Malawi is primarily an agricultural nation, with 54 % of its working force engaged in farming, fishing, and forestry. The nation has traditionally been self-sufficient in food, but malnutrition among children was a serious problem as the 1990s began. The principal crops are corn, sugarcane, fruits, vegetables, and peanuts. Major exports include tobacco, tea, sugar, and peanuts. A growing fishing industry, producing for domestic needs, is centered at Nkhotakota on the western shore of Lake Nyasa. In 1997 the catch was 56,564 metric tons. Major manufactures, principally for domestic consumption, include processed food, chemical products, textiles, and beverages. The national budget for 1992 included revenues of $416 million and expenditures of $498 million. Many Malawians work as migratory laborers in South Africa and other countries.
The government has sought to strengthen the agricultural area by encouraging integrated land use, higher crop yields, and irrigation schemes. In pursuit of these goals, several large-scale integrated rural development programs, covering one-fifth of the nation's land area, have been put into operation. These projects include extension services; credit and marketing facilities; physical infrastructures such as roads, buildings, and water supplies; health centres; afforestation units; and crop storage and protection facilities. Outside the main program areas, advisory services and educational programs are available, and the Malawi Young Pioneers, a national youth movement, trains more than 2,000 young men and women yearly in techniques of rural development.
Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 37% of GDP and 85% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face up to environmental problems, and to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS.
In the early 1990s about 1.4 million students attended primary schools. after the government made primary education in Malawi free, enrollment increased dramatically. In the 1995 school year 2.9 million students attended 3,706 primary schools. In an effort to reduce overcrowding, the government has recruited more than 20,000 new teachers. Enrollment in secondary schools remains low, with only 17 % of secondary school-aged children attending. The University of Malawi at Zomba (founded in 1964) and its affiliated institutions had 5,600 students in 1995.
The Government of Malawi has been a multi-party democracy since 1994. Under the 1995 constitution, the president, who is both chief of state and head of the government, is chosen through universal direct vote every 5 years. Malawi has a vice president who is elected with the president. The president has the option of appointing a second vice president, who must be from a different party. The members of the presidentially appointed cabinet can be drawn from either within or outside of the legislature. Malawi's National Assembly has 193 seats, all directly elected to serve 5-year terms. The constitution also provides for a second house, a Senate of 80 seats, but to date no action has been taken to create the Senate. The Senate is intended to offer representation for orthodox leaders and the different geographical districts, as well as various special interest groups, such as women, youth, and the disabled.
The constitution provides for an independent judiciary. Malawi's judicial system, based on the English model, is made up of magisterial lower courts, a High Court, and a Supreme Court of Appeal. Local government is carried out in 27 districts within three regions administered by regional administrators and district commissioners who are appointed by the central government. Local elections, the first in the multi-party era, took place in on November 21, 2000. The UDF party won 70% of the seats in this election. Malawi's third democratic presidential elections are scheduled to take place on May 16, 2004.
Hominid remains and stone implements have been identified in Malawi dating back more than 1 million years, and early humans colonised the vicinity of Lake Malawi 50,000 to 60,000 years ago. Human remains at a site dated about 8000 BC show physical characteristics similar to peoples living today in the Horn of Africa. At another site, dated 1500 BC, the remains possess features resembling Negro and Bushman people.
On June 15, 1999, Malawi held its second democratic elections. Dr. Bakili Muluzi was re-elected to serve a second 5-year term as President, contempt an MCP-AFORD Alliance that ran a joint slate against the UDF. As of October 2001, the UDF holds 96 seats in the National Assembly, while the AFORD holds 30, and the MCP holds 61. Six seats are held by members of the newly formed NDA party. The National Assembly has 193 members, of whom just under 10% are women.. The next presidential elections are scheduled to take place in May 2004.
Malawi, republic in south-eastern Africa, formerly the British protectorate of Nyasaland, bordered on the north by Tanzania, on the east by Lake Malawi, on the south-east and south by Mozambique, and on the west by Zambia. Malawi extends about 835 km (520 mi) from north to south and varies in width from about 80 to 160 km (50 to 100 mi). The total area of the nation is 118,484 sq km (45,747 sq mi), nearly a quarter of which is water, mainly Lake Malawi and three smaller lakes. The capital of Malawi is Lilongwe.
Official Name- Republic of Malawi
Capital City- Lilongwe
Languages- English (official), Chewa (official), others
Official Currency- Malawain Kwacha
Religions- Protestant, Catholic, orthodox beliefs
Population- 10,254,000
Land Area- 118,480 sq km (45,745 sq miles)
N/A
Christians are 75 % of the inhabitants of Malawi. Another 20 % are Muslim, and 5 % practice orthodox religions. English is Malawi’s official language and is the primary language of instruction in the schools. Chichewa, a Bantu language, is the national language, and a number of other Bantu languages are widely spoken.
More than 99 % of the people of Malawi are black Africans. Principal ethnic groups include the Chewa, who constitute 90 % of the population of the central region; the Nyanja, who predominate in the south; the Tumbuka, who predominate in the north; the Ngoni, an offshoot of the Zulu, who settled in the lower northern and lower central regions in the 1800s; and the Yao, who are mostly Muslim and live along the southeastern border. The rest of the inhabitants, principally settlers of British and Indian origin, form less than one-half of 1 % of the population. Some 85 % of the people live in rural villages.
International organization Member
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO.
The population of Malawi is 10,548,250(2001 estimate). The nation has an overall population density of 89 persons per sq km (231 per sq mi), one of the highest in Africa.
Malawi is separated into 3 regions and 24 districts. The largest city is Blantyre (population, 1998 estimate, 2,000,000). The capital, since 1975, is Lilongwe (1,000,000).
Nine major ethnic groups are historically associated with modern Malawi—the Chewa, Nyanja, Lomwe, Yao, Tumbuka, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, and Ngonde (Nkonde). All the African languages spoken belong to the Bantu language family. Chichewa is the national language and English the official language, although English was understood by less than one-fifth of the population at freedom. Chichewa is spoken by about two-thirds of the population. Other valuable languages are Chilomwe, Chiyao, and Chitumbuka.
Some two-thirds of the population are Christian, of which more than half are members of various Protestant denominations and the remainder Roman Catholic. Muslims constitute almost one-fifth of the population, and orthodox beliefs are adhered to by nearly everyone else.
The Chewas constitute 90% of the population of the central region; the Nyanja tribe predominates in the south and the Tumbuka in the north. In addition, remarkable numbers of the Tongas live in the north; Ngonis--an offshoot of the Zulus who came from South Africa in the early 1800s--live in the lower northern and lower central regions; and the Yao, who are mostly Muslim, live along the southeastern border with Mozambique.
Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA, president]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Gwanda CHAKUAMBA, president, John TEMBO, vice president]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA, president]; National freedom Party; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eston KAKHOME, president]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] - governing party
24 districts; Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba; note - there may be three new districts named Balaka, Likoma, and Phalombe
