| Malawi |
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| Background: Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution which came into full effect the following year. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor, culminating in MUTHARIKA quitting the political party on whose ticket he was elected into office. MUTHARIKA subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and has continued with a halting anti-corruption campaign against abuses carried out under the previous regime. Increasing corruption, population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, and the spread of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for the country. |
| Geography and Environmental |
Capital: name: Lilongwe
geographic coordinates: 13 59 S, 33 44 E
time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
| Area Total: 118,480 sq km |
| Area Land: 94,080 sq km |
| Area Water: 24,400 sq km |
| Area Comparative: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
| Coastline: 0 km (landlocked) |
| Climate: sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
| Terrain: narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
| Elevation Extremes Lowest Point: junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m |
| Elevation Extremes Highest Point: Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 m |
| Natural Resources: limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
| Land Use Arable Land: 20.68% |
| Land Use Permanent Crops: 1.18% |
| Land Use Other: 78.14% (2005) |
| Irrigated Land: 560 sq km (2003) |
| Natural Hazards: NA |
| Environment Current Issues: deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
| Geography Note: landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature |
| Population |
Population: 13,603,181
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 and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2007 est.) |
| Age Structure 0 to 14 Years: 46.1% (male 3,143,724/female 3,130,937) |
| Age Structure 15 to 64 Years: 51.2% (male 3,491,114/female 3,474,209) |
| Age Structure 65 Years And Over: 2.7% (male 155,954/female 207,243) (2007 est.) |
| Median Age Total: 16.7 years |
| Median Age Male: 16.6 years |
| Median Age Female: 16.8 years (2007 est.) |
| Population Growth Rate: 2.383% (2007 est.) |
| Birth Rate: 42.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Death Rate: 18.25 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) |
| Sex Ratio At Birth: 1.02 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Under 15 Years: 1.004 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 15 to 64 Years: 1.005 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio 65 Years And Over: 0.753 male(s)/female |
| Sex Ratio Total Population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
| Infant Mortality Rate Total: 92.1 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Male: 96.27 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Infant Mortality Rate Female: 87.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
| Life Expectancy At BirthTotalPopulation: 42.98 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Male: 43.35 years |
| Life Expectancy At Birth Female: 42.61 years (2007 est.) |
| Total Fertility Rate: 5.74 children born/woman (2007 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Adult Prevalence Rate: 14.2% (2003 est.) |
| HIV AIDS People Living With HIV AIDS: 900,000 (2003 est.) |
| HIV AIDS Deaths: 84,000 (2003 est.) |
| Religions: Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3% (1998 census) |
| Languages: Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census) |
| Literacy Definition: age 15 and over can read and write |
| Literacy Total Population: 62.7% |
| Literacy Male: 76.1% |
| Literacy Female: 49.8% (2003 est.) |
| Administrative Divisions: 27 districts; Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Likoma, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba |
| Legal System: based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
| Economy |
| Overview: Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 85% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for about one-third of GDP and four-fifths of export revenues. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for more than half of exports. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In 2006, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces many challenges, including developing a market economy, improving educational facilities, facing up to environmental problems, dealing with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS, and satisfying foreign donors that fiscal discipline is being tightened. In 2005, President MUTHARIKA championed an anticorruption campaign. Since 2005 President MUTHARIKA'S government has exhibited improved financial discipline under the guidance of Finance Minister Goodall GONDWE. |
| GDP Purchasing Power Parity: $8.038 billion (2006 est.) |
| GDP Real Growth Rate: 7% (2006 est.) |
| GDP Composition By Sector Agriculture: 35.4% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Industry: 17.6% |
| GDP Composition By Sector Services: 47% (2006 est.) |
| Labor Force: 4.5 million (2001 est.) |
Labor Force By Occupation: agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2003 est.) |
| Unemployment Rate: NA% |
Household Income Or Consumption By Percentage Share: lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
| Inflation Rate Consumer Prices: 13.9% (2006) |
| Industries: tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
| Industrial Production Growth Rate: 6.4% (2006 est.) |
| Energy |
| Electricity Production: 1.293 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Production By Source Fossil Fuel: 3.3% |
| Electricity Production By Source Hydro: 96.7% |
| Electricity Production By Source Nuclear: 0% |
| Electricity Production By Source Other: 0% (2001) |
| Electricity Consumption: 1.202 billion kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Exports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Electricity Imports: 0 kWh (2004) |
| Oil Production: 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Oil Consumption: 5,500 bbl/day (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m (2004 est.) |
| Exports: $513.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Exports Commodities: tobacco 53%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel |
| Exports Partners: US 17.8%, South Africa 11.2%, Egypt 7.6%, Germany 6.9%, Netherlands 6.8%, Japan 4.8%, Russia 4.6%, Mozambique 4.3%, UK 4.2% (2005) |
| Imports: $767.9 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) |
| Imports Commodities: food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
| Imports Partners: South Africa 36.3%, Zambia 9%, Zimbabwe 7.6%, Mozambique 7%, India 6.7%, Tanzania 4.8% (2005) |
| Debt External: $982.4 million (2006 est.) |
| Economic Aid Recipient: $401.5 million (2001) |
| Communications |
| Telephones Main Lines In Use: 102,700 (2005) |
| TelephonesMobileCellular: 429,300 (2005) |
| Telephone System General Assessment: NA |
| Telephone System Domestic: system employs open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations |
| Telephone System International: country code - 265; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
| Radio Broadcast Stations: AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus one shortwave station on standby) (2001) |
| Radios: 2.6 million (1997) |
| Television Broadcast Stations: 1 (2001) |
| Televisions: NA |
| Internet Service Providers-ISPs: 3 (2002) |
| Internet Users: 52,500 (2005) |
| Transportation |
| Railways Total: 797 km |
| Railways Narrow Gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
| Waterways: 700 km (on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire River) (2006) |
| Airports: 42 (2006) |
| Military Expenditures Percent Of GDP: 1.3% (2006) |
| Disputes International: disputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant |