Facts of Malawi
Malawi is called 'the warm heart of Africa'.
The full name of the country is the Republic of Malawi, and it has an elected President as Head of State.
The Capital of Malawi is Lilongwe.
The Official currency used in Malawi is called Kwacha.
The Main Industries in Malawi are Tea, tobacco, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods, tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses, cattle, goats.
The Main Trading Partners are US, South Africa, Germany, Japan, Zimbabwe, UK.
The size of Malawi is 118,480 sq km, slightly smaller than Pennsylvania, US.
Malawi is a small country located between Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. The country is about 900 km long and 150 km wide at its widest part.
Malawi has no ocean coastline, but the third largest lake in Africa covers almost 1/5 of Malawi. It is Lake Malawi, also called Lake Nyasa.
Lake Malawi has more species of fish than any other inland body of water in the world, with a total over 500.
The Main riveris known by name the Shire (pronounced 'Shir-ee'), flowing out of the southern end of Lake Malawi. It eventually joins the Zambezi River in Mozambique.
Lake Malawi, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature.
The lowest point in Malawi is at the junction of the Shire River and the border of Mozambique, at 37m above sea level.
The highest point is Sapitwa the highest peak on the Mulanje Mountain which stands at 3,002 m.
Malawi is a landlocked country.
Just over 13 million people live in Malawi.
Life expectancy is around 41 years.
Birth rate is on average 5.9 per woman.
14% of the population is believed to have HIV/AIDS.
The official languages of Malawi are English and Chichewa, spoken by 52% of the population. Other languages spoken in Malawi are Chinyanja, Chiyao, Chitumbuka, Chisena, Chilomwe, and Chitonga.
Most Malawians are of Bantu origin. The 3 main tribes are the Chewa (where the language Chichewa comes from), the Tumbuka and the Yao. These tribes do still exist.
Ethnic Groups in Malawi are Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, and European.
The Religion practised here in Malawi are Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, and none 4.3%.
Shards of stone implements and remains found in the region of Lake Malawi suggest that the earliest settlements in Malawi could have been as far back as 50,000 to 60,000 years ago.
Human remains dating all the way back to 8000 BC have also been found in Malawi.
During the pre colonial part of Malawi, the Maravi Empire ruled Malawi from 1480 to 1600.
It was during the reign of the Maravi Empire that the country first came in contact with Europeans.
The main trade with the Portuguese was done in ivory, slaves and iron.
After the Maravi kingdom, came the Ngonde Empire in the 1600’s and the Chikulamayembe in the 18th century.
The first significant contact with the Europeans came in 1859 with the arrival of David Livingstone, a Scottish missionary, when he landed on the banks of Lake Malawi.
Malawi adopted its constitution on 18th May 1994 and formed a legal system that is based on the English common and customary law.
Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964.
After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu Banda the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution which came into full effect the following year.
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 accounted for nearly 36% of GDP and 80% of export revenues in 2005.
The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for over 60% of exports.
The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations.
In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program.
Malawi is the 7th poorest country in the world.
It has a population of approximately 12,5 million; of those 750,000 are orphans, a figure increasing by 65,000 a year.
Over 200 people die of AIDS each day.
48% of children in Malawi are chronically malnourished.
In the last decade maternal deaths in childbirth have increased by 100%. This figure is the third highest in the world, behind Sierra Leone and Afghanistan.
One in four children die before the age of five.
7% of the population have electricity.
42% of the population are illiterate.
3.4% of the population complete secondary education.
1% of the population go to University.
Every 30 seconds a child dies of malaria in sub-Saharan Africa.
The name Malawi is derived from Marawi, the name of people who migrated to the region hundreds of years ago.
In 1991 Friedemann Schrenk discovered the two and a half million year old remains of Homo rudolfensis in Northern Malawi.
Malawi has a number of National Parks - Kasungu, Lengwe, Liwonde and Lake Malawi.
The Nyika National Park is particularly famous for its orchids.
Malawi shares Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa) with Tanzania and Mozambique.
Lake Malawi is often called the Lake of Stars because of the glittering produced by reflected light.
Lake Malawi is world famous for cichlids - a species of freshwater fish.
Maize, the staple food in Malawi, is not a native plant but was introduced by the Portuguese at the end of the eighteenth century.
In 1859 David Livingstone, the Scottish missionary and explorer, reached Lake Malawi which he named Lake Nyasa.
David Livingstone set up a Christian mission in Malawi.
Blantyre, now an important commercial and industrial centre in Malawi, was named after the birthplace of David Livingstone in Scotland.
The town of Zomba became the administrative capital of the British colonists.
John Chilembwe Day (15 January) honours the life of the famous Malawian. On 23 January 1915 Chilembwe led a revolt against the British colonial government; the uprising ended when John Chilembwe was killed a few weeks later.
During an uprising against the Federation in 1959 forty people lost their lives. These people are remembered on 3 March every year on Martyr's Day.
Between 1953 and 1963 Nyasaland (Malawi), Southern Rhodesia (Zimbabwe) and Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) became members of the Federation of Central Africa.
Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the first president of the Republic of Malawi.
Malawi is a member of the Commonwealth.
In 2002 around thirteen million people in Southern Africa faced severe food shortages. Countries particularly affected were Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Food shortages were announced again in 2005.
AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) is recognised as an important public health problem in Malawi.
Malawi has not been a premier African tourist destination, but it is a real jewel for those who do visit. It is known as the Warm Heart of Africa for very good reason. The Malawians are some of the friendliest people that you will ever meet.
The Rift Valley floor stretches the length of the country and Lake Malawi occupies most of it, being 364 miles long and 50 miles wide.
Malawi’s first President was Dr.Hastings Kamuzu Banda who made Malawi a one party state in 1966 and was named ‘Life President’ in 1971.
In 1993 there was a referendum, which led to the Malawian people voting overwhelmingly in favour of a multi-party democracy.
Most villages each have a chief. The chief is an integral part of the village who sorts out any disputes e.g. over land ownership issues.
There is very little in the way of shops as we know them, most shopping is done in the local markets, where you can get a big bunch of bananas for about 25p.
The only Carlsberg factory found outside Denmark is found in Blantyre, which also does free tours on a Wednesday afternoon. Bottles of Carlsberg are therefore very cheap at about 35p each.
Malawians’ staple food is maize, which practically every family will grow.
Very few Malawians own cars, so people get around by walking or by minibuses (mutolas). It is not uncommon to see 25 people in a 12-seater minibus with chickens and goats to add to the fun.
Malawi is amazingly green (especially in the rainy season) and totally different from what people imagine an African country to look like.
The Mount Mulanje and the Thyolo Tea Estates Found in the southeast of Malawi very close to the Mozambique border the magnificent Mulanje Massif rises up to nearly 10,000 feet AMSL.
If you want to spend a few days up on the mountain the only way you can get to the forestry offices is by hitching a lift in the back of a pick up truck. This all adds to the Mulanje experience!
There are many huts on the mountain which all offer different things to see and they keep you dry if nothing else when sleeping.
They say spirits wait at Sapitwa (the summit) to take travellers, so if you dare to challenge them you will be rewarded with spectacular views and a huge sense of satisfaction.
Thyolo is surrounded by lush, green fields stretching for miles containing thousands of tea plants.
The magnificent Ku Chawe Inn on the Zomba Plateau awaits and it is a welcome bit of luxury to westerners seeking a very nice meal out or a couple of nights in a fantastic setting, where monkeys wait to try and take advantage of any people daring to leave any food on their plate!
‘Queens view’ is a place where Queen Elizabeth II had lunch with President Banda.
The standard Metric system is used in Malawi. This basically means that measurements used are grams and kilograms instead of ounces and pounds, litres instead of pints and kilometers in place of miles.
Malawi has a number of publications in English apart from the two main daily newspapers, The Daily Times and The Nation and the weekly newsmagazine, The Malawi News.
There are two game areas in the region Mzuzu & the North - the beautiful and unique plateau of Nyika National Park and the Vwasa Marsh Game Reserve.
Also in the region Mzuzu is the famous Livingstonia Mission with its interesting museum.
Northwest of the capital Lilongwe is the vast Kasungu National Park with a great variety of wildlife and excellent accommodation.
North of Lilongwe is the famous Kamusu Academy (the 'Eton of Africa'). This is also the region supplying much of the country's important tobacco crop.
Nkhotakota, on the central lake shore, is one of Africa's oldest market towns and was once a centre of the slave trade.
Senga Bay, near the market town of Salima, is the main lakeshore resort of the central region.
Lizard Island, home to many varieties of lizard and eagle, is one of the many off-shore islands.
Cape Maclear, near Monkey Bay, has a beautiful sandy beach and is in the Lake Malawi National Park, the world's first freshwater reserve. It is here that the fish-rich lake is seen at its best.
Likoma Island located on the east side of the lake, near the Mozambique shore, Likoma Island is worth a visit - there is excellent swimming off the beaches and a very interesting Anglican Cathedral. Accommodation is limited.
Malawi's commercial capital is Blantyre and largest town was established at the end of the 19th century.
Blantyre is really two towns - Blantyre and Limbe, joined by a development corridor.
For the tourist, Mulanje offers a wide variety of activities, from rock climbing and mountain walking to the more leisurely pursuit of trout fishing. Mulanje is best visited between April and November.
Malawi has nine national parks and wildlife reserves but six are especially recommended for visitors.
In Nyika National Park, there is an airstrip for visitors arriving by air.
Kasungu National Park is best known for its elephants, which appear in the early morning and evening to drink from dambos (river channels).
Situated in the Shire Valley, south of Lake Malawi and north of Zomba, Liwonde is the most popular of the national parks.
Lengwe National Park has the diminutive Livingstone's Suni, one of the smallest of antelopes, as well as the rare Blue or Samango monkey.
Both Lake Malawi National Park and Chongoni Rock Art Area in Malawi are World Heritage Sites.
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