Malawi vs South Africa: Number of people living in the capital city
Malawi
2.93 million people
in 2100
South Africa
2.76 million people
in 2100
Malawi rank
66th
South Africa rank
67th
Number of people living in the capital city over time
- Malawi
- South Africa
How they compare
Malawi currently reports 2.93 million people against 2.76 million people in South Africa, a difference of 166,270 people.
That makes Malawi's figure about 1.1 times South Africa's.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 17 shared years of data; in 2020 it was South Africa ahead.
Malawi ranks 66th and South Africa ranks 67th of 191 countries.
Across the 9 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 2 and South Africa in 7.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | South Africa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020s | 899,384 people | 1.77 million people | 875,396 people | South Africa |
| 2030s | 1.28 million people | 2.01 million people | 734,175 people | South Africa |
| 2040s | 1.61 million people | 2.20 million people | 588,280 people | South Africa |
| 2050s | 1.92 million people | 2.36 million people | 442,870 people | South Africa |
| 2060s | 2.14 million people | 2.48 million people | 338,600 people | South Africa |
| 2070s | 2.40 million people | 2.59 million people | 184,320 people | South Africa |
| 2080s | 2.62 million people | 2.67 million people | 51,040 people | South Africa |
| 2090s | 2.79 million people | 2.73 million people | 62,765 people | Malawi |
| 2100s | 2.93 million people | 2.76 million people | 166,270 people | Malawi |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in the capital city, Malawi or South Africa?
- Malawi, at 2.93 million people against 2.76 million people in South Africa as of 2100.
- What is the difference in number of people living in the capital city between Malawi and South Africa?
- 166,270 people, with Malawi ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and South Africa?
- 17 years are reported by both, from 2020 to 2100.
- How do Malawi and South Africa rank globally for number of people living in the capital city?
- Malawi ranks 66th and South Africa ranks 67th of 191 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in the capital city. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Projected total number of people living in the country's capital city. City boundaries are defined using a consistent global approach based on satellite imagery and population data.