Eritrea vs Malawi
Malawi and Eritrea are almost exactly the same size.
EritreaMalawiEritrea moved onto Malawi · Equal-area projection
0.99×
Eritrea is 0.99× the area of Malawi. Put the other way, Malawi is 1.01× the size of Eritrea.
 Eritrea |  Malawi | |
|---|---|---|
| Size | ||
| AreaAbout the same area | 117,600 km²#99 of 194 | 118,484 km²#98 of 194 |
| Coastline | Has a coast | Landlocked |
| Land neighbours | 3 | 3 |
| People | ||
| PopulationMalawi: 6.16× the population | 3,607,003#130 of 194 · 2025 | 22,216,120#61 of 194 · 2025 |
| DensityMalawi: 6.11× the density | 31 / km²#150 of 194 | 188 / km²#52 of 194 |
| Urban populationEritrea: 1.96× the urban share | 35%#161 of 192 · 2025 | 18%#189 of 192 · 2025 |
| Fertility rateAbout the same births per woman | 3.68 per woman#36 of 192 · 2024 | 3.59 per woman#40 of 192 · 2024 |
| Population growthMalawi: 0.56 points higher | +2.00%#48 of 192 · 2025 | +2.56%#22 of 192 · 2025 |
| Birth rateMalawi: 1.08× the birth rate | 28.7 per 1,000#36 of 192 · 2024 | 31.1 per 1,000#26 of 192 · 2024 |
| Death rateEritrea: 1.13× the death rate | 6.0 per 1,000#140 of 192 · 2024 | 5.3 per 1,000#162 of 192 · 2024 |
| Children under 15Malawi: 2.5 points higher | 37.6%#37 of 192 · 2025 | 40.1%#25 of 192 · 2025 |
| People over 65Eritrea: 1.7 points higher | 4.3%#137 of 192 · 2025 | 2.6%#180 of 192 · 2025 |
| Net migrationMalawi: 1.6 per 1,000 higher | −1.9 per 1,000#142 of 192 · 2025 | −0.3 per 1,000#89 of 192 · 2025 |
| Refugees abroadEritrea: 7,692× the refugees for its size | 153.84 per 1,000#3 of 190 · 2025 | 0.02 per 1,000#145 of 190 · 2025 |
| Health & education | ||
| Life expectancyEritrea: 1.3 years longer | 68.9 years#137 of 192 · 2024 | 67.6 years#146 of 192 · 2024 |
| Infant mortalityMalawi: 1.54× the infant mortality | 24.7 per 1,000 births#56 of 191 · 2024 | 38.0 per 1,000 births#29 of 191 · 2024 |
| DoctorsEritrea: 1.8× the doctors per person | 0.09 per 1,000#168 of 178 · 2022 | 0.05 per 1,000#176 of 178 · 2022 |
| University enrolment | — | 2.7%#144 of 145 · 2022 |
| Human Development IndexMalawi: 0.014 higher | 0.503#175 of 190 · 2023 | 0.517#169 of 190 · 2023 |
| Economy | ||
| GNI per capita | — | $600#180 of 185 · 2025 |
| GDP | — | $14.92B2025 |
| Income group | Low income | Low income |
| GDP per capita (PPP) | — | $1,899#180 of 184 · 2025 |
| GDP growth | — | +1.9%#134 of 187 · 2025 |
| Inflation | — | +28.4%#9 of 176 · 2025 |
| UnemploymentEritrea: 1.18× the unemployment | 6.0%#71 of 178 · 2025 | 5.1%#88 of 178 · 2025 |
| Extreme poverty | — | 75.4%#4 of 149 · 2019 |
| Income inequality (Gini) | — | 38.5#47 of 149 · 2019 |
| Jobs in agricultureMalawi: 9.5 points higher | 55.5% of jobs#16 of 178 · 2025 | 65.0% of jobs#8 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in industryEritrea: 5.4 points higher | 12.7% of jobs#147 of 178 · 2025 | 7.3% of jobs#170 of 178 · 2025 |
| Jobs in servicesEritrea: 4.1 points higher | 31.8% of jobs#163 of 178 · 2025 | 27.7% of jobs#169 of 178 · 2025 |
| Foreign investment | — | 3.6% of GDP#55 of 184 · 2025 |
| Exports | — | 10.6% of GDP#160 of 168 · 2025 |
| Military spending | — | 1.1% of GDP#105 of 155 · 2025 |
| Internet usersMalawi: 1.33× the share online | 14%#180 of 184 · 2020 | 19%#174 of 184 · 2024 |
| Mobile subscriptionsMalawi: 1.17× the mobile subscriptions | 59 per 100#177 of 191 · 2022 | 69 per 100#165 of 191 · 2024 |
| Energy & environment | ||
