Malawi

Facts & Figures

Map of Malawi

President: Joyce Banda (2012)

Land area: 36,324 sq mi (94,079 sq km); total area: 45,745 sq mi (118,480 sq km)

Population (2013 est.): 16,777,547 (growth rate: 2.758%); birth rate: 40.42/1000; infant mortality rate: 79.2/1000; life expectancy: 52.31

Capital (2009 est.): Lilongwe, 821,000

Largest city: Blantyre, 856,000

Monetary unit: Kwacha

More Facts & Figures

Index

Geography

Malawi is a landlocked country about the size of Pennsylvania. Located in southeast Africa, it is surrounded by Mozambique, Zambia, and Tanzania. Lake Malawi, formerly Lake Nyasa, occupies most of the country's eastern border. The north-south Rift Valley is flanked by mountain ranges and high plateau areas.

Government

Multiparty democracy.

History

Early human inhabitants of what is now Malawi date to 8000–2000 B.C. Bantu-speaking peoples migrated there between the 1st and 4th centuries A.D. A large slave trade took place in the 18th and 19th centuries and brought Islam to the region. At the same time, missionaries introduced Christianity. Several major kingdoms were established in the precolonial period: the Maravi in 1480, the Ngonde in 1600, and the Chikulamayembe in the 18th century.

The first European to make extensive explorations in the area was David Livingstone in the 1850s and 1860s. In 1884, Cecil Rhodes's British South African Company received a charter to develop the country. The company came into conflict with the Arab slavers in 1887–1889. Britain annexed what was then called the Nyasaland territory in 1891 and made it a protectorate in 1892. Sir Harry Johnstone, the first high commissioner, used Royal Navy gunboats to wipe out the slavers.

Between 1951 and 1953, Britain combined Nyasaland with the colonies of Northern and Southern Rhodesia to form a federation, a move protested by black Africans who were wary of alignment with the ultra conservative white minority rule in South Rhodesia.