Malawi vs Rwanda: Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas
Malawi
10.8%
in 2020
Rwanda
14.0%
in 2020
Malawi rank
188th
Rwanda rank
185th
Share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas over time
- Malawi
- Rwanda
How they compare
Rwanda currently reports 14.0% against 10.8% in Malawi, a difference of 3.2%.
That makes Rwanda's figure about 1.3 times Malawi's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 15 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Rwanda ahead.
Malawi ranks 188th and Rwanda ranks 185th of 236 countries.
Across the 8 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 2 and Rwanda in 3.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Rwanda | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1960s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1970s | 0.0% | 0.0% | 0.0% | — |
| 1980s | 2.4% | 1.6% | 0.8% | Malawi |
| 1990s | 5.3% | 5.0% | 0.3% | Malawi |
| 2000s | 8.4% | 8.9% | 0.5% | Rwanda |
| 2010s | 10.2% | 12.1% | 1.9% | Rwanda |
| 2020s | 10.8% | 14.0% | 3.2% | Rwanda |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas, Malawi or Rwanda?
- Rwanda, at 14.0% against 10.8% in Malawi as of 2020.
- What is the difference in share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas between Malawi and Rwanda?
- 3.2%, with Rwanda ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Rwanda?
- 15 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2020.
- How do Malawi and Rwanda rank globally for share of population living in cities, towns and rural areas?
- Malawi ranks 188th and Rwanda ranks 185th 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 Share of population 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 share of the population living in cities. Cities are identified using satellite imagery and population data, applying the same definitions across countries.