Malawi vs Rwanda: Share of population living in urbanized areas
Malawi
26.3%
in 2025
Rwanda
25.7%
in 2025
Malawi rank
188th
Rwanda rank
190th
Share of population living in urbanized areas over time
- Malawi
- Rwanda
How they compare
Malawi currently reports 26.3% against 25.7% in Rwanda, a difference of 0.6%.
Across all 108 years both countries report, Malawi has been ahead every year.
Malawi ranks 188th and Rwanda ranks 190th of 202 countries.
Malawi has averaged higher in every one of the 40 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Rwanda | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Malawi |
| 1100s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Malawi |
| 1200s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Malawi |
| 1300s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Malawi |
| 1400s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Malawi |
| 1500s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | Malawi |
| 1600s | 0.1% | 0.1% | 0.1% | Malawi |
| 1700s | 0.3% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Malawi |
| 1710s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Malawi |
| 1720s | 0.4% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Malawi |
| 1730s | 0.5% | 0.2% | 0.2% | Malawi |
| 1740s | 0.5% | 0.3% | 0.2% | Malawi |
| 1750s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.3% | Malawi |
| 1760s | 0.6% | 0.3% | 0.3% | Malawi |
| 1770s | 0.7% | 0.3% | 0.3% | Malawi |
| 1780s | 0.7% | 0.4% | 0.3% | Malawi |
| 1790s | 0.8% | 0.4% | 0.4% | Malawi |
| 1800s | 0.9% | 0.5% | 0.4% | Malawi |
| 1810s | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | Malawi |
| 1820s | 1.0% | 0.5% | 0.5% | Malawi |
| 1830s | 1.1% | 0.6% | 0.5% | Malawi |
| 1840s | 1.3% | 0.7% | 0.6% | Malawi |
| 1850s | 1.4% | 0.7% | 0.7% | Malawi |
| 1860s | 1.5% | 0.8% | 0.7% | Malawi |
| 1870s | 1.7% | 0.9% | 0.8% | Malawi |
| 1880s | 1.8% | 0.9% | 0.9% | Malawi |
| 1890s | 2.0% | 1.0% | 0.9% | Malawi |
| 1900s | 2.2% | 1.1% | 1.0% | Malawi |
| 1910s | 2.4% | 1.2% | 1.1% | Malawi |
| 1920s | 2.6% | 1.4% | 1.2% | Malawi |
| 1930s | 2.9% | 1.5% | 1.4% | Malawi |
| 1940s | 3.1% | 1.6% | 1.5% | Malawi |
| 1950s | 3.8% | 2.0% | 1.8% | Malawi |
| 1960s | 4.8% | 2.7% | 2.1% | Malawi |
| 1970s | 7.4% | 3.9% | 3.5% | Malawi |
| 1980s | 10.1% | 5.1% | 5.0% | Malawi |
| 1990s | 13.5% | 8.0% | 5.5% | Malawi |
| 2000s | 17.7% | 15.9% | 1.8% | Malawi |
| 2010s | 21.6% | 20.8% | 0.8% | Malawi |
| 2020s | 25.1% | 24.5% | 0.6% | Malawi |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urbanized areas, Malawi or Rwanda?
- Malawi, at 26.3% against 25.7% in Rwanda as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urbanized areas between Malawi and Rwanda?
- 0.6%, with Malawi ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Rwanda?
- 108 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2025.
- How do Malawi and Rwanda rank globally for share of population living in urbanized areas?
- Malawi ranks 188th and Rwanda ranks 190th of 202 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urbanized areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of population living in urban areas in a country over time.