	100.7%	94.7%	5.98%
1970	89.8%	84.2%	5.52%	101.7%	95.6%	6.05%
1971	90.4%	84.9%	5.47%	103.1%	96.9%	6.15%
1972	90.9%	85.5%	5.4%	104.5%	98.2%	6.23%
1973	91.3%	85.9%	5.33%	105.8%	99.5%	6.32%
1974	91.6%	86.3%	5.28%	107%	100.6%	6.39%
1975	91.9%	86.7%	5.26%	108.1%	101.7%	6.46%
1976	92.2%	87%	5.26%	109.1%	102.6%	6.52%
1977	92.4%	87.2%	5.28%	109.9%	103.4%	6.57%
1978	92.8%	87.3%	5.44%	110.6%	104%	6.61%
1979	93.4%	87.6%	5.74%	111%	104.3%	6.64%
1980	94.1%	88%	6.05%	111.1%	104.5%	6.65%
1981	94.8%	88.4%	6.36%	110.8%	104.2%	6.63%
1982	95.5%	88.8%	6.67%	110.2%	103.6%	6.57%
1983	96.1%	89.2%	6.97%	109.4%	102.9%	6.49%
1984	96.6%	89.4%	7.22%	108.8%	102.4%	6.42%
1985	96.9%	89.5%	7.43%	108.2%	101.8%	6.34%
1986	97.2%	89.6%	7.56%	107.5%	101.2%	6.25%
1987	96.9%	88.9%	8.05%	106.8%	100.7%	6.17%
1988	96.7%	88.4%	8.28%	106.3%	100.2%	6.08%
1989	96.9%	89%	7.93%	105.7%	99.7%	6%
1990	97.2%	89.5%	7.64%	105.2%	99.3%	5.91%
1991	97.4%	90.1%	7.38%	104.7%	98.9%	5.82%
1992	97.7%	90.5%	7.15%	104.3%	98.5%	5.72%
1993	97.9%	90.9%	6.93%	103.9%	98.3%	5.62%
1994	97.9%	91.2%	6.71%	103.7%	98.2%	5.52%
1995	97.8%	91.3%	6.5%	103.6%	98.1%	5.41%
1996	97.5%	91.2%	6.31%	103.4%	98.1%	5.3%
1997	97.2%	91.1%	6.13%	103.1%	98%	5.18%
1998	97.1%	91.1%	5.97%	102.7%	97.7%	5.04%
1999	97.4%	91.3%	6.14%	102.2%	97.3%	4.91%
2000	97.9%	91.4%	6.55%	101.5%	96.8%	4.76%
2001	98.4%	91.5%	6.88%	100.5%	95.9%	4.61%
2002	98.8%	91.6%	7.17%	99.4%	95%	4.46%
2003	99.2%	91.7%	7.43%	98.5%	94.2%	4.32%
2004	99.5%	91.9%	7.67%	97.6%	93.4%	4.19%
2005	99.9%	92%	7.87%	96.8%	92.7%	4.06%
2006	100.2%	92.2%	8.01%	95.9%	92%	3.93%
2007	100.4%	92.3%	8.05%	95.1%	91.3%	3.82%
2008	100.2%	92.4%	7.84%	94.2%	90.5%	3.71%
2009	99.8%	92.3%	7.48%	93.4%	89.8%	3.61%
2010	99.3%	92.1%	7.17%	92.6%	89.1%	3.53%
2011	98.7%	91.8%	6.91%	91.9%	88.5%	3.47%
2012	97.9%	91.3%	6.67%	91.2%	87.8%	3.41%
2013	96.9%	90.5%	6.43%	90.4%	87.1%	3.35%
2014	95.6%	89.5%	6.19%	89.4%	86.1%	3.3%
2015	94.2%	88.2%	5.96%	88.4%	85.1%	3.27%
2016	92.5%	86.7%	5.73%	87.3%	84%	3.26%
2017	90.6%	85.1%	5.52%	86.1%	82.8%	3.26%
2018	88.7%	83.4%	5.33%	84.9%	81.6%	3.27%
2019	86.7%	81.5%	5.16%	83.6%	80.4%	3.28%
2020	84.6%	79.6%	5%	82.3%	79%	3.3%
2021	82.5%	77.6%	4.84%	80.9%	77.6%	3.3%
2022	80.3%	75.6%	4.71%	79.5%	76.2%	3.33%
2023	78.3%	73.7%	4.62%	78.1%	74.7%	3.38%
2024	76.3%	71.8%	4.56%	76.7%	73.3%	3.44%

Age dependency is the ratio of people not in the labor force (children under 15 and adults 64+) to people aged 15 to 64.

Age dependency in Malawi decreased from 99.5% to 76.3% between 2004 and 2024.

