Malawi: Fact file
Updated May 2008
| Name | Republic of Malawi |
| Area | 118 484 sq km (Frame 2008, 712) |
| Capital | Lilongwe |
| Major cities | Blantyre, Mzuzu, Zomba, Karonga, Kasungu, Mangochi, Salima (Frame 2008, 712) |
| Boundaries | Mozambique, Zambia, Tanzania (Landlocked) |
| Population | 13.2 million, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Pop growth rate | 3.1%, 2005-15 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Urbanisation | 17.2%, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Life expectancy | Female 46.7 yrs, male 46.0 yrs; 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Infant mortality | 79/1000, 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 12.0%, adults; 2007 est (Office of the President and Cabinet 2008, ix) |
| Adult Literacy rate | Female 54.0%, male 74.9%; 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Military expenditure | 0.7% of GDP; 2005 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Health expenditure | 9.6% of GDP; 2004 (UNDP 2007/8) |
| Legal system | English common law, customary law (NationMaster undated) |
| Independence | 6 July 1964, from United Kingdom |
| GDP | US$3.538 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| GDP per capita | US$264.31, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| GDP growth rate | 7.4%, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| Main exports | Tobacco, sugar, tea, coffee and cotton (Frame 2008, 715) |
| Currency | 100 Tambala = 1 Kwacha |
| Unemployment | +53%, 2004 (Disability Front Line 2004) |
| Inflation rate | 8.1%, 2007 est (IMF 2008a) |
| External debt ratio | 22.6% of GDP, 2007 (IMF 2008b) |
| Roads | 16 450 km (SADC 2007) |
| Rail | 1 262 km (Frame 2008, 710) |
| Airports | 5, 2 international (Lilongwe, Blantyre) (EIU 2008) |
| Ethnic groups | Main groups are the Chewa, Tumbuka, Yao and Ngoni (SADC 2007) |
| Languages | Official English, national Nyanja (Chewa), Tumbuka. Others Yao, Nyakyusa-Ngonde, Sena, Kokola, Lomwe, Ndali, Lambya (Ethnologue.com undated) |
| Religion | Christian 76.8% (Roman Catholic 24.7%, Protestant 22.9%, Independent 16.8%) Muslims 14.8%, African Traditional 7.8% (Religious Freedom 2001) |
References
DISABILITY FRONT LINE 2004 "Representative surveys on the 'Living Conditions Among Disabled People' in three countries in Southern Africa: Malawi, Namibia, Zimbabwe", Disability Front Line, October 29, [www] http://www.dcdd.nl/default.asp?action=article&id=2593 [opens new window] (accessed 23 Apr 2008).
ETHNOLOGUE.COM UNDATED "Languages of Malawi" [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Malawi [opens new window] (accessed 23 Apr 2008).
ECONOMIST INTELLIGENCE UNIT (EIU) 2008 "Malawi risk: Infrastructure risk", http://www.eiu.com/ index.asp?layout=RKPrintVW3&article_id=843089069&printer=printer&rf=0 [opens new window] (accessed 23 Apr 2008).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
IMF 2008a World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 21 Apr 2008).
IMF 2008b Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, 118, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2007/AFR/ENG/sreo0407.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 22 Apr 2008).
NATIONMASTER UNDATED "Legal system (most recent) by country", [www] http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/gov_leg_sys-government-legal-system [opens new window] (accessed 23 Apr 2008).
OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT AND CABINET 2008 "MALAWI HIV and AIDS Monitoring and Evaluation Report 2007" IN 2008 progress reports submitted by countries, UNAIDS, [www] http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/malawi_2008_country_progress_report_en.pdf [PDF document, opens in window] (accessed 5 May 2008).
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2001 "Nation profile: Malawi", [www] http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Malawi/rbodies.html [opens new window] (accessed 23 Apr 2008).
SADC 2007 "Madagascar" IN Country Profiles, 136, 148, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/madagascar2007_08.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 23 Apr 2008).
UNDP 2008 "Malawi", [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_MWI.html [opens in window] (accessed 23 Apr 2008).
