Malawi |
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Geography |
Location: Southern Africa, east of Zambia
Geographic coordinates: 13 30 S, 34 00 E
Map references: Africa
Area:
total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km
water: 24,400 sq km
Areacomparative: slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries:
total: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims: none (landlocked)
Climate: 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
highest point: Mount Mlanje Sapitwa 3,002 m
Natural resources: limestone, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite
Land use:
arable land: 18%
permanent crops: 0%
permanent pastures: 20%
forests and woodland: 39%
other: 23% (1993 est.)
Irrigated land: 280 sq km (1993 est.)
Natural hazards: NA
Environmentcurrent issues: deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations
Environmentinternational agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer
Protection, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea
Geographynote: landlocked
People |
Population: 9,840,474 (July 1998 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years: 46% (male 2,249,108; female 2,228,934)
15-64 years: 52% (male 2,512,768; female 2,584,516)
65 years and over: 2% (male 111,089; female 154,059) (July
1998 est.)
Population growth rate: 1.66% (1998 est.)
Birth rate: 40.22 births/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Death rate: 23.68 deaths/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1998 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female (1998 est.)
Infant mortality rate: 133.77 deaths/1,000 live births (1998 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 36.59 years
male: 36.64 years
female: 36.54 years (1998 est.)
Total fertility rate: 5.62 children born/woman (1998 est.)
Nationality:
noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian
Ethnic groups: Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European
Religions: Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, traditional indigenous beliefs
Languages: English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 56.4%
male: 71.9%
female: 41.8% (1995 est.)
Government |
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi
former: Nyasaland
Data code: MI
Government type: multiparty democracy
National capital: Lilongwe
Administrative divisions: 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
Independence: 6 July 1964 (from UK)
National holiday: Independence Day 6 July (1964); Republic Day 6 July (1966)
Constitution: 18 May 1995
Legal system: based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); notethe president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Bakili
MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); notethe president is both the chief of state and head of government
cabinet: Cabinet named by the president
elections: president elected by
popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 17 May 1994 (next to be held by May 1999)
election results: Bakili MULUZI elected president; percent of voteNA
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (177 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 17 May 1994 (next to be held by May 1999)
election
results: percent of vote by partyNA; seats by partyUDF 84, AFORD 33, MCP 55, others 5; notebecause of defections and byelections, the seats in the National Assembly were held at
the end of the year as follows: UDF 84, MCP 47, AFORD 34, independents 8, and vacant 4
note: the constitution of 18 May 1995, in addition to reducing the age at which universal suffrage is
conferred from 21 to 18 years, provided for a bicameral legislature; by 1999, in addition to the existing National Assembly, a Senate of 80 seats is to be elected
Judicial branch: Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts
Political parties and leaders:
ruling party: United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI]
opposition groups: Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA]; Congress for the Second Republic or CSR
[Kanyama CHIUME]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Gwanda CHAKUAMBA, president/John TEMBO, vice president]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA, president]; People Democratic Party or PDP
[Rolf PATEL]; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eston KAKHOME, president]
International organization participation: 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, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Willie CHOKANI
chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Amelia Ellen SHIPPY
embassy: address NA, in new capital city development area in Lilongwe
mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe
3, Malawi
telephone: [265] 783 166
FAX: [265] 780 471
Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band
Economy |
Economyoverview: 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 45% of GDP and 90% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The new government faces strong challenges, e.g., to spur exports, to improve educational and health facilities, and to deal with environmental problems of deforestation and erosion.
GDP: purchasing power parity$8.6 billion (1997 est.)
GDPreal growth rate: 6% (1997 est.)
GDPper capita: purchasing power parity$900 (1997 est.)
GDPcomposition by sector:
agriculture: 45%
industry: 30%
services: 25% (1995 est.)
Inflation rateconsumer price index: 83.4% (1995)
Labor force:
total: 3.5 million
by occupation: agriculture 86%, wage earners 14% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate: NA%
Budget:
revenues: $530 million
expenditures: $674 million, including capital expenditures of $129 million (1993)
Industries: tea, tobacco, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods
Industrial production growth rate: 0.9% (1995)
Electricitycapacity: 185,000 kW (1995)
Electricityproduction: 800 million kWh (1995)
Electricityconsumption per capita: 82 kWh (1995)
Agricultureproducts: tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats
Exports:
total value: $405 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: tobacco, tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts, wood products
partners: US, South Africa, Germany, Japan
Imports:
total value: $475 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment
partners: South Africa,
Zimbabwe, Japan, US, UK, Germany
Debtexternal: $2.3 billion (1996 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient: donor pledges, $332 million (1996)
Currency: 1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala
Exchange rates: Malawian kwacha (MK) per US$117.5300 (October 1997), 15.3085 (1996), 15.2837 (1995), 8.7364 (1994), 4.4028 (1993)
Fiscal year: 1 April31 March
Communications |
Telephones: 43,000 (1985 est.)
Telephone system:
domestic: fair system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations
international: satellite earth stations2 Intelsat (1
Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations: AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 0
Radios: 1.011 million (1995)
Television broadcast stations: 0 (1987 est.)
Televisions: NA
Transportation |
Railways:
total: 789 km
narrow gauge: 789 km 1.067-m gauge
Highways:
total: 28,400 km
paved: 5,254 km
unpaved: 23,146 km (1996 est.)
Waterways: Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km
Ports and harbors: Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota
Airports: 45 (1997 est.)
Airportswith paved runways:
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 4 (1997 est.)
Airportswith unpaved runways:
total: 39
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1
914 to 1,523 m: 14
under 914 m: 24 (1997 est.)
Military |
Military branches: Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit)
Military manpoweravailability:
males age 15-49 : 2,248,023 (1998 est.)
Military manpowerfit for military service:
males: 1,151,594 (1998 est.)
Military expendituresdollar figure: $10.4 million (FY94/95)
Military expenditurespercent of GDP: NA%
Transnational Issues |
Disputesinternational: dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)