Malawi
sovereign state in Africa / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Malawi (Republic of Malawi) is a country in south-east Africa. It has borders with the countries of Tanzania, Zambia, and Mozambique. The capital of Malawi is Lilongwe and the spoken languages are English and Chichewa. The official language of Malawi is English. The total size is about 118480 km² and there are about 100 people per km². The country is also called "The Warm Heart of Africa".[9] Malawi is one of the smallest countries in Africa. Lake Malawi takes about a third of Malawi's area.[10]
Republic of Malawi Chalo cha Malawi, Dziko la Malaŵi | |
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Motto: Unity and Freedom[1] | |
Anthem: Mlungu dalitsani Malaŵi (Chichewa) "Oh God Bless Our Land of Malawi"[2] | |
Capital and largest city | Lilongwe 13°57′S 33°42′E |
Official languages | English Chichewa[3] |
Ethnic groups (2008) | Chewa 32.67% Yao 20.5% Lomwe 17.6% Ngoni 11.5% Tumbuka 8.8% Nyanja 5.8% Sena 3.6% Tonga 2.1% Ngonde 1% other 3.5% |
Demonym(s) | Malawian |
Government | Multi-party democracy |
Lazarus Chakwera | |
• Vice President | Saulos Chilima |
Independence | |
• from the United Kingdom | July 6, 1964 |
Area | |
• Total | 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) (99th) |
• Water (%) | 20.6% |
Population | |
• 2013 estimate | 16,407,000[4] (64th) |
• 1998 census | 9,933,868[5] |
• Density | 128.8/km2 (333.6/sq mi) (86th) |
GDP (PPP) | 2016 estimate |
• Total | $21.843 billion[6] |
• Per capita | $1,172[6] |
GDP (nominal) | 2016 estimate |
• Total | $6.149 billion[6] |
• Per capita | $330[6] |
Gini (2010) | 43.9[7] medium |
HDI (2013) | 0.414[8] low · 174th |
Currency | Kwacha (D) (MWK) |
Time zone | UTC+2 (CAT) |
UTC+2 (not observed) | |
Driving side | left |
Calling code | +265[3] |
ISO 3166 code | MW |
Internet TLD | .mw[3] |
1 Population estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected. 2Information is drawn from the CIA Factbook unless otherwise noted. |
Bantu people started living in Malawi in the 10th century. In 1891 the area became a colony of the United Kingdom. In 1953 Malawi, then called as Nyasaland, as a protectorate of the United Kingdom, became an almost independent country called Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The Federation was ended in 1963. In 1964 the protection of the United Kingdom over Nyasaland was ended. Nyasaland became an independent country which was ruled by Queen Elizabeth and was called Malawi. Two years later it became a republic. After getting independence it became a one-party rule which was ruled by Hastings Banda. He was president until 1994. Peter Mutharika is the current president. Malawi has a democratic, many party government. Malawi has a small military: army, a navy and an air support. Malawi has good relations with Western countries and most countries in the world. Malawi has joined some international organizations.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. Economy is based in farming. Most of the population live in field areas. Country gets aid from other countries. Government has a hard time building and expanding the economy and develop health care, education and environment safety. Since 2005 some programs have been developed to focus on these problems.
Malawi has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. People become ill with AIDS. Africans, Asians and Europeans are living in the country and they speak in different languages.