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Malawi

Background Information

Known as The “Land of the Lake” or more commonly as The “Heart of Africa”
The Northern Region is mountainous with the highest peak reaching over 3000m (9843ft) and features the rolling Nyika Plateau rugged escarpments and valleys and the thickly forested slopes of the Viphya Plateau
Malawi is a landlocked country in South central Africa falling between 33 and 36 degrees east and 9 and 18 south. It is bordered by Tanzania to the north, Zambia to the West and Mozambique to the east and south.
Malawi is one of the smallest countries in Africa (smaller even than England), it measures 118, 484 square kilometers. It is 840 km long north to South and not more than 160 km wide.
In 1975, the centrally situated city of Lilongwe replaced Zomba as the Capital of Malawi. In most respects, the city of Blantyre is of more importance than Lilongwe, with double the population of the official capital.
The population of malawi is estimated to stand at close to 12 million people, making it one of the most densely populated countries in Africa, especially in the South. Despite this most of the population live in rural areas. The most populated City is Blantyre, followed by Lilongwe, Zomba and Mzuzu.
History has scant regard for the arbitrary political boundaries of modern Africa, and the history of Malawi in particular throws up several problems of definition. Malawi took its modern shape only in 1907, for which reason it is misleading to think of it as a discrete entity prior to the 20th century, and it’s questionable whether one can write meaningfully about the history if Malawi in isolation of events that took place outside its modern boundaries. Between 1907 and 1964, Malawi was known as Nyasaland and Lake Malawi was called Lake Nyasa (this name is still used by Tanzanians).
The absence of written records means that the origin and classification of the modern peoples of East Africa and Southern Africa is a subject of some academic debate. It is probable that East and Southern Africa incurred two major influxes in the last 3, 000 years, on both occasions by people from West Africa. Descendants of these people, remembered locally as the Akafula or Batwa, are thought to have been similar in appearance to the pygmies of West Africa and the Khoisan of Southwestern Africa. They were slightly built hunter-gatherers.

Overview

Capital	Lilongwe
Currency	Kwacha (D) (MWK)
Major Ethnic Groups	Chew Nyanja, Lomwe Sena, Tonga Ngoni , Tumbuka Yao, Ngonde Asian , European
Main Languages	English (Official) , Chichewa (Official)

Population

Literacy: Age 15 and over that can read or write
Religious Breakdown	Christian 79.9% Muslim 12.8% other 3% none 4.3%.
Population	13,603,181 Growth Rate: 2.383%
HIVAIDS	Adult Prevalence Rate 14.2% People Living with HIV/AIDS 900,000 (2003 est.) Deaths 84,000 (2003 est.)
Labour Force	4.5 million (2001 est.)
Labour Force by Sector	Agriculture 90% Iindustry and services: 10% (2003 est.)
Total Population	62.7%
Male	76.1%
Female	49.8%

Sovereignty

Government	Multiparty Democracy
Constitution	18 May 1994
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
Chief of State	President Bingu wa Mutharika (since 24 May 2004)
Head of Government	President Bingu wa Mutharika
Elections	president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009)
Cabinet	46-member Cabinet named by the president

Banking And Business

Banking & Office Hours	Mon-Fri 08h00-15h30 Sat 09h00 - 11h00
GDP	Purchasing Power Parity $8.272 billion (2006 est.) Real Growth Rate 8.5% (2006 est.) Per Capital $600 (2006 est.)
Composition By Sector	Agriculture 35.4% Industry 17.6% Services 47% (2006 est.)
Industries	Tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods
Electricity	Electricity Production 1.293 billion kWh (2004) Fossil Fuel 3.3% Hydro 96.7% Nuclear: 0% Other: 0% (2001) Electricity Consumption 1.202 billion kWh (2004) Electricity Exports 0 kWh Electricity Imports 0 kWh
Transportation	Railways Total 797 km Narrow Gauge 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2006) Roadways Total: 15,451 km Paved 6,956 km Unpaved 8,495 km (2003) Waterways 700 km (on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire River) (2007)
Air Transport	Airports: 42 Airports - with paved runways: total: 6 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2006)
Economy	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.
Exports	$513.1 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) Tobacco 53%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel
Imports	$767.9 million f.o.b. (2006 est.) Food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment
Major trading partners	South Africa, Germany, Egypt, Zimbabwe, US, India, Zambia, Russia, Tanzania, Netherlands

Schooling And Holidays

Public Holidays

Jan 01 New Years Day
Jan 15 John Chilembwe Day
March 03 Martyrs’ Day
April 09-12 Easter
May 01 Labour Day
June 14 Freedom Day
July 06 Republic Day
October 11 Mothers’ Day
December 25-26 Christmas