Skip to content
World Measure
The population almanac240 countries · 31,365 cities · UN WPP 2024
Capital city · Malawi · Africa

Lilongwe

Central Region · Malawi
City population
1,115,815
#1
in Malawi
#1
in Central Region
#486
worldwide
Lilongwe
-13.967, 33.787
City population
1,115,815
Within the city boundary, not a metro area
Rank in Malawi
#1
of 23 cities of 15,000+
World rank
#486
of 31,365 cities listed
Share of Malawi
5.0%
of the national population

About Lilongwe

The nearest listed cities lie 49 km or more away, with Mponela at 49 km (27,681) and three others between 75 and 104 km distant. Lilongwe holds 1,115,815 people and accounts for 5% of Malawi's population, making it the country's largest city and capital. At 1,056 m elevation, it sits in the Central Region.

This summary is AI-generated from the figures on this page. The figures themselves come from the sources cited beside each value.

Position in Malawi
#1of 23
LargestSmallest
Position in Central Region
#1of 8
LargestSmallest

Key Facts

Country
Malawi
Region
Central Region
Rank in region
#1of 8
Capital
National capital
Elevation
1,056 m
Approximate — modelled, not surveyed
Time zone
Africa/Blantyre
Coordinates
-13.967, 33.787
Record updated
2024-01-18
Entry edited, not measured

City population, GeoNames. GeoNames publishes no year for its population figures, so “record updated” is when the entry was last edited — not the date the population was measured. Elevation is modelled from a digital elevation model rather than surveyed, so it is approximate.

Nearby Cities

All 23 in Malawi

Closest listed cities by great-circle distance from the city centre.

49KMMponela28K people75KMDedza35K people75KMSalima41K people100KMMchinji32K people104KMUlongué16K people · Mozambique

Compared with the World's Largest Cities

City-proper population against the fifteen largest cities in the dataset.

  1. Shanghai24.9M
  2. Beijing19M
  3. Shenzhen17.5M
  4. Guangzhou16.1M
  5. Kinshasa16M
  6. Istanbul15.7M
  7. Lagos15.4M
  8. Ho Chi Minh City14M
  9. Chengdu13.6M
  10. Lahore13M
  11. Mumbai12.7M
  12. São Paulo12.4M
  13. Mexico City12.3M
  14. Karachi11.6M
  15. Tianjin11.1M
  16. Lilongwe1.12M
City-proper figures only. Administrative boundaries differ between countries, so these are not directly comparable to metropolitan-area estimates.
Lilongwe compared with the fifteen largest cities
NameCity population
Shanghai24.9M
Beijing19M
Shenzhen17.5M
Guangzhou16.1M
Kinshasa16M
Istanbul15.7M
Lagos15.4M
Ho Chi Minh City14M
Chengdu13.6M
Lahore13M
Mumbai12.7M
São Paulo12.4M
Mexico City12.3M
Karachi11.6M
Tianjin11.1M
Lilongwe1.12M

Lilongwe Population FAQ

What is the population of Lilongwe?

Lilongwe has a city population of 1,115,815. That is the population within the city's own boundary, not its wider metropolitan area. City population, GeoNames.

Where is Lilongwe?

Lilongwe is in Central Region, Malawi. Its coordinates are -13.967, 33.787.

How big is Lilongwe compared with other cities in Malawi?

It is the 1st largest of the 23 cities of 15,000 or more listed in Malawi, holding 5.0% of the national population.

Explore

MalawiAll 23 citiesCentral Region8 cities in the regionCountry profileMalawi population & indicators