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 presidential and parliamentary elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution that came into full effect the following year. President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in 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 and subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party in 2005. MUTHARIKA was reelected to a second term in 2009. He oversaw some economic improvement in his first term, but was accused of economic mismanagement and poor governance in his second term. He died abruptly in 2012 and was succeeded by vice president, Joyce BANDA, who had earlier started her own party, the People's Party. MUTHARIKA's brother, Peter MUTHARIKA, defeated BANDA in the 2014 election. Population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and the scourge of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for Malawi.

Southern Africa, east of Zambia, west and north of Mozambique

13 30 S, 34 00 E

Africa

slightly smaller than Pennsylvania

0 km (landlocked)

none (landlocked)

sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November)

narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains

highest point: Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 m

limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite

arable land 38.2%; permanent crops 1.4%; permanent pasture 19.6%

740 sq km (2012)

NA

deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations

landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature; it contains more fish species than any other lake on earth

18,570,321

Chewa 32.6%, Lomwe 17.6%, Yao 13.5%, Ngoni 11.5%, Tumbuka 8.8%, Nyanja 5.8%, Sena 3.6%, Tonga 2.1%, Ngonde 1%, other 3.5%

English (official), Chichewa (common), Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chilomwe, Chinkhonde, Chingoni, Chisena, Chitonga, Chinyakyusa, Chilambya

Christian 82.6%, Muslim 13%, other 1.9%, none 2.5% (2008 est.)

Malawi has made great improvements in maternal and child health, but has made less progress in reducing its high fertility rate. In both rural and urban areas, very high proportions of mothers are receiving prenatal care and skilled birth assistance, and most children are being vaccinated. Malawi’s fertility rate, however, has only declined slowly, decreasing from more than 7 children per woman in the 1980s to about 5.5 today. Nonetheless, Malawians prefer smaller families than in the past, and women are increasingly using contraceptives to prevent or space pregnancies. Rapid population growth and high population density is putting pressure on Malawi’s land, water, and forest resources. Reduced plot sizes and increasing vulnerability to climate change, further threaten the sustainability of Malawi’s agriculturally based economy and will worsen food shortages. About 80% of the population is employed in agriculture.

Historically, Malawians migrated abroad in search of work, primarily to South Africa and present-day Zimbabwe, but international migration became uncommon after the 1970s, and most migration in recent years has been internal. During the colonial period, Malawians regularly migrated to southern Africa as contract farm laborers, miners, and domestic servants. In the decade and a half after independence in 1964, the Malawian Government sought to transform its economy from one dependent on small-scale farms to one based on estate agriculture. The resulting demand for wage labor induced more than 300,000 Malawians to return home between the mid-1960s and the mid-1970s. In recent times, internal migration has generally been local, motivated more by marriage than economic reasons.

3.32% (2016 est.)

41.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)

8.1 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)

LILONGWE (capital) 905,000; Blantyre-Limbe 808,000 (2015)

18.9

634 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)

5.54 children born/woman (2016 est.)

46.1% (2010)

11.4% of GDP (2014)

0.02 physicians/1,000 population (2009)

1.3 beds/1,000 population (2011)

urban: 95.7% of population

rural: 89.1% of population

total: 90.2% of population

urban: 4.3% of population

rural: 10.9% of population

total: 9.8% of population (2015 est.)

urban: 47.3% of population

rural: 39.8% of population

total: 41% of population

urban: 52.7% of population

rural: 60.2% of population

total: 59% of population (2015 est.)

9.11% (2015 est.)

976,300 (2015 est.)

26,700 (2015 est.)

4.3% (2014)

16.7% (2014)

6.9% of GDP (2014)

presidential republic

28 districts; Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Likoma, Lilongwe, Machinga, Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Neno, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba

6 July 1964 (from the UK)

Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964)

previous 1953 (preindependence), 1966; latest drafted January to May 1994, approved 16 May 1994, entered into force 18 May 1995; amended several times, last in 2013 (2016)

mixed legal system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal

accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction

18 years of age; universal

Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Godfrey SHAWA]

Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Peter MUTHARIKA]

Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Lazarus CHAKWERA]

People's Party or PP [Joyce BANDA]

United Democratic Front or UDF [Atupele MULUZI]

Council for NGOs in Malawi or CONGOMA (human rights, democracy, and development)

Human Rights Consultative Committee or HRCC (human rights)

Malawi Economic Justice Network or MEJN (pro economic growth, development, government accountability)

Malawi Law Society (an umbrella organization of all lawyers in Malawi)

Public Affairs Committee or PAC (promotes democracy, development, peace and unity)

ACP, AfDB, AU, C, CD, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC (NGOs), MIGA, MINURSO, MONUSCO, NAM, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNISFA, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCO, WFTU (NGOs), WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO

three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered on the black band; black represents the native peoples, red the blood shed in their struggle for freedom, and green the color of nature; the rising sun represents the hope of freedom for the continent of Africa

lion; national colors: black, red, green

Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's most densely populated and least developed countries. The country’s economic performance has historically been constrained by policy inconsistency, macroeconomic instability, limited connectivity to the region and the world, and poor health and education outcomes that limit labor productivity. The economy is predominately agricultural with about 80% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for about one-third of GDP and 90% 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 program. Between 2005 and 2009 Malawi’s government exhibited improved financial discipline under the guidance of Finance Minister Goodall GONDWE and signed a three-year IMF Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility worth $56 million. The government announced infrastructure projects that could yield improvements, such as a new oil pipeline for better fuel access, and the potential for a waterway link through Mozambican rivers to the ocean for better transportation options.

