Malawi vs Samoa: Share of population living in urban and rural areas
Malawi
17.6%
in 2025
Samoa
17.5%
in 2025
Malawi rank
230th
Samoa rank
231st
Share of population living in urban and rural areas over time
- Malawi
- Samoa
How they compare
Malawi currently reports 17.6% against 17.5% in Samoa, a difference of 0.1%.
The two have swapped places 1 time across 76 shared years of data; in 1950 it was Samoa ahead.
Malawi ranks 230th and Samoa ranks 231st of 236 countries.
Samoa has averaged higher in every one of the 8 decades both report.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Samoa | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1950s | 3.7% | 16.8% | 13.1% | Samoa |
| 1960s | 4.6% | 19.3% | 14.7% | Samoa |
| 1970s | 7.5% | 20.9% | 13.5% | Samoa |
| 1980s | 10.1% | 20.8% | 10.8% | Samoa |
| 1990s | 13.3% | 21.5% | 8.2% | Samoa |
| 2000s | 15.1% | 21.3% | 6.2% | Samoa |
| 2010s | 15.8% | 19.2% | 3.4% | Samoa |
| 2020s | 16.9% | 17.6% | 0.7% | Samoa |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher share of population living in urban and rural areas, Malawi or Samoa?
- Malawi, at 17.6% against 17.5% in Samoa as of 2025.
- What is the difference in share of population living in urban and rural areas between Malawi and Samoa?
- 0.1%, with Malawi ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Samoa?
- 76 years are reported by both, from 1950 to 2025.
- How do Malawi and Samoa rank globally for share of population living in urban and rural areas?
- Malawi ranks 230th and Samoa ranks 231st of 236 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- United Nations Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025) – with minor processing by Our World in Data, published as Share of population living in urban and rural areas. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Share of the population living in urban areas, based on each country's national definition.