In Zambia, the ratio of dependent people decreased from 97.6% to 76.7% between 2004 and 2024 with a decreased share of young people and a decreased proportion of people aged 65+.

Working age demographic

Table

Year	Working age population share
	Malawi	Zambia
1960	53.9%	51.1%
1961	54.1%	51%
1962	54.2%	50.8%
1963	54.2%	50.6%
1964	54.1%	50.3%
1965	53.9%	50.2%
1966	53.6%	50.1%
1967	53.4%	50%
1968	53.1%	50%
1969	52.9%	49.8%
1970	52.7%	49.6%
1971	52.5%	49.2%
1972	52.4%	48.9%
1973	52.3%	48.6%
1974	52.2%	48.3%
1975	52.1%	48%
1976	52%	47.8%
1977	52%	47.6%
1978	51.9%	47.5%
1979	51.7%	47.4%
1980	51.5%	47.4%
1981	51.3%	47.4%
1982	51.1%	47.6%
1983	51%	47.8%
1984	50.9%	47.9%
1985	50.8%	48%
1986	50.7%	48.2%
1987	50.8%	48.3%
1988	50.8%	48.5%
1989	50.8%	48.6%
1990	50.7%	48.7%
1991	50.6%	48.8%
1992	50.6%	49%
1993	50.5%	49%
1994	50.5%	49.1%
1995	50.6%	49.1%
1996	50.6%	49.2%
1997	50.7%	49.2%
1998	50.7%	49.3%
1999	50.7%	49.4%
2000	50.5%	49.6%
2001	50.4%	49.9%
2002	50.3%	50.1%
2003	50.2%	50.4%
2004	50.1%	50.6%
2005	50%	50.8%
2006	49.9%	51%
2007	49.9%	51.3%
2008	50%	51.5%
2009	50.1%	51.7%
2010	50.2%	51.9%
2011	50.3%	52.1%
2012	50.5%	52.3%
2013	50.8%	52.5%
2014	51.1%	52.8%
2015	51.5%	53.1%
2016	52%	53.4%
2017	52.5%	53.7%
2018	53%	54.1%
2019	53.6%	54.5%
2020	54.2%	54.9%
2021	54.8%	55.3%
2022	55.5%	55.7%
2023	56.1%	56.1%
2024	56.7%	56.6%
2025	57.3%	57%
2026	57.8%	57.4%
2027	58.3%	57.8%
2028	58.8%	58.2%
2029	59.2%	58.5%
2030	59.6%	58.8%
2031	59.9%	59.1%
2032	60.2%	59.4%
2033	60.5%	59.6%
2034	60.8%	59.9%
2035	61.1%	60.1%
2036	61.4%	60.4%
2037	61.6%	60.6%
2038	61.9%	60.8%
2039	62.2%	61%
2040	62.5%	61.2%
2041	62.8%	61.4%
2042	63%	61.6%
2043	63.3%	61.8%
2044	63.5%	62%
2045	63.8%	62.3%
2046	64%	62.5%
2047	64.1%	62.7%
2048	64.3%	62.9%
2049	64.5%	63%
2050	64.7%	63.2%

Between 2004 and 2024, the share of working-age demographics aged 15-64 changed from 50.1% to 56.7% in Malawi and from 50.6% to 56.6% in Zambia.

Share of young demographic (0-14 years old)

Table

Year	Share of people 0-14 years old
	Malawi	Zambia
1960	43.1%	46%
1961	42.9%	46.2%
1962	42.8%	46.3%
1963	42.9%	46.5%
1964	43%	46.7%
1965	43.2%	46.9%
1966	43.4%	46.9%
1967	43.7%	47%
1968	43.9%	47.1%
1969	44.2%	47.2%
1970	44.4%	47.4%
1971	44.6%	47.7%
1972	44.8%	48%
1973	44.9%	48.3%
1974	45.1%	48.6%
1975	45.2%	48.8%
1976	45.2%	49.1%
1977	45.3%	49.2%
1978	45.3%	49.4%
1979	45.3%	49.5%
1980	45.4%	49.5%
1981	45.4%	49.4%
1982	45.4%	49.3%
1983	45.5%	49.1%
1984	45.5%	49%
1985	45.4%	48.9%
1986	45.4%	48.8%
1987	45.1%	48.7%
1988	45%	48.6%
1989	45.2%	48.5%
1990	45.4%	48.4%
1991	45.6%	48.3%
1992	45.8%	48.2%
1993	46%	48.2%
1994	46.1%	48.2%
1995	46.1%	48.2%
1996	46.2%	48.2%
1997	46.2%	48.2%
1998	46.2%	48.2%
1999	46.2%	48.1%
2000	46.2%	48%
2001	46.1%	47.8%
2002	46.1%	47.6%
2003	46.1%	47.4%
2004	46%	47.3%
2005	46%	47.1%
2006	46.1%	47%
2007	46.1%	46.8%
2008	46.1%	46.6%
2009	46.2%	46.4%
2010	46.2%	46.3%
2011	46.2%	46.1%
2012	46.1%	45.9%
2013	46%	45.7%
2014	45.7%	45.5%
2015	45.4%	45.2%
2016	45.1%	44.9%
2017	44.6%	44.5%
2018	44.2%	44.1%
2019	43.7%	43.8%
2020	43.1%	43.3%
2021	42.5%	42.9%
2022	41.9%	42.4%
2023	41.3%	42%
2024	40.7%	41.5%
2025	40.1%	41%
2026	39.6%	40.5%
2027	39.1%	40%
2028	38.6%	39.6%
2029	38.1%	39.2%
2030	37.7%	38.8%
2031	37.4%	38.5%
2032	37%	38.1%
2033	36.7%	37.8%
2034	36.4%	37.5%
2035	36%	37.1%
2036	35.7%	36.8%
2037	35.3%	36.5%
2038	35%	36.1%
2039	34.6%	35.8%
2040	34.2%	35.4%
2041	33.9%	35.1%
2042	33.5%	34.7%
2043	33.1%	34.4%
2044	32.7%	34%
2045	32.3%	33.7%
2046	31.9%	33.3%
2047	31.5%	33%
2048	31.2%	32.6%
2049	30.8%	32.3%
2050	30.5%	32%

