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Tanzania vs. Malawi

Demographics

TanzaniaMalawi
Population62,092,761 (July 2021 est.)

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
20,308,502 (July 2021 est.)

note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected
Age structure0-14 years: 42.7% (male 12,632,772/female 12,369,115)

15-24 years: 20.39% (male 5,988,208/female 5,948,134)

25-54 years: 30.31% (male 8,903,629/female 8,844,180)

55-64 years: 3.52% (male 954,251/female 1,107,717)

65 years and over: 3.08% (male 747,934/female 1,056,905) (2020 est.)
0-14 years: 45.87% (male 4,843,107/female 4,878,983)

15-24 years: 20.51% (male 2,151,417/female 2,195,939)

25-54 years: 27.96% (male 2,944,936/female 2,982,195)

55-64 years: 2.98% (male 303,803/female 328,092)

65 years and over: 2.68% (male 249,219/female 318,938) (2020 est.)
Median agetotal: 18.2 years

male: 17.9 years

female: 18.4 years (2020 est.)
total: 16.8 years

male: 16.7 years

female: 16.9 years (2020 est.)
Population growth rate2.81% (2021 est.)2.39% (2021 est.)
Birth rate33.71 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)28.59 births/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Death rate5.17 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)4.66 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Net migration rate-0.44 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.03 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 1.01 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.86 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female

total population: 1 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female

0-14 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

15-24 years: 0.98 male(s)/female

25-54 years: 0.99 male(s)/female

55-64 years: 0.93 male(s)/female

65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female

total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2020 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 31.51 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 34.36 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 28.57 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
total: 34.19 deaths/1,000 live births

male: 38.61 deaths/1,000 live births

female: 29.71 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 69.9 years

male: 68.12 years

female: 71.74 years (2021 est.)
total population: 72.16 years

male: 69.04 years

female: 75.33 years (2021 est.)
Total fertility rate4.45 children born/woman (2021 est.)3.51 children born/woman (2021 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate4.7% (2020 est.)8.1% (2020 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Tanzanian(s)

adjective: Tanzanian
noun: Malawian(s)

adjective: Malawian
Ethnic groupsmainland - African 99% (of which 95% are Bantu consisting of more than 130 tribes), other 1% (consisting of Asian, European, and Arab); Zanzibar - Arab, African, mixed Arab and AfricanChewa 34.3%, Lomwe 18.8%, Yao 13.2%, Ngoni 10.4%, Tumbuka 9.2%, Sena 3.8%, Mang'anja 3.2%, Tonga 1.8%, Nyanja 1.8%, Nkhonde 1%, other 2.2%, foreign 0.3% (2018 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS1.7 million (2020 est.)990,000 (2020 est.)
ReligionsChristian 63.1%, Muslim 34.1%, folk religion 1.1%, Buddhist <1%, Hindu <1%, Jewish <1%, other <1%, unspecified 1.6% (2020 est.)

note: Zanzibar is almost entirely Muslim
Protestant 33.5% (includes Church of Central Africa Presbyterian 14.2%, Seventh Day Adventist/Baptist 9.4%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 2.3%), Roman Catholic 17.2%, other Christian 26.6%, Muslim 13.8%, traditionalist 1.1%, other 5.6%, none 2.1% (2018 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths32,000 (2020 est.)12,000 (2020 est.)
LanguagesKiswahili or Swahili (official), Kiunguja (name for Swahili in Zanzibar), English (official, primary language of commerce, administration, and higher education), Arabic (widely spoken in Zanzibar), many local languages; note - Kiswahili (Swahili) is the mother tongue of the Bantu people living in Zanzibar and nearby coastal Tanzania; although Kiswahili is Bantu in structure and origin, its vocabulary draws on a variety of sources including Arabic and English; it has become the lingua franca of central and eastern Africa; the first language of most people is one of the local languages

major-language sample(s):
The World Factbook, Chanzo cha Lazima Kuhusu Habari ya Msingi. (Kiswahili)

The World Factbook, the indispensable source for basic information.
English (official), Chewa (common), Lambya, Lomwe, Ngoni, Nkhonde, Nyakyusa, Nyanja, Sena, Tonga, Tumbuka, Yao

note: Chewa and Nyanja are mutually intelligible dialects; Nkhonde and Nyakyusa are mutually intelligible dialects
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write Kiswahili (Swahili), English, or Arabic

total population: 77.9%

male: 83.2%

female: 73.1% (2015)
definition: age 15 and over can read and write

total population: 62.1%

male: 69.8%

female: 55.2% (2015)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria, dengue fever, and Rift Valley fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies
degree of risk: very high (2020)

food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever

vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever

water contact diseases: schistosomiasis

animal contact diseases: rabies
Food insecuritysevere localized food insecurity: due to localized shortfalls in staple food production - number of severely food insecure people estimated at 490,000 for period May-September 2021, markedly lower than in period November 2019-April 2020 (2021)severe localized food insecurity: due to reduced incomes - nationally, cereal production is estimated at a bumper high in 2021, which is expected to result in average to above-average household cereal supplies and thus improvements in food security; despite the good food supply situation, the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic will continue to curb access to food due to reduced incomes (2021)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 9 years

