republic, member of the Commonwealth of Nations, SE Africa, bounded on the N by Tanzania, on the E by Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi), on the SE and S by Mozambique, and on the W by Zambia. Formerly the British protectorate of Nyasaland, it gained independence in 1964. Malawi extends about 835 km (about 520 mi) N to S and varies in width from about 80 to 160 km (about 50 to 100 mi). The total area of the country is 118,484 sq km (45,747 sq mi), nearly one-fourth of which is surface water, mainly Lake Nyasa and three smaller lakes.

LAND AND RESOURCES

Part of the Great Rift Valley runs through Malawi from N to S. In this deep trough lies Lake Nyasa, the third largest lake in Africa. The Shire R. flows from the S end of the lake to the Zambezi R. in Mozambique. To the E and W of the Great Rift Valley the land rises to form high plateaus, generally from about 915 to 1220 m (about 3000 to 4000 ft) in elevation but reaching about 2440 m (about 8000 ft) in the Nyika Plateau in the N. South of Lake Nyasa lie the Shire Highlands, which rise to more than 2740 m (more than 9000 ft).

Climate.

The climate in Malawi varies with the altitude. In the low-lying Shire Valley it is hot and humid, with temperatures averaging 23.3° to 25.6° C (74° to 78° F). In the highlands the climate is more equable. The rainy season lasts from November to April. Annual rainfall averages about 1780 mm (about 70 in) in the highlands and about 890 mm (about 35 in) in the lowlands.

Natural Resources.

The resources of Malawi are almost entirely agricultural. Mineral wealth is slight, although some marble and limestone are produced. Tung oil, a waterproofing agent, is a major forestry product. A thin forest of small trees covers large parts of the country, and some timber trees grow in the damp ravines of the mountains and along the riverbanks. Baobab, acacia, and conifers grow in the highlands.

Most of the typical African varieties of animal life are found in Malawi. These include the elephant, rhinoceros, giraffe, zebra, monkey, and several varieties of antelope. The hippopotamus inhabits the lake shores. Snakes and other reptiles, birds, and insects are plentiful, and the rivers and lakes abound in fish.

POPULATION

The people of Malawi are more than 99% black African; the principal ethnic groups include the Chewa, Lomwe, Nyanja, and Yao. The rest of the inhabitants, principally settlers of British and Indian origin, form less than one-half of 1% of the population. Most of the people live in rural villages.

Population Characteristics.

According to the 1998 census, Malawi had a population of 9,838,486. Malawi is one of Africa's most densely populated countries (83 persons per sq km/215 per sq mi).

Political Divisions and Principal Cities.

Malawi is divided into 3 regions and 26 districts. The largest city is Blantyre (pop., 1998 census, 478,155). The capital, since 1975, is Lilongwe (435,964).

Language and Religion.

English is the official language and the primary language of instruction in schools. Chichewa is the national language, and many other Bantu languages are widely spoken. About 10% of the inhabitants of Malawi practice traditional religions. Approximately 50% are Christian, and some 20% are Muslim.

Education.

In the mid-1990s nearly 2.9 million pupils annually attended some 3700 primary schools staffed by more than 49,000 teachers. About 140,000 students attended secondary schools, and 2500 students attended vocational and teacher-training schools. The University of Malawi at Zomba (1964) and other higher educational institutions had more than 5500 students. More than 70% of men but fewer than 45% of women could read and write in the late 1990s.

ECONOMY

With a gross national product of only $200 per capita in the late 1990s, Malawi is one of the world's poorest countries. Primarily agricultural, the nation has traditionally been self-sufficient in food, but malnutrition among children was a serious problem throughout the 1990s, when the Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS) epidemic took a heavy toll on the nation's economy. The government sought to privatize state-owned companies in the late ‘90s. The annual national budget included domestic revenue of about $490 million and current expenditure of nearly $525 million; the foreign debt exceeded $2 billion.

Agriculture, Forestry, and Fishing.

The principal crops are corn, sugarcane, potatoes, cassava, bananas and plantains, tobacco, and peanuts. Tobacco is the dominant export, followed by tea and sugar. The country is a major producer of tung oil, used in the paint and varnish industries. Widespread reliance on wood for fuel has led to severe deforestation.

The fishing industry, producing for domestic needs, is centered at Nkhotakota on the W shore of Lake Nyasa. In the late 1990s the annual catch was about 40,000 metric tons.

Manufacturing.

Major manufactures, principally for domestic consumption, include processed food, alcoholic beverages, tobacco products, cement, textiles, and footwear.

Energy.

More than 95% of Malawi's electricity is produced by hydroelectric facilities. In the late 1990s Malawi had an installed electricity-generating capacity of more than 300,000 kw, and annual production exceeded 900 million kwh.

Currency and Foreign Trade.

The monetary system of Malawi was decimalized in 1971. The unit of currency is the kwacha, consisting of 100 tambala (77.5 kwacha equal U.S.$1; 2001). Currency is issued by the Reserve Bank of Malawi, established in 1965. A stock exchange operates in Blantyre.

In the late 1990s the annual value of exports was more than $500 million. Imports, chiefly food, petroleum products, manufactured goods, and motor vehicles, were approximately equal to exports. Malawi's principal trading partners are South Africa, Zimbabwe, Zambia, the U.S., Germany, the Netherlands, and Japan.

Transportation and Communications.

