Malawi
Republic of Malawi
- Capital: Lilongwe
- Eastern Africa
- 3 neighbours in Travle
Malawi overview
Malawi is in Eastern Africa, Africa. Its capital is Lilongwe. The World Bank counts about 22.2 million people for 2025 on 118,484 km² of surface area.
In the Travle map, Malawi has 3 neighbours: Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. From there, 125 countries can be reached by land.
Population, density and language
The World Bank counts 22,216,120 people in Malawi for 2025, which is 60th of 170 by population. Spread over 118,484 km² of surface area (2024), that is about 188 people per km², 33rd of 169 by density.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (SP.POP.TOTL), data updated 2026-10-08; checked 2026-10-19.Rankings compare the entries in Travle's country list that have World Bank data (170 with population, 169 with surface area). Some list entries are territories, so a rank here is not a rank among sovereign states.
| Language | Share (est.) | Status |
|---|---|---|
| English | 63% | official |
| Nyanja | 63% | official |
| Tumbuka | 8.4% | — |
| Nyasa Tonga | 0.98% | — |
| Zulu | 0.33% | — |
CLDR shares are estimates of people who use each language, so they can add up to more than 100%.
How big is Malawi, really?
With 118,484 km² (2024, land plus inland water), Malawi is 101st of 169 by surface area and covers 0.08% of the combined area of those entries.
In that ordering, North Korea (120,540 km²) is just larger; Benin (114,760 km²) just smaller.
Source: World Bank, World Development Indicators (AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; checked 2026-10-19.Malawi at a glance
- Capital
- Lilongwe
- Region
- Eastern Africa, Africa
- Population
- 22,216,120 (2025)
- Surface area
- 118,484 km² (2024)
- Density
- 188 people per km²
- Official languages
- English and Nyanja
- Currency
- Malawi Kwacha (MWK)
- Calling code
- +265
- Internet domain
- .mw
- Land neighbours
- 3 (Natural Earth) · 3 (Travle)
Each figure is sourced in its own section below. "Not available" means no source used on this page has the figure.
Malawi within Eastern Africa
Natural Earth places Malawi in Eastern Africa (UN subregion). Of the 15 entries from Travle's country list in that subregion, Malawi is 7th by population and 12th by surface area, with 4.4% of the combined population of those entries.
| Country | Population (2025) | Area km² (2024) |
|---|---|---|
 Ethiopia | 135,472,051 | 1,129,819 |
 Tanzania | 70,545,865 | 945,500 |
 Kenya | 57,532,493 | 591,970 |
 Uganda | 51,384,894 | 241,551 |
 Mozambique | 35,631,653 | 799,380 |
 Madagascar | 32,740,678 | 591,896 |
| Malawi | 22,216,120 | 118,484 |
 Zambia | 21,913,874 | 752,612 |
 Somalia | 19,654,739 | 637,657 |
 Zimbabwe | 16,950,795 | 390,760 |
 Rwanda | 14,569,341 | 26,340 |
 Burundi | 14,390,003 | 27,834 |
 South Sudan | 12,188,788 | 646,883 |
 Eritrea | 3,607,003 | 121,630 |
 Djibouti | 1,184,076 | 23,200 |
Sources: World Bank WDI (SP.POP.TOTL, AG.SRF.TOTL.K2), data updated 2026-10-08; subregion from Natural Earth 1:110m. A dash means the World Bank has no figure.
Location, borders and position
Malawi is in Eastern Africa, Africa. Its outline in Natural Earth lies in the southern hemisphere and the eastern hemisphere. Its capital, Lilongwe, is at about 14.0° S and 33.8° E.
On land, Natural Earth's boundary data gives Malawi 3 neighbours; the Travle game map gives it 3.
Sources: Natural Earth 1:110m (outline and capital) and 1:10m boundary lines (neighbours), public domain.
Where Malawi is on the map
Countries bordering Malawi
Natural Earth's boundary data and the Travle map agree on these 3 land neighbours. Natural Earth marks part of the line with Tanzania as disputed.
| Country | Direction | Land boundary in Natural Earth | Border in Travle |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mozambique | south | Yes | Yes |
| Tanzania | north | Yes (disputed segment) | Yes |
| Zambia | west | Yes | Yes |
Geographic column: Natural Earth 1:10m Admin-0 boundary lines (land) 5.1.0 (public domain), checked 2026-10-19; Natural Earth shows de facto boundaries and does not settle disputes. Travle column: the game's own border map.
Money and language in Malawi
Currency
- Malawi Kwacha: code MWK, numeric 454. ISO 4217 lists it for this country only.
Official languages
- English: official in 91 territories in CLDR, including Malawi.
- Nyanja: official only here, according to CLDR.
CLDR is a technical reference, not a legal text. Laws and constitutions can describe languages differently.