Since 2009, however, Malawi has experienced some setbacks, including a general shortage of foreign exchange, which has damaged its ability to pay for imports, and fuel shortages that hinder transportation and productivity. In October 2013, the African Development Bank, the IMF, several European countries, and the US indefinitely froze $150 million in direct budgetary support in response to a high level corruption scandal, called “Cashgate,” citing a lack of trust in the government’s financial management system and civil service. Most of the frozen donor funds — which accounted for 40% of the budget — have been channeled through non-governmental organizations in the country. The government has failed to address barriers to investment such as unreliable power, water shortages, poor telecommunications infrastructure, and the high costs of services. Investment had fallen continuously for several years, but rose 4 percentage points in 2014 to 17% of GDP.

The government faces many challenges, including developing a market economy, improving educational facilities, addressing environmental problems, dealing with HIV/AIDS, and satisfying foreign donors on anti-corruption efforts.

$20.36 billion (2015 est.)

$19.78 billion (2014 est.)

$18.71 billion (2013 est.)

$6.416 billion (2015 est.)

3% (2015 est.)

5.7% (2014 est.)

5.2% (2013 est.)

$1,100 (2015 est.)

$1,100 (2014 est.)

$1,100 (2013 est.)

-12.7% of GDP (2015 est.)

-9.9% of GDP (2014 est.)

-16.6% of GDP (2013 est.)

tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (manioc, tapioca), sorghum, pulses, groundnuts, Macadamia nuts; cattle, goats

tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods

4.1% (2015 est.)

5.747 million (2007 est.)

NA%

52.4% (2004 est.)

39 (2004)

19.6% of GDP (2015 est.)

-3.9% of GDP (2015 est.)

54.2% of GDP (2015 est.)

58.5% of GDP (2014 est.)

1 July - 30 June

21.2% (2015 est.)

24.4% (2014 est.)

15% (31 December 2009)

15% (31 December 2008)

44.9% (31 December 2015 est.)

44.29% (31 December 2014 est.)

$512.3 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$567.9 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.481 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.2 billion (31 December 2013 est.)

$724.5 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$826.6 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$753.6 million (31 December 2012 est.)

$1.384 billion (31 December 2011 est.)

$1.363 billion (31 December 2010 est.)

-$568 million (2015 est.)

-$494 million (2014 est.)

$1.278 billion (2015 est.)

$1.528 billion (2014 est.)

tobacco 53%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel (2010 est.)

Belgium 15.8%, Zimbabwe 12%, India 6.9%, South Africa 6.2%, US 6%, Russia 5.6%, Germany 4.6% (2015)

$2.607 billion (2015 est.)

$2.744 billion (2014 est.)

food, petroleum products, semi-manufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment

South Africa 26.4%, China 16.7%, India 12%, Zambia 10.3%, Tanzania 6% (2015)

$693.1 million (31 December 2015 est.)

$625.2 million (31 December 2014 est.)

$1.715 billion (31 December 2015 est.)

$1.637 billion (31 December 2014 est.)

$NA

$NA

Malawian kwachas (MWK) per US dollar -

499.6 (2015 est.)

424.9 (2014 est.)

424.9 (2013 est.)

249.11 (2012 est.)

156.93 (2011 est.)

2.1 billion kWh (2014 est.)

1.9 billion kWh (2014 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

0 kWh (2013 est.)

400,000 kW (2014 est.)

0.7% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

99.3% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0% of total installed capacity (2012 est.)

0 bbl/day (2015 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 bbl (1 January 2016 es)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

7,000 bbl/day (2014 est.)

0 bbl/day (2013 est.)

6,843 bbl/day (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (2013 est.)

0 cu m (1 January 2014 es)

1.9 million Mt (2013 est.)

radio is the main broadcast medium; privately owned Zodiac radio has the widest national broadcasting reach, followed by state-run radio; about a dozen private and community radio stations broadcast in cities and towns around the country; the largest TV network is government-owned, but two private TV networks now broadcast in urban areas and more plan to begin broadcasting in 2014; relays of multiple international broadcasters are available (2014)

.mw

7Q (2016)

32 (2013)

700 km (on Lake Nyasa [Lake Malawi] and Shire River) (2010)

Malawi Defense Forces (MDF): Army (includes Air Wing, Marine Unit) (2012)

18 years of age for voluntary military service; high school equivalent required for enlisted recruits and college equivalent for officer recruits; initial engagement is 7 years for enlisted personnel and 10 years for officers (2014)

0.93% of GDP (2012)

0.79% of GDP (2011)

0.93% of GDP (2010)