The share of young people aged below 15 is 40.7% in Malawi and 41.5% in Zambia. Birth rates in Malawi compared to Zambia .

Share of old population (65+)

Table

Year	Share of population 65+ years old
	Malawi	Zambia
1960	3.02%	2.85%
1961	3.01%	2.86%
1962	2.99%	2.87%
1963	2.97%	2.89%
1964	2.95%	2.91%
1965	2.94%	2.92%
1966	2.94%	2.94%
1967	2.94%	2.95%
1968	2.94%	2.97%
1969	2.93%	2.98%
1970	2.91%	3%
1971	2.87%	3.03%
1972	2.83%	3.05%
1973	2.79%	3.07%
1974	2.76%	3.09%
1975	2.74%	3.1%
1976	2.74%	3.12%
1977	2.74%	3.13%
1978	2.82%	3.14%
1979	2.97%	3.15%
1980	3.12%	3.15%
1981	3.26%	3.14%
1982	3.41%	3.12%
1983	3.55%	3.1%
1984	3.67%	3.07%
1985	3.77%	3.04%
1986	3.83%	3.01%
1987	4.09%	2.98%
1988	4.21%	2.95%
1989	4.03%	2.92%
1990	3.87%	2.88%
1991	3.74%	2.84%
1992	3.61%	2.8%
1993	3.5%	2.76%
1994	3.39%	2.71%
1995	3.29%	2.66%
1996	3.2%	2.61%
1997	3.11%	2.55%
1998	3.03%	2.49%
1999	3.11%	2.43%
2000	3.31%	2.36%
2001	3.47%	2.3%
2002	3.6%	2.24%
2003	3.73%	2.18%
2004	3.85%	2.12%
2005	3.94%	2.06%
2006	4%	2.01%
2007	4.02%	1.96%
2008	3.92%	1.91%
2009	3.74%	1.87%
2010	3.6%	1.83%
2011	3.48%	1.81%
2012	3.37%	1.78%
2013	3.26%	1.76%
2014	3.16%	1.74%
2015	3.07%	1.74%
2016	2.98%	1.74%
2017	2.9%	1.75%
2018	2.83%	1.77%
2019	2.77%	1.79%
2020	2.71%	1.81%
2021	2.65%	1.83%
2022	2.61%	1.86%
2023	2.59%	1.9%
2024	2.59%	1.95%
2025	2.59%	2%
2026	2.6%	2.06%
2027	2.62%	2.12%
2028	2.64%	2.18%
2029	2.67%	2.25%
2030	2.7%	2.32%
2031	2.74%	2.4%
2032	2.78%	2.48%
2033	2.82%	2.56%
2034	2.87%	2.66%
2035	2.91%	2.75%
2036	2.97%	2.86%
2037	3.02%	2.97%
2038	3.09%	3.09%
2039	3.17%	3.21%
2040	3.25%	3.35%
2041	3.36%	3.49%
2042	3.48%	3.63%
2043	3.61%	3.78%
2044	3.77%	3.92%
2045	3.94%	4.06%
2046	4.13%	4.21%
2047	4.32%	4.35%
2048	4.51%	4.5%
2049	4.7%	4.65%
2050	4.88%	4.8%

The share of older people aged 65 and over is 2.59% in Malawi and 1.95% in Zambia. Life expectancy in Malawi compared to Zambia .