1982 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1982 (Wikisource)
Geography
Area
95,053 km2; about 31% of land area arable (of which less than half is cultivated), nearly 25% forested, 6% meadow and pasture, 38% other Land boundaries: 2,881 km
People and Society
Ethnic divisions
over 99% native African, less than 1% European and Asian
Labor force
331,536 wage earners employed in Malawi (1978); 48% agriculture, 10% construction, 10% commerce, 11% manufacturing, 15% personal services, 5% miscellaneous services; 6,000 Europeans permanently employed
Language
English and Chichewa official; Tombuka is second African language
Literacy
15% of population
Nationality
noun—Malawian(s); adjective—Malawian
Organized labor
small minority of wage earners are unionized
Population
6,410,000 (July 1982), average annual growth rate 3.0%
Religion
majority animist; rest Christian and Muslim
Government
Branches
strong presidential system with Cabinet appointed by President; unicameral National Assembly of 87 elected and up to 15 nominated members; High Court with Chief Justice and at least two justices
Capital
Lilongwe
Communists
no Communist party; Malawi maintains no foreign relations with Communist governments
Elections
parliamentary elections June 1978 Political parties and leaders: Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Secretary General E. Bakili Muluzi
Government leader
Life President Dr. H. Kamuzu BANDA
Legal system
based on English common law and customary law; constitution adopted 1964; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Member of
AFDB, EEC (associate member), FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IPU, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
National holiday
Republic Day, 6 July
Official name
Republic of Malawi
Political subdivisions
3 administrative regions and 24 districts
Suffrage
universal adult (21 years)
Type
one-party state
Economy
Agriculture
cash crops—tobacco, tea, sugar, peanuts, cotton, tung, maize; subsistence crops—corn, sorghum, millet, pulses, root crops, fruit, vegetables, rice
Aid
economic commitments—Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF (1970-79), $683 million; US authorized (FY70-80), $18.2 million
Budget
1980 revenues $319.3 million, current expenditures $240.5 million, development expenditures $200.5 million
Electric power
124,000 kW capacity (1980); 340 million kWh produced (1980), 55 kWh per capita
Exports
$278.4 million (f.o.b., 1980); tobacco, tea, sugar, peanuts, cotton
Fiscal year
1 April-31 March
GDP
$800 million (1980), $133 per capita; current real growth rate 6.5% (1980)
Imports
$335.3 billion (f.o.b., 1980); manufactured goods, machinery and transport equipment, building and construction materials, fuel, fertilizer
Major industries
agricultural processing (tea, tobacco, sugar), sawmilling, cement, consumer goods
Major trade partners
exports—UK, FRG, US, Netherlands, South Africa; imports—South Africa, UK, Japan, US, FRG
Monetary conversion rate
1 Malawi kwacha= US$0. 8258
Communications
Airfields
50 total, 47 usable; 3 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 9 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
Civil air
4 major transport aircraft, including 1 leased in
Highways
11,311 km total; 2,361 km paved; 381 km crushed stone, gravel, or stabilized soil; 8,569 km improved earth
Inland waterways
Lake Malawi, 1,290 km and Shire River, 144 km, 3 lake ports
Railroads
754 km 1.067-meter gauge
Telecommunications
fair system of open-wire lines, radio-relay links, and radiocommunications stations; 28,800 telephones (0.5 per 100 popl.); 8 AM, 4 FM, and no TV stations; 1 Indian Ocean satellite station
Military and Security
Military manpower
males 15-49, 1,348,000; about 683,000 fit for military service