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 Match 149   DB Rec# - 7,601  Dataset-WOFACT



Title         :Malawi 
Text          : 
                                     Malawi 
 
                                    Geography 
 
Location: 
    Southern Africa, east of Zambia 
Map references: 
    Africa 
Area: 
  total area: 
    118,480 sq km 
  land area: 
    94,080 sq km 
  comparative area: 
    slightly larger than Pennsylvania 
Land boundaries: 
    total 2,881 km, Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km 
Coastline: 
    0 km (landlocked) 
Maritime claims: 
    none; landlocked 
International disputes: 
    dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) 
Climate: 
    tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) 
Terrain: 
    narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains 
Natural resources: 
    limestone, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite 
Land use: 
  arable land: 
    25% 
  permanent crops: 
    0% 
  meadows and pastures: 
    20% 
  forest and woodland: 
    50% 
  other: 
    5% 
Irrigated land: 
    200 sq km (1989 est.) 
Environment: 
  current issues: 
    deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, 
    sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish 
    population 
  natural hazards: 
    NA 
  international agreements: 
    party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Environmental 
    Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, 
    Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Law of the Sea 
Note: 
    landlocked 
 
                                     People 
 


Population: 
    9,808,384 (July 1995 est.) 
Age structure: 
  0-14 years: 
    48% (female 2,361,309; male 2,384,679) 
  15-64 years: 
    49% (female 2,479,108; male 2,335,729) 
  65 years and over: 
    3% (female 139,632; male 107,927) (July 1995 est.) 
Population growth rate: 
    2.63% (1995 est.) 
Birth rate: 
    49.81 births/1,000 population (1995 est.) 
Death rate: 
    23.53 deaths/1,000 population (1995 est.) 
Net migration rate: 
    NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.) 
  note: 
    the return of refugees to Mozambique is much reduced compared with 1994 
Infant mortality rate: 
    140.2 deaths/1,000 live births (1995 est.) 
Life expectancy at birth: 
  total population: 
    39.01 years 
  male: 
    38.28 years 
  female: 
    39.76 years (1995 est.) 
Total fertility rate: 
    7.36 children born/woman (1995 est.) 
Nationality: 
  noun: 
    Malawian(s) 
  adjective: 
    Malawian 
Ethnic divisions: 
    Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, 
    European 
Religions: 
    Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, traditional indigenous 
    beliefs 
Languages: 
    English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important 
    regionally 
Literacy: 
    age 15 and over can read and write (1987) 
  total population: 
    48% 
  male: 
    65% 
  female: 
    34% 
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) 
 
                                   Government 


 
Names: 
  conventional long form: 
    Republic of Malawi 
  conventional short form: 
    Malawi 
  former: 
    Nyasaland 
Digraph: 
    MI 
Type: 
    multiparty democracy following a referendum on 14 June 1993; formerly a 
    one-party republic 
Capital: 
    Lilongwe 
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 
Independence: 
    6 July 1964 (from UK) 
National holiday: 
    Independence Day, 6 July (1964) 
Constitution: 
    6 July 1966; republished as amended January 1974 
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 
Suffrage: 
    21 years of age; universal 
Executive branch: 
  chief of state and head of government: 
    President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994), leader of the United Democratic
 
    Front 
  cabinet: 
    Cabinet; named by the president 
Legislative branch: 
    unicameral 
  National Assembly: 
    elections last held 17 May 1994 (next to be held 1999); results - percent of
 
    vote by party NA; seats - (177 total) UDF 84, AFORD 33, MCP 55, others 5 
Judicial branch: 
    High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal 
Political parties and leaders: 
  ruling party: 
    United Democratic Front (UDF), Bakili MULUZI 
  opposition groups: 
    Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Gwanda CHAKUAMBA Phiri, secretary general (top 
    party position); Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), Chakufwa CHIHANA; Socialist
 
    League of Malawi (Lesoma), Kapote MWAKUSULA, secretary general; Malawi 
    Democratic Union (MDU), Harry BWANAUSI; Congress for the Second Republic 
    (CSR), Kanyama CHIUME; Malawi Socialist Labor Party (MSLP), Stanford 
    SAMBANEMANJA 


Member of: 
    ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD,
 
    IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), 
    ITU, NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNAMIR, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, 
    WIPO, WMO, WTO 
 