Currency, domain and dialling code
- Currency
- Malawi Kwacha (MWK)
Source: Unicode CLDR release-48-2 currencyData (region MW); code, name and number from ISO 4217 list one (SIX), published 2026-09-17; checked 2026-10-19. - Internet domain
- .mw
Source: IANA Root Zone Database; checked 2026-10-19. - International dialling code
- +265
Source: ITU, List of ITU-T Recommendation E.164 assigned country codes (position on 15 December 2016); checked 2026-10-19. - Time
- UTC+02:00 all year (2026)
IANA zones: Africa/Blantyre
Source: IANA Time Zone Database 2026e (zone.tab); UTC offsets computed for 15 Jan and 15 Jul 2026 with Node.js ICU tz 2026a; checked 2026-10-19.
Malawi codes and abbreviations
| Standard | Code |
|---|---|
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 | MW |
| ISO 3166-1 alpha-3 | MWI |
| ISO 3166-1 numeric | 454 |
| ISO 4217 currency (Malawi Kwacha) | MWK · 454 |
| Country-code top-level domain | .mw |
| ITU-T E.164 country code | +265 |
Sources: Natural Earth (ISO 3166-1), ISO 4217 list one (SIX), IANA Root Zone Database, ITU E.164 list; linked with dates in the sections above.
Fun facts about Malawi
- English has official status in 91 territories in Unicode CLDR, Malawi among them.
- The longest Travle trip from Malawi takes 16 steps, to Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
- UNESCO lists 3 World Heritage properties in Malawi; the earliest inscription dates from 1984.
Each fact is calculated from the sources cited on this page.
How far can you travel from Malawi in Travle?
Starting from Malawi and moving one border at a time, this is how many countries in the game's map you reach at each step. Countries that need a sea crossing never appear, because the game only follows land borders.
| Steps | Countries | Share |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 3 | |
| 2 | 11 | |
| 3 | 6 | |
| 4 | 6 | |
| 5 | 5 | |
| 6 | 7 | |
| 7 | 11 | |
| 8 | 8 | |
| 9 | 13 | |
| 10 | 13 | |
| 11 | 25 | |
| 12 | 10 | |
| 13 | 2 | |
| 14 | 1 | |
| 15 | 2 | |
| 16 | 2 |
In total 125 of the 171 other countries in the map can be reached by land. The longest trips take 16 steps and end in Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste. The other 46 cannot be reached without crossing the sea (18 in North America, 13 in South America, 6 in Oceania, 5 in Asia, 3 in Europe, 1 in Africa).
Nearby routes from Malawi
Shortest land routes in the game's map to the countries up to 3 steps away. There can be several routes of the same length; this list shows one. The section above shows how many countries are reachable in total.
- Mozambique: 1 step (Malawi → Mozambique)
- Tanzania: 1 step (Malawi → Tanzania)
- Zambia: 1 step (Malawi → Zambia)
Angola: 2 steps (Malawi → Zambia → Angola)
Botswana: 2 steps (Malawi → Zambia → Botswana)- Burundi: 2 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Burundi)
Democratic Republic of the Congo: 2 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Democratic Republic of the Congo)
Eswatini: 2 steps (Malawi → Mozambique → Eswatini)- Kenya: 2 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Kenya)
Namibia: 2 steps (Malawi → Zambia → Namibia)- Rwanda: 2 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Rwanda)
South Africa: 2 steps (Malawi → Mozambique → South Africa)- Uganda: 2 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Uganda)
- Zimbabwe: 2 steps (Malawi → Mozambique → Zimbabwe)
Central African Republic: 3 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Democratic Republic of the Congo → Central African Republic)- Ethiopia: 3 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Kenya → Ethiopia)
Lesotho: 3 steps (Malawi → Mozambique → South Africa → Lesotho)
Republic of the Congo: 3 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Democratic Republic of the Congo → Republic of the Congo)- Somalia: 3 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Kenya → Somalia)
- South Sudan: 3 steps (Malawi → Tanzania → Democratic Republic of the Congo → South Sudan)
World Heritage in Malawi
UNESCO lists 3 World Heritage properties in Malawi: 2 cultural and 1 natural. The first, inscribed in 1984, was Lake Malawi National Park.
- Lake Malawi National Park (natural, inscribed 1984)
- Chongoni Rock-Art Area (cultural, inscribed 2006)
- Mount Mulanje Cultural Landscape (cultural, inscribed 2025)
Source: UNESCO World Heritage List (XML feed); checked 2026-10-19. Names as listed by UNESCO; descriptions on this page are our own.
Malawi — frequently asked questions
What is the capital of Malawi?
Lilongwe.
Which countries border Malawi?
On land, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia, according to Natural Earth's boundary data. The Travle map uses the same neighbours.
What currency and language does Malawi use?
The currency is the Malawi Kwacha (MWK). Unicode CLDR gives English and Nyanja official status.
How far can you travel from Malawi in Travle?
Following land borders only, 125 countries are reachable. The farthest need 16 steps: Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste.
How many people live in Malawi?
The World Bank counts 22,216,120 people for 2025.
How big is Malawi?
118,484 km² of surface area (2024), according to the World Bank.
What is the dialling code and internet domain of Malawi?
The international dialling code is +265 and the country-code domain is .mw.
What time zone does Malawi use?
UTC+02:00 all year (2026).
Keep exploring
- Spin the country wheel to get a random country.
- Play Travle and try to cross the map border by border.
- Browse all countries of the world, countries by population, capitals, country codes or try the flag quiz.