Malawi vs Sri Lanka: The global population hockey stick
Malawi
21.10 million people
in 2023
Sri Lanka
22.97 million people
in 2023
Malawi rank
63rd
Sri Lanka rank
62nd
The global population hockey stick over time
- Malawi
- Sri Lanka
How they compare
Sri Lanka currently reports 22.97 million people against 21.10 million people in Malawi, a difference of 1.87 million people.
That makes Sri Lanka's figure about 1.1 times Malawi's.
The two have swapped places 2 times across 241 shared years of data; in 1000 it was Sri Lanka ahead.
Malawi ranks 63rd and Sri Lanka ranks 62nd of 239 countries.
Across the 40 decades both report, Malawi averaged higher in 1 and Sri Lanka in 39.
Head to head by decade
| Decade | Malawi | Sri Lanka | Difference | Ahead |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1000s | 178,500 people | 800,000 people | 621,500 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1100s | 214,200 people | 900,000 people | 685,800 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1200s | 249,900 people | 1.00 million people | 750,100 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1300s | 285,600 people | 970,000 people | 684,400 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1400s | 321,300 people | 930,000 people | 608,700 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1500s | 357,000 people | 1.00 million people | 643,000 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1600s | 387,345 people | 1.25 million people | 862,655 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1700s | 417,690 people | 1.50 million people | 1.08 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1710s | 435,095 people | 1.51 million people | 1.07 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1720s | 443,408 people | 1.48 million people | 1.04 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1730s | 452,257 people | 1.45 million people | 997,393 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1740s | 461,701 people | 1.42 million people | 959,519 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1750s | 471,811 people | 1.39 million people | 921,549 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1760s | 482,671 people | 1.37 million people | 883,369 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1770s | 494,380 people | 1.34 million people | 844,870 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1780s | 507,057 people | 1.31 million people | 805,933 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1790s | 520,844 people | 1.29 million people | 766,396 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1800s | 813,236 people | 1.61 million people | 800,472 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1810s | 1.01 million people | 1.34 million people | 336,597 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1820s | 1.25 million people | 1.33 million people | 84,780 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1830s | 1.55 million people | 1.63 million people | 78,337 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1840s | 1.92 million people | 1.99 million people | 69,395 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1850s | 2.15 million people | 2.07 million people | 79,019 people | Malawi |
| 1860s | 2.14 million people | 2.30 million people | 157,030 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1870s | 2.13 million people | 2.94 million people | 811,588 people | Sri Lanka |
| 1880s | 2.13 million people | 3.25 million people | 1.12 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1890s | 2.11 million people | 3.71 million people | 1.60 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1900s | 2.00 million people | 4.41 million people | 2.41 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1910s | 1.89 million people | 5.16 million people | 3.27 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1920s | 1.98 million people | 5.72 million people | 3.74 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1930s | 2.28 million people | 6.19 million people | 3.91 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1940s | 2.67 million people | 7.09 million people | 4.41 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1950s | 3.23 million people | 8.57 million people | 5.34 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1960s | 4.06 million people | 10.81 million people | 6.75 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1970s | 5.26 million people | 13.43 million people | 8.17 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1980s | 7.57 million people | 15.56 million people | 7.99 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 1990s | 10.29 million people | 17.51 million people | 7.22 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2000s | 12.75 million people | 20.12 million people | 7.37 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2010s | 16.88 million people | 21.64 million people | 4.75 million people | Sri Lanka |
| 2020s | 20.31 million people | 22.77 million people | 2.45 million people | Sri Lanka |
Averages of every year both report within each decade.
Frequently asked questions
- Which has higher the global population hockey stick, Malawi or Sri Lanka?
- Sri Lanka, at 22.97 million people against 21.10 million people in Malawi as of 2023.
- What is the difference in the global population hockey stick between Malawi and Sri Lanka?
- 1.87 million people, with Sri Lanka ahead.
- How many years of comparable data are there for Malawi and Sri Lanka?
- 241 years are reported by both, from 1000 to 2023.
- How do Malawi and Sri Lanka rank globally for the global population hockey stick?
- Malawi ranks 63rd and Sri Lanka ranks 62nd of 239 countries.
- Where does this data come from?
- HYDE (2023); Gapminder (2022); UN WPP (2024) β with major processing by Our World in Data, published as The global population hockey stick. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.
Individual pages
About this data
Population by country, available from 10,000 BCE to 2023, based on data and estimates from different sources.