                                   Government 
Diplomatic representation in US: 
  chief of mission: 
    (vacant); Charge d'Affaires ad interim Patrick NYASULU (since 14 October 
    1994) 
  chancery: 
    2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 
  telephone: 
    [1] (202) 797-1007 
US diplomatic representation: 
  chief of mission: 
    Ambassador Peter R. CHAVEAS 
  embassy: 
    address NA, in new capital city development area in Lilongwe 
  mailing address: 
    P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi 
  telephone: 
    [265] 783 166 
  FAX: 
    [265] 780 471 
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 
 
                                     Economy 
 
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, but the lost ground was recovered in 1993. The economy 
    depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the 
    World Bank, and individual donor nations. The new government faces strong 
    challenges, e.g., to spur exports, to improve educational and health 
    facilities, and to deal with environmental problems of deforestation and 
    erosion. 
National product: 
    GDP - purchasing power parity - $7.3 billion (1994 est.) 
National product real growth rate: 
    9.3% (1994 est.) 
National product per capita: 
    $750 (1994 est.) 
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 
    30% (1994 est.) 
Unemployment rate: 
    NA% 
Budget: 


  revenues: 
    $416 million 
  expenditures: 
    $498 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.) 
Exports: 
    $311 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.) 
  commodities: 
    tobacco, tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts, wood products 
  partners: 
    US, UK, Zambia, South Africa, Germany 
Imports: 
    $308 million (c.i.f., 1993 est.) 
  commodities: 
    food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation 
    equipment 
  partners: 
    South Africa, Japan, US, UK, Zimbabwe 
External debt: 
    $1.8 billion (December 1993 est.) 
Industrial production: 
    growth rate 3.5% accounts for about 15% of GDP (1992 est.) 
Electricity: 
  capacity: 
    190,000 kW 
  production: 
    820 million kWh 
  consumption per capita: 
    77 kWh (1993) 
Industries: 
    agricultural processing (tea, tobacco, sugar), sawmilling, cement, consumer 
    goods 
Agriculture: 
    accounts for 40% of GDP; cash crops - tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, and 
    corn; subsistence crops - potatoes, cassava, sorghum, pulses; livestock - 
    cattle, goats 
 
                                     Economy 
Economic aid: 
  recipient: 
    US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $215 million; Western (non-US) 
    countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2.15 billion 
Currency: 
    1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala 
Exchange rates: 
    Malawian kwacha (MK) per US$1 - 7.8358 (August 1994), 4.4028 (1993), 3.6033 
    (1992), 2.8033 (1991), 2.7289 (1990), 2.7595 (1989) 
Fiscal year: 
    1 April - 31 March 
 
                                 Transportation 
 
Railroads: 
  total: 
    789 km 
  narrow gauge: 
    789 km 1.067-m gauge 
Highways: 
  total: 
    13,135 km 
  paved: 


    2,364 km 
  unpaved: 
    gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 251 km; earth, improved earth 10,520
 
    km 
Inland waterways: 
    Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km 
Ports: 
    Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkotakota 
Airports: 
  total: 
    47 
  with paved runways over 3,047 m: 
    1 
  with paved runways 1,524 to 2,437 m: 
    1 
  with paved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 
    4 
  with paved runways under 914 m: 
    25 
  with unpaved runways 1,524 to 2,438 m: 
    1 
  with unpaved runways 914 to 1,523 m: 
    15 
 
                                 Communications 
 
Telephone system: 
    42,250 telephones 
  local: 
    NA 
  intercity: 
    fair system of open-wire lines, radio relay links, and radio communications 
    stations 
  international: 
    2 INTELSAT (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean ) earth stations 
Radio: 
  broadcast stations: 
    AM 10, FM 17, shortwave 0 
  radios: 
    NA 
Television: 
  broadcast stations: 
    0 
  televisions: 
    NA 
 
                                 Defense Forces 
 
Branches: 
    Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes paramilitary
 
    Mobile Force Unit), paramilitary Malawi Young Pioneers 
Manpower availability: 
    males age 15-49 2,069,302; males fit for military service 1,056,372 (1995 
    est.) 
Defense expenditures: 
    exchange rate conversion - $13 million, 0.7% of GDP (FY93/94) 

This publication is also available online from the CIA (http://www.odci.gov/cia) as 1995 World Factbook (http://www.odci.gov/cia/publications/95fact/index.html).

The printed version of this item can be found under the title:
The World Factbook 1995,
SuDoc No: PREX 3.15:995

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