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. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor, culminating in MUTHARIKA quitting the political party on whose ticket he was elected into office. MUTHARIKA subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and has continued with a halting anti-corruption campaign against abuses carried out under the previous regime. Increasing corruption, population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, and the spread of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for the country.
13,603,181 note: 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 (July 2007 est.)
total: 16.7 years male: 16.6 years female: 16.8 years (2007 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.383% (2007 est.)
Birth rate:
42.09 births/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Death rate:
18.25 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.004 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.005 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.753 male(s)/female total population: 0.997 male(s)/female (2007 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 92.1 deaths/1,000 live births male: 96.27 deaths/1,000 live births female: 87.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 42.98 years male: 43.35 years female: 42.61 years (2007 est.)
Total fertility rate:
5.74 children born/woman (2007 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
14.2% (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
900,000 (2003 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
84,000 (2003 est.)
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and plague are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2007)
Nationality:
noun: Malawian(s) adjective: Malawian
Ethnic groups:
Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European
Religions:
Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3% (1998 census)
conventional long form: Republic of Malawi conventional short form: Malawi local long form: Dziko la Malawi local short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland
Government type:
multiparty democracy
Capital:
name: Lilongwe geographic coordinates: 13 59 S, 33 44 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004) cabinet: 46-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009) election results: Bingu wa MUTHARIKA elected president; percent of vote - Bingu wa MUTHARIKA 35.9%, John TEMBO 27.1%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA 25.7%, Brown MPINGANJIRA 8.7%, Justin MALEWEZI 2.5%
Legislative branch:
unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms) elections: last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held in May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UDF 74, MCP 60, independents 24, RP 16, others 18, vacancies 1
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts
Political parties and leaders:
Alliance for Democracy or AFORD; Congress for National Unity or CONU; Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Bingu wa MUTHARIKA]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [John TEMBO]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA]; Malawi Forum for Unity and Development or MAFUNDE [George MNESA]; Mgwirizano Coalition or MC [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA] (coalition of MAFUNDE, MDP, MGODE, NUP, PETRA, PPM, RP); Movement for Genuine Democratic Change or MGODE [Sam Kandodo BANDA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Brown MPINGANJIRA]; National Unity Party or NUP [Harry CHIUME]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Aleke BANDA]; People's Transformation Movement or PETRA [Kamuzu CHIBAMBO]; Republican Party or RP [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA]; United Democratic Front or UDF
general assessment: NA domestic: system employs open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: country code - 265; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean, 1 Atlantic Ocean)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus one shortwave station on standby) (2001)