| Forest areaMalawi: 1.83× the forest share | 12% of land#145 of 192 · 2024 | 22% of land#116 of 192 · 2024 |
| CO₂ per personAbout the same CO₂ per person | 0.22 t a year#167 of 185 · 2024 | 0.22 t a year#167 of 185 · 2024 |
| Renewable energyEritrea: 17.8 points higher | 80.7%#15 of 190 · 2021 | 62.9%#33 of 190 · 2022 |
| Access to electricityEritrea: 39.7 points higher | 55.3%#169 of 192 · 2024 | 15.6%#190 of 192 · 2024 |
| Air pollution (PM2.5)Eritrea: 2.02× the air pollution | 33.7 µg/m³#36 of 191 · 2023 | 16.7 µg/m³#102 of 191 · 2023 |
| Protected landMalawi: 23.1 points higher | 0.0% of land#188 of 191 · 2025 | 23.1% of land#57 of 191 · 2025 |
| Arable landMalawi: 36.7 points higher | 5.7% of land#124 of 190 · 2024 | 42.4% of land#12 of 190 · 2024 |
| Water stressMalawi: 1.56× the water stress | 11.2%#87 of 176 · 2022 | 17.5%#71 of 176 · 2022 |
| PrecipitationMalawi: 3.08× the rain and snow | 384 mm#150 of 180 · 2022 | 1,181 mm#76 of 180 · 2022 |
| Governance & safety | ||
| Political stabilityMalawi: 0.44 higher | −0.60#148 of 193 · 2025 | −0.16#115 of 193 · 2025 |
| Control of corruptionMalawi: 0.95 higher | −1.61#189 of 193 · 2025 | −0.66#129 of 193 · 2025 |
| State | ||
| Status | Independent state | Independent state |
| Government | One-party stateauthoritarian | Presidential republic |
| Capital | Asmara | Lilongwe |
| Currency | Nakfa (ERN) | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
| Official languages | English, Arabic, Tigrinya | English, Chewa, Tumbuka |
| Traffic drives | On the right | On the left |
| Time zone | UTC+3 | UTC+2 |
| Calling code | +291 | +265 |
| Region | Eastern Africa, Africa | Eastern Africa, Africa |
Area: Wikidata. Population, income, health, economy, environment and governance: World Bank. Human Development Index: UNDP. Government: CIA World Factbook. Ranks among the 194 independent states. All sources
Why the map you grew up with disagrees
On a Mercator map, area grows with distance from the equator. Eritrea sits at about 15° N and is stretched to 1.08× its true area; Malawi at 13° S is stretched to 1.06×. Here the two are distorted about the same amount, so Mercator gets this pair roughly right. The figure above uses the Equal Earth projection, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
Questions about this pair
- Is Eritrea bigger than Malawi?
- No. Eritrea and Malawi are almost exactly the same size. Eritrea covers 117,600 km² and Malawi covers 118,484 km².
- How many times does Eritrea fit into Malawi?
- About 1.0 times: Malawi has 1.01× the area of Eritrea.
- Why do Eritrea and Malawi look different on Google Maps?
- Web maps use the Mercator projection, which stretches area with distance from the equator. Eritrea is drawn about 1.08× its true area there and Malawi about 1.06×. For this pair the distortion is similar, so Mercator gets the comparison roughly right. Kartavera uses Equal Earth, where every square kilometre is drawn the same size.
- Which has more people, Eritrea or Malawi?
- Malawi: 22,216,120 people against 3,607,003. Density: Eritrea 31 per km², Malawi 188 per km².
- Where do people live longer, Eritrea or Malawi?
- In Eritrea: life expectancy at birth is 68.9 years, against 67.6 — 1.3 years longer (World Bank, 2024).
- What kind of government do Eritrea and Malawi have?
- By constitution, as the CIA World Factbook describes them — Eritrea: one-party state; Malawi: presidential republic.