With the completion of a line from Salima to Mchinji on the Zambian border in 1980, Malawi claimed 789 km (490 mi) of operated railroad track. The road system in the mid-1990s totaled about 28,400 km (17,650 mi), of which less than 20% was paved. Passenger and freight traffic on Lake Nyasa is extensive. Air Malawi provides international service as well as domestic; Kamuzu International Airport is in Lilongwe, the capital.

All of Malawi's major daily newspapers are published in Blantyre. The government operates the postal and telegraph service; telephone communications are underdeveloped. The country had an estimated 2.6 million radios in the late 1990s. Malawi's first television network began operating in 1999.

GOVERNMENT

From 1966 until 1993, Malawi was a one-party state. The sole legal political group was the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), headed by Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who in 1971 was proclaimed Malawi's president for life. Following the passage of constitutional reforms, the nation's first multiparty elections were held in May 1994.

Under the new system, the president, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected to a 5-year term by universal adult suffrage. Legislative power resides in the National Assembly, with 193 members directly elected to 5-year terms. Reshaping of the government continued during the mid-1990s, with legislative approval of a proposal to create an 80-member senate by 1999; by the end of 2000, however, the proposal had still not been implemented.

Judiciary and Local Government.

The judicial system comprises a supreme court of appeal, a high court, magistrates' courts, and local courts. Each of Malawi's 26 districts is headed by a district commissioner.

Health and Welfare.

Health conditions are poor. In the early 2000s, life expectancy at birth averaged only 38 years for women and 37 years for men. The infant mortality rate was 122 per 1000 live births, among the world's highest. According to UN estimates, more than 15 percent of the adult population in the late 1990s had AIDS or the virus that causes it, and 390,000 children had been orphaned by the disease. A study conducted in the late 1990s by the Malawi government and the World Bank concluded that one-fourth of the urban work force would likely die of AIDS in the next ten years.

Defense.

In the late 1990s Malawi's regular armed forces totaled about 5000 members. The country also had a national police force of 1000.

International Organizations.

In addition to its membership in the Commonwealth of Nations, Malawi is a member of the United Nations (UN), the African Union, the World Trade Organization, and the Southern African Development Community, and is an African, Caribbean, and Pacific (ACP) state of the European Union.

HISTORY

Some evidence of Stone Age and later Iron Age settlements has been found around Lake Nyasa. Bantu peoples moved into the territory between the 1st and 4th century ad. By the 16th century a Malawi kingdom, from which the present name of the country is derived, had a prospering trade with the coastal areas of Mozambique.

Colonial Period.

Jesuit missionaries from Portugal visited the territory near Lake Nyasa as early as the 17th century, but the lake probably was not known to Europeans until the Scottish missionary and explorer David Livingstone reached its shores in 1859. European involvement began in 1875–76, when Scottish church missions were established; a British consul was stationed in the country in 1883. Subsequent warfare with Arab slave traders and fear of Portuguese expansion from Mozambique led to a mission by the British explorer and colonial official Harry Johnston, who negotiated treaties with the indigenous rulers that in 1891 resulted in a formal declaration of a British protectorate. In 1907 the area was officially designated the Nyasaland Protectorate. During World War I, John Chilembwe (c. 1860–1915), an African preacher incensed by the forced participation of his countrymen in the British war effort, staged a short, bloody uprising around Blantyre, a forerunner of later nationalist stirrings.

After World War II, nationalist movements gained strength. From 1953 the protectorate was joined for ten years in a federation with Northern Rhodesia and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe), but it was one nobody wanted but the British. Following its dissolution in 1963, Nyasaland achieved internal self-government, with Hastings Kamuzu Banda, leader of the MCP, as the first prime minister. The protectorate gained independence on July 6, 1964, under its new name, Malawi. It was declared a republic on July 6, 1966, and Prime Minister Banda was elected president by the national assembly.

Banda Regime.

Under Banda, Malawi embarked on a vigorous program of economic development. In international affairs Banda was firmly neutral in the dispute between Great Britain and the government of (Southern) Rhodesia. Placing the interests of Malawi first, he maintained trade relations with the white minority government of Rhodesia, continued friendly relations with Mozambique (until 1975 governed by Portugal), and signed (1967) a trade pact with South Africa.

In November 1970 the constitution was amended to make Banda president for life, effective the following year. Maintaining good relations with white-dominated South Africa, he became the first black African head of state to visit that country. His policy of cordiality toward South Africa brought criticism from the leaders of other black African countries, and the influence Banda could exert on continental affairs was minimal. The first parliamentary elections since independence were held in 1978. Although only the MCP participated, a majority of the incumbent members were defeated: participation in the 1983, 1987, and 1992 elections was also restricted to the MCP.

Multiparty System.

Malawi's economy performed sluggishly in the early 1990s, burdened by foreign debt and by an influx of Mozambican refugees. The elderly Banda bowed to rising domestic discontent and international criticism of his human rights record, and in May 1994 Malawi held its first multiparty elections. Banda lost the presidency to Bakili Muluzi (1942–    ), leader of the United Democratic Front (UDF), which also won a plurality in parliament. Tried on conspiracy charges in connection with the death in 1983 of four political opponents, Banda was acquitted in December 1995; he died 23 months later. Muluzi and the UDF retained power in the elections of June 1999.

For further information on this topic, see the Bibliography, section 1039. Malawi.