What is median age in Malawi?

Median age in Malawi was 17.58 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.

What is the highest median age recorded in Malawi?

The highest recorded value was 17.58 years in 2023.

What is the lowest median age recorded in Malawi?

The lowest recorded value was 15.65 years in 1998.

How does Malawi rank for median age?

Malawi ranks 220th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.

Is median age rising or falling in Malawi?

Over the last ten years it is up 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.

Where does this Malawi data come from?

The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Median age in Malawi

Name: Median age in Malawi
Creator: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
License: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)

Malawi: Median age was 17.58 years in 2023. ▼ Falling

Latest (2023)

17.58 years

Change on year

up 1.4%

World rank

220th

of 236 countries

All-time high

17.58 years

in 2023

All-time low

15.65 years

in 1998

Years of data

1950–2023

Median age in Malawi, 1950–2023

Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Measured in years.

Analysis

Malawi recorded 17.58 years for median age in 2023. That is the highest value across all 74 years on record.

That represents a change of up 1.4% on the previous year and up 11.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, median age in Malawi peaked at 17.58 years in 2023 and was at its lowest, 15.65 years, in 1998.

That places Malawi 220th out of 236 countries with data for 2023, putting it in the bottom quarter.

The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 74 years of available data.

Averages by decade

Decade	Average	Lowest	Highest	Years
1950s	16.67 years	16.14 years	17.06 years	10
1960s	17.24 years	17.06 years	17.37 years	10
1970s	16.49 years	16.25 years	16.92 years	10
1980s	16.25 years	16.19 years	16.42 years	10
1990s	15.84 years	15.65 years	16.21 years	10
2000s	15.71 years	15.66 years	15.72 years	10
2010s	16.03 years	15.65 years	16.7 years	10
2020s	17.23 years	16.9 years	17.58 years	4

Countries ranked near Malawi

217 Benin 17.77 years compare
218 Nigeria 17.75 years compare
219 Cameroon 17.75 years compare
221 Zambia 17.49 years compare
222 Burkina Faso 17.25 years compare
223 Tanzania 17.24 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

Spring temperature anomalies -0.0372 °C (2026)
Summer temperature anomalies 0.606 °C (2026)
Temperature anomalies by month 0.3659 °C (2026)
Universal right to vote in practice 2 (2025)
Autumn temperature anomalies 0.9529 °C (2025)
Winter temperature anomalies -0.5269 °C (2025)
Consumer price index 1,313 2010 = 100 (2025)
Universal right to vote 2 (2025)
Competitive elections 1 (2025)
Men's universal right to vote 1 (2025)

All data for Malawi →

Frequently asked questions

What is median age in Malawi?: Median age in Malawi was 17.58 years in 2023, according to UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data.
What is the highest median age recorded in Malawi?: The highest recorded value was 17.58 years in 2023.
What is the lowest median age recorded in Malawi?: The lowest recorded value was 15.65 years in 1998.
How does Malawi rank for median age?: Malawi ranks 220th out of 236 countries with data for 2023.
Is median age rising or falling in Malawi?: Over the last ten years it is up 11.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
Where does this Malawi data come from?: The figures come from UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as part of Median age. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

Download this data

CSV · JSON — 74 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data).

About this data

Indicator: Median age
Unit: years
Source: UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 236 places, 17,464 data points, 1950–2023
Last refreshed: 06 August 2026

The age that divides the population into two halves of equal size — half are younger and half are older.