Located in southeastern Africa, Malawi is a country of spectacular highlands and extensive lakes. For many years it was ruled by Britain under the name Nyasaland. Malawi became an independent nation in 1964. The country's name comes from the Maravi, a group of Bantu-speaking peoples who first settled in the region about 600 years ago. The capital of Malawi is Lilongwe.
Malawi covers an area of 45,747 square miles (118,484 square kilometers). Long and narrow in shape, it stretches for more than 520 miles (840 kilometers) from north to south and is up to 100 miles (160 kilometers) wide. Malawi is bordered by Tanzania to the north, Mozambique to the east and south, and Zambia to the west. It is landlocked, meaning that it has no coastline.
Malawi is a mountainous country. The East African Rift Valley, which runs along the eastern border, is the country's dominant physical feature. It contains Lake Nyasa (known in Malawi as Lake Malawi), one of the deepest lakes in the world. The plateaus of central Malawi rise to heights of 2,500 to 4,500 feet (760 to 1,370 meters) and cover much of the country. In the north the land reaches altitudes of more than 8,000 feet (2,400 meters) in the Nyika Plateau. To the south are the Shire Highlands. In the far south stand the high Zomba Plateau and Mount Mulanje, the country's highest point at 9,849 feet (3,002 meters).
Malawi has a subtropical climate. It experiences two main seasons: the dry season from May to October and the wet season from November to April. Annual precipitation ranges from 90 inches (230 centimeters) on the northern highlands to 30 inches (80 centimeters) in the lowlands. Temperatures are mild at the higher elevations but rise to well over 100° F (38° C) in the lowlands.
Forests and woodlands occupy about 40 percent of the total land area of Malawi. Savanna (grassland) occurs in the dry lowland areas. The plateaus are infertile and consist mainly of sparse woodland. Denser forests are found in the highlands, where rainfall is heavier.
The country's rich animal life is protected in several game reserves and national parks. It includes antelopes, buffalo, elephants, leopards, lions, rhinoceroses, and zebras. Lake Malawi boasts more than 400 fish species that are found nowhere else. The most common fish are tilapia, catfish, and minnows.
Almost the entire population of Malawi consists of black Africans. The major ethnic groups include the Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Tonga, Lomwe, Yao, and Ngoni. Small minorities of Europeans and Asians also live in Malawi. More than half of the people speak the Chichewa language. English and other African languages of the Bantu language family are spoken as well. About half of the people are Christian. Islam and traditional African religions also have large followings.
Malawi's population lives mostly in the south of the country. Most people live in rural areas. In the late 20th century, however, increasing numbers of people began moving to cities. The largest cities are Blantyre and Lilongwe, the capital.
Malawi's annual population growth rate is relatively high. Almost half of the population is under 15 years of age. The rate of growth has slowed, however, because of the disease AIDS. The disease caused life expectancy in Malawi to drop below 40 years in the late 1990s.
Although Malawi's literacy rate is quite low, the country has a rich literary tradition. Malawi culture is distinguished also by a great variety of traditional songs and dances that use the drum as the major musical instrument. Many people practice traditional arts and crafts, including sculpture in wood and ivory.
Farming is the basis of Malawi's economy. It accounts for some 90 percent of the country's export earnings and employs more than 80 percent of the people. Malawi has some of the richest soils in south-central Africa. Corn, sorghum, sugarcane, potatoes, tobacco, tea, peanuts, cassavas, plantains, and cotton are important crops. Fish are caught in the rivers and lakes.
Manufacturing is a small but fast-growing part of Malawi's economy. Industries center on the production of chemicals, textiles, food and beverages, sugar, and cigarettes. Mineral industries are limited to the mining of coal and the quarrying of limestone. The main export is tobacco, followed by tea, sugar, and cotton.
The region that is now Malawi has been inhabited for more than 10,000 years. The first known people to inhabit the area were the ancestors of the Twa and Fula tribes. Bantu-speaking peoples arrived in the region between the 1st and 4th centuries AD. In the 15th century the Bantu speakers founded a kingdom known as the Maravi Confederacy. The confederacy covered most of what is now central and southern Malawi.
The growth of political states in the region was disturbed by the development of the slave trade in the 18th and 19th centuries. The Scottish missionary David Livingstone reached Lake Nyasa in 1859. He introduced Christianity to the area. Islam spread into the Malawi region with the slave trade. The British occupied the area in the 1880s and 1890s. In 1891 Britain established the Nyasaland Districts Protectorate, which was renamed Nyasaland in 1907.
In 1953 Nyasaland was combined with the neighboring British colonies of Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia) and Southern Rhodesia (now Zimbabwe) to form the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland. The federation ended in 1963. The following year Nyasaland achieved independent status under the name Malawi. It became a republic in 1966.
The first president of Malawi was Hastings Kamuzu Banda. He declared himself president for life in 1971. Under Banda's rule Malawi was a one-party state. In 1993 the people voted to end the one-party system. The next year Banda was defeated in democratic elections, ending his 30-year rule. The new government faced many difficulties, including the AIDS epidemic and a weak economy. Population (2001 estimate), 10,491,000.
