Country · Africa
Malawi
Republic of Malawi
Malawi is a country in Eastern Africa. About 18.1 million people live there, in an area of 118 484 square kilometres. Its capital city is Lilongwe.
Picture credit: Jcornelius (CC BY-SA 4.0) · Hansueli Krapf (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Joachim Huber (CC BY-SA 2.0) · Brian Dell (Public domain) · Timon Zingg (CC BY-SA 3.0) · Wikimedia Commons
Where is Malawi?
Malawi lies in Eastern Africa, on the continent of Africa.
It sits in the southern half of the world, roughly 1 503 km from the equator.
Malawi is landlocked: it has no coast at all, so you cannot reach the sea without crossing another country.
It shares a border with 3 countries: Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.
How big is Malawi?
Malawi covers 118 484 square kilometres.
That is about 2.9 times the size of Switzerland.
Among the world's countries that makes it the 98th largest.
Spread everybody out evenly and you get about 153.1 people on every square kilometre.
That is busier than the world average of roughly 60 people per square kilometre.
Who lives in Malawi?
About 18.1 million people live in Malawi.
That is the 63rd biggest population in the world.
People here speak English and Chewa.
They pay with the Malawian kwacha (MK).
On average, people born here can expect to live about 38 years.
The land of Malawi
The land of Malawi sits on average 779 metres above sea level.
Because it is landlocked, anything that comes by ship has to cross one of its 3 neighbours to get here.
It lies inside the tropics, which is the single biggest reason its weather is the way it is.
What makes Malawi different?
Websites from here often end in .mw.
Malawi and the rest of the world
Out of every thousand people alive on Earth, about 2 live in Malawi.
It takes up about 0.09 % of all the land that countries stand on.
Within Africa the country ranks 36th of 54 by size, and 21st by population.
Malawi and its neighbours
Tanzania, its largest neighbour, is about 8 times bigger.
Tanzania has more people: 56.3 million against 18.1 million.
Nature and animals
Of the animals on this site, one lives wild in Malawi: Pygmy chameleon. The highest mountain in the country is Mount Mulanje, at 3 002 metres. The longest river in the country is the Shire. The largest lake in the country is Lake Malawi.
Photographs from Wikimedia Commons under free licences — every credit is on the page itself and in the picture credits.
Where this country lands in the record lists
How big is Malawi compared with the United States?
- The United States is about 79 times as big as Malawi: 9 372 610 km² against 118 484 km².
- The United Kingdom is about 2.1 times as big as Malawi: 242 900 km² against 118 484 km².
Questions children ask
What is the capital of Malawi?
The capital of Malawi is Lilongwe. It is the city where the country's government works from.
How many people live in Malawi?
About 18.1 million people live in Malawi, which makes it the 63rd most populated country in the world. (Source: World Bank, 2018.)
Which countries border Malawi?
Malawi borders Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia — 3 neighbours in total.
How big is Malawi?
Malawi covers 118 484 square kilometres, making it the 98th largest country in the world. That is about 2.9 times the size of Switzerland.
What is the highest mountain in Malawi?
The highest mountain in Malawi is Mount Mulanje, 3 002 metres above sea level. It is the country's highest point.
What is the longest river in Malawi?
The longest river in Malawi is the Shire, about 402 kilometres long.
What is the largest lake in Malawi?
The largest lake in Malawi is Lake Malawi. The whole lake covers about 29 600 km², and part of it belongs to neighbouring countries.
Which continent is Malawi in?
Malawi is in Africa, in the part called Eastern Africa.
Where these numbers come from
Borders and outlines: Natural Earth. Names, capitals, areas, languages and currencies: ISO 3166 data (world-countries). Population: World Bank, 2018. Every derived figure on this page (ranks, density, distance from the equator) is calculated from those values.
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