Statizoid

Median age in Malawi

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
74
1950–2023

Median age in Malawi, 1950–2023

05101520195019862023

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.

Median age in Malawi, year by year

Year years Change
1950 16.14 years —
1951 16.3 years +1.0%
1952 16.43 years +0.8%
1953 16.55 years +0.7%
1954 16.66 years +0.7%
1955 16.76 years +0.6%
1956 16.86 years +0.6%
1957 16.94 years +0.5%
1958 17 years +0.4%
1959 17.06 years +0.3%
1960 17.11 years +0.3%
1961 17.17 years +0.3%
1962 17.22 years +0.3%
1963 17.27 years +0.3%
1964 17.33 years +0.3%
1965 17.37 years +0.3%
1966 17.37 years -0.0%
1967 17.31 years -0.3%
1968 17.21 years -0.6%
1969 17.06 years -0.9%
1970 16.92 years -0.8%
1971 16.78 years -0.8%
1972 16.66 years -0.7%
1973 16.55 years -0.7%
1974 16.46 years -0.5%
1975 16.39 years -0.4%
1976 16.32 years -0.4%
1977 16.29 years -0.2%
1978 16.27 years -0.1%
1979 16.25 years -0.1%
1980 16.24 years -0.1%
1981 16.22 years -0.1%
1982 16.2 years -0.1%
1983 16.19 years -0.1%
1984 16.19 years +0.0%
1985 16.2 years +0.0%
1986 16.2 years +0.0%
1987 16.34 years +0.9%
1988 16.42 years +0.5%
1989 16.31 years -0.6%
1990 16.21 years -0.6%
1991 16.1 years -0.7%
1992 15.99 years -0.7%
1993 15.89 years -0.6%
1994 15.8 years -0.6%
1995 15.73 years -0.4%
1996 15.69 years -0.3%
1997 15.67 years -0.1%
1998 15.65 years -0.1%
1999 15.66 years +0.1%
2000 15.69 years +0.2%
2001 15.71 years +0.1%
2002 15.72 years +0.1%
2003 15.72 years +0.0%
2004 15.72 years -0.0%
2005 15.72 years +0.0%
2006 15.72 years -0.0%
2007 15.71 years -0.1%
2008 15.69 years -0.2%
2009 15.66 years -0.2%
2010 15.65 years -0.0%
2011 15.67 years +0.1%
2012 15.71 years +0.2%
2013 15.77 years +0.4%
2014 15.86 years +0.6%
2015 15.98 years +0.8%
2016 16.14 years +1.0%
2017 16.32 years +1.1%
2018 16.5 years +1.1%
2019 16.7 years +1.2%
2020 16.9 years +1.2%
2021 17.11 years +1.3%
2022 17.34 years +1.3%
2023 17.58 years +1.4%

Malawi compared with similar countries

  • Malawi's 17.58 years is below the median for low income countries, which is 17.97 years, 98% of the median. (25 countries reporting)
  • Malawi's 17.58 years is below the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 18.22 years, 96% of the median. (48 countries reporting)

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest 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

  1. 217 Benin 17.77 years compare
  2. 218 Nigeria 17.75 years compare
  3. 219 Cameroon 17.75 years compare
  4. 221 Zambia 17.49 years compare
  5. 222 Burkina Faso 17.25 years compare
  6. 223 Tanzania 17.24 years compare

See the full ranking of 236 places →

More reference data data for Malawi

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.

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Median age in Malawi. Statizoid, drawing on UN, World Population Prospects (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 22 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/stat/median-age/malawi/

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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

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