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 Malawi| Facts & Figures |
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| President: Bingu wa Mutharika (2004) Land area: 36,324 sq mi (94,079 sq km);
total area: 45,745 sq mi (118,480 sq km) Population (2009 est.): 14,268,711
(growth rate: 2.3%); birth rate: 41.4/1000; infant mortality rate:
89.0/1000; life expectancy: 43.8; density per sq km: 148
Capital (2003 est.):
Lilongwe, 499,200 Largest city: Blantyre, 547,500 Monetary unit: Kwacha More Facts & Figures |
GeographyMalawi 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.
GovernmentMultiparty democracy.
HistoryEarly 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.
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