Malawi vs Mali
Mali has 13% more people than Malawi: 25,198,821 vs 22,216,120, a gap of 3.0 million. Mali is growing faster (+2.90% vs +2.56% a year), adding about 730,719 people a year against +568,034. At these source-year rates the modelled relative population gap is widening. Malawi is 11.5× as densely populated (223.8 vs 19.5 people per km²). People in Malawi live 6.9 years longer on average (67.6 vs 60.7). GDP per capita is 1.8× higher in Mali ($1,193 vs $672).
Country/territory population bases: World Bank 2025 (Malawi) and 2025 (Mali); growth years 2025 / 2025. Annual source values, not live counts; years may differ. Growth is national, not local.
Malawi vs Mali — side by side
 Malawi |  Mali | |
|---|---|---|
| Population | 22,216,1202025 | 25,198,8212025 |
| Growth rate / yr | +2.56%2025 | +2.90%2025 |
| Births per 1,000 | 31.12024 | 39.52024 |
| Deaths per 1,000 | 5.32024 | 8.52024 |
| Children per woman | 3.592024 | 5.512024 |
| Life expectancy | 67.6 yrs2024 | 60.7 yrs2024 |
| Aged 0–14 | 40.1%2025 | 45.8%2025 |
| Aged 65+ | 2.6%2025 | 2.4%2025 |
| Density | 223.8 /km²2023 | 19.5 /km²2023 |
| Area | 118,480 km²2023 | 1,240,190 km²2023 |
| Urban population | 17.6%2025 | 32.2%2025 |
| Net migration / yr | -5,6282025 | -48,0192025 |
| GDP per capita | $6722025 | $1,1932025 |
| Country population rank (available records) | #60 | #58 |
| Base / world population (World Bank 2025) | 0.27% | 0.31% |
Highlighted cell = the higher value (not "better"). Small print under each value is its own data year. Source: World Bank; country/territory population bases may have different years. These are not live counts.
Population since 1960
World Bank population history (not the separate UN WPP timeline). Malawi: 6.1× from 1960 to 2025; Mali: 4.7× from 1960 to 2025. Left: absolute population. Right: each series indexed to its own first available year = 100; baseline years may differ.
More comparisons
Region: Sub-Saharan Africa · rankings
Malawi: Malawi vs Syria, Malawi vs Mali, Malawi vs Burkina Faso, Malawi vs Zambia, Malawi vs Sri Lanka, Malawi vs Chad.
Mali: Mali vs Australia, Mali vs North Korea, Mali vs Syria, Mali vs Burkina Faso, Mali vs Malawi, Mali vs Zambia.
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