Ghana vs Malawi: Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas
Ghana
7.38 million people
in 2020
Malawi
6.96 million people
in 2020
Ghana rank
48th
Malawi rank
49th
Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Ghana
- Malawi
How they compare
Ghana currently reports 7.38 million people against 6.96 million people in Malawi, a difference of 429,020 people.
That makes Ghana's figure about 1.1 times Malawi's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Ghana ahead.
Ghana ranks 48th and Malawi ranks 49th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Ghana averaged higher in 3 and Malawi in 5.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Ghana | Malawi | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 2.95 million people | 2.86 million people | 94,270 people | Ghana |
| 1960s | 3.58 million people | 3.46 million people | 116,655 people | Ghana |
| 1970s | 4.18 million people | 4.27 million people | 88,835 people | Malawi |
| 1980s | 5.08 million people | 5.38 million people | 299,705 people | Malawi |
| 1990s | 5.72 million people | 6.41 million people | 689,410 people | Malawi |
| 2000s | 6.08 million people | 6.84 million people | 750,930 people | Malawi |
| 2010s | 6.72 million people | 7.00 million people | 286,865 people | Malawi |
| 2020s | 7.38 million people | 6.96 million people | 429,020 people | Ghana |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas, Ghana or Malawi?
- Ghana, at 7.38 million people against 6.96 million people in Malawi as of 2020.
- What is the difference in number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas between Ghana and Malawi?
- 429,020 people, with Ghana ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Ghana and Malawi?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Ghana and Malawi rank globally for number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Ghana ranks 48th and Malawi ranks 49th of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- European Commission, Joint Research Centre (JRC) (2025) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as Number of people living in cities, towns and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Estimated number of people living in rural areas. Rural areas are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.