male: 9 years

female: 9 years (2019)
total: 11 years

male: 11 years

female: 11 years (2011)
Education expenditures3.4% of GDP (2014)4.7% of GDP (2018)
Urbanizationurban population: 36% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 4.89% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
urban population: 17.7% of total population (2021)

rate of urbanization: 4.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Drinking water sourceimproved: urban: 92.3% of population

rural: 56.2% of population

total: 68.2% of population

unimproved: urban: 7.7% of population

rural: 43.8% of population

total: 31.8% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 95.9% of population

rural: 87.3% of population

total: 88.7% of population

unimproved: urban: 4.1% of population

rural: 12.7% of population

total: 11.3% of population (2017 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved: urban: 82.1% of population

rural: 29.5% of population

total: 46.9% of population

unimproved: urban: 17.9% of population

rural: 70.5% of population

total: 53.1% of population (2017 est.)
improved: urban: 58.2% of population

rural: 35.9% of population

total: 39.6% of population

unimproved: urban: 41.8% of population

rural: 64.1% of population

total: 60.4% of population (2017 est.)
Major cities - population262,000 Dodoma (legislative capital) (2018), 7.047 million DAR ES SALAAM (administrative capital), 1.182 million Mwanza (2021)1.171 million LILONGWE (capital), 962,000 Blantyre-Limbe (2021)
Maternal mortality rate524 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)349 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight14.6% (2018)9% (2019)
Health expenditures3.6% (2018)9.3% (2018)
Physicians density0.01 physicians/1,000 population (2016)0.04 physicians/1,000 population (2018)
Hospital bed density0.7 beds/1,000 population (2010)1.3 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate8.4% (2016)5.8% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth19.8 years (2015/16 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 20-49
19.1 years (2015/16 est.)

note: median age at first birth among women 20-49
Demographic profile

Tanzania has the largest population in East Africa and the lowest population density; almost a third of the population is urban. Tanzania's youthful population - about two-thirds of the population is under 25 - is growing rapidly because of the high total fertility rate of 4.8 children per woman. Progress in reducing the birth rate has stalled, sustaining the country's nearly 3% annual growth. The maternal mortality rate has improved since 2000, yet it remains very high because of early and frequent pregnancies, inadequate maternal health services, and a lack of skilled birth attendants - problems that are worse among poor and rural women. Tanzania has made strides in reducing under-5 and infant mortality rates, but a recent drop in immunization threatens to undermine gains in child health. Malaria is a leading killer of children under 5, while HIV is the main source of adult mortality

For Tanzania, most migration is internal, rural to urban movement, while some temporary labor migration from towns to plantations takes place seasonally for harvests. Tanzania was Africa's largest refugee-hosting country for decades, hosting hundreds of thousands of refugees from the Great Lakes region, primarily Burundi, over the last fifty years. However, the assisted repatriation and naturalization of tens of thousands of Burundian refugees between 2002 and 2014 dramatically reduced the refugee population. Tanzania is increasingly a transit country for illegal migrants from the Horn of Africa and the Great Lakes region who are heading to southern Africa for security reasons and/or economic opportunities. Some of these migrants choose to settle in Tanzania.

Malawi has made great improvements in maternal and child health, but has made less progress in reducing its high fertility rate. In both rural and urban areas, very high proportions of mothers are receiving prenatal care and skilled birth assistance, and most children are being vaccinated. Malawi's fertility rate, however, has only declined slowly, decreasing from more than 7 children per woman in the 1980s to about 5.5 today. Nonetheless, Malawians prefer smaller families than in the past, and women are increasingly using contraceptives to prevent or space pregnancies. Rapid population growth and high population density is putting pressure on Malawi's land, water, and forest resources. Reduced plot sizes and increasing vulnerability to climate change, further threaten the sustainability of Malawi's agriculturally based economy and will worsen food shortages. About 80% of the population is employed in agriculture.

Historically, Malawians migrated abroad in search of work, primarily to South Africa and present-day Zimbabwe, but international migration became uncommon after the 1970s, and most migration in recent years has been internal. During the colonial period, Malawians regularly migrated to southern Africa as contract farm laborers, miners, and domestic servants. In the decade and a half after independence in 1964, the Malawian Government sought to transform its economy from one dependent on small-scale farms to one based on estate agriculture. The resulting demand for wage labor induced more than 300,000 Malawians to return home between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s. In recent times, internal migration has generally been local, motivated more by marriage than economic reasons.

Contraceptive prevalence rate38.4% (2015/16)59.2% (2015/16)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 85.9

youth dependency ratio: 81

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.4 (2020 est.)
total dependency ratio: 83.9

youth dependency ratio: 79.1

elderly dependency ratio: 4.9

potential support ratio: 20.6 (2020 est.)

Source: CIA Factbook