1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 118,480 km2 land area: 94,080 km2 comparative area: slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Climate
tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November)
Coastline
0 km (landlocked)
Environment
deforestation
International disputes
dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)
Irrigated land
200 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 2,881 km, Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km
Land use
arable land: 25% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 20% forest and woodland: 50% other: 5%
Location
Southern Africa, between Mozambique and Zambia
Map references
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
none; landlocked
Natural resources
limestone, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite
Note
landlocked
Terrain
narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains
People and Society
Birth rate
51.1 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
22.87 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European
Infant mortality rate
141.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
428,000 wage earners by occupation: agriculture 43%, manufacturing 16%, personal services 15%, commerce 9%, construction 7%, miscellaneous services 4%, other permanently employed 6% (1986)
Languages
English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 40.48 years male: 39.61 years female: 41.37 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1966) total population: 22% male: 34% female: 12%
Nationality
noun: Malawian(s) adjective: Malawian
Net migration rate
-37.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
9,831,935 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
-0.95% (1993 est.)
Religions
Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, traditional indigenous beliefs
Total fertility rate
7.5 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
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
Capital
Lilongwe
Chief of State and Head of Government
President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu BANDA (since 6 July 1966; sworn in as President for Life 6 July 1971)
Constitution
6 July 1964; republished as amended January 1974
Digraph
MI
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Robert B. MBAYA chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: (202) 797-1007
Executive branch
president, Cabinet
FAX
[265] 732-282
Flag
three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band; similar to the flag of Afghanistan, which is longer and has the national coat of arms superimposed on the hoist side of the black and red bands
Independence
6 July 1964 (from UK)
Judicial branch
High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal
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
Legislative branch
unicameral National Assembly
Member of
ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Malawi conventional short form: Malawi former: Nyasaland
National Assembly
last held 26-27 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1997); results - MCP is the only party; seats - (141 total, 136 elected) MCP 141
National holiday
Independence Day, 6 July (1964)
Other political or pressure groups
Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), Chakufwa CHIHANA; United Democratic Front (UDF) Bakili MULUZI; Malawi Democratic People (MDP), leader NA
Political parties and leaders
only party - Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Wadson DELEZA, administrative secretary; John TEMBO, treasurer general; top party position of secretary general vacant since 1983
President
President BANDA sworn in as President for Life on 6 July 1971
Suffrage
21 years of age; universal
Type
one-party republic note: a referendum to determine whether Malawi should remain a one-party state is scheduled to be held on 14 June 1993
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Michael T. F. PISTOR embassy: address NA, in new capital city development area in Lilongwe mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe telephone: [265] 730-166
Economy
Agriculture
accounts for 40% of GDP; cash crops - tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, and corn; subsistence crops - potatoes, cassava, sorghum, pulses; livestock - cattle, goats
Budget
revenues $398 million; expenditures $510 million, including capital expenditures of $154 million (FY91 est.)
Currency
1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala
Economic aid
US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $215 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2,150 million
Electricity
190,000 kW capacity; 620 million kWh produced, 65 kWh per capita (1992)
Exchange rates
Malawian kwacha (MK) per US$1 - 4.3418 (November 1992), 2.8033 (1991), 2.7289 (1990), 2.7595 (1989), 2.5613 (1988), 2.2087 (1987)
Exports
$400 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: tobacco, tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts, wood products partners: US, UK, Zambia, South Africa, Germany
External debt
$1.8 billion (December 1991 est.)
Fiscal year
1 April - 31 March
Imports
$660 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.) commodities: food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment partners: South Africa, Japan, US, UK, Zimbabwe
Industrial production
growth rate 4.0% (1990 est.); accounts for about 18% of GDP (1988)
Industries
agricultural processing (tea, tobacco, sugar), sawmilling, cement, consumer goods
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
21% (1992 est.)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.9 billion (1992 est.)
National product per capita
$200 (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate
-7.7% (1992 est.)
Overview
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 40% of GDP and 90% of export revenues. After two years of weak performance, economic growth improved significantly in 1988-91 as a result of good weather and a broadly based economic adjustment effort by the government. Drought cut overall output sharply in 1992. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations.
Unemployment rate
NA%
Communications
Airports
total: 47 usable: 41 with permanent-surface runways: 5 with runways over 3,659 m: with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 1 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 10
Highways
13,135 km total; 2,364 km paved; 251 km crushed stone, gravel, or stabilized soil; 10,520 km earth and improved earth
Inland waterways
Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km
Note
a majority of exports would normally go through Mozambique on the Beira, Nacala, and Limgogo railroads, but now most go through South Africa because of insurgent activity and damage to rail lines
Ports
Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, and Nkotakota - all on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)
Railroads
789 km 1.067-meter gauge
Telecommunications
fair system of open-wire lines, radio relay links, and radio communications stations; 42,250 telephones; broadcast stations - 10 AM, 17 FM, no TV; satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT
Military and Security
Branches
Army (including Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (including paramilitary Mobile Force Unit), paramilitary Malawi Young Pioneers
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $22 million, 1.6% of GDP (1989 est.)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 2,059,509; fit for military service 1,048,986 (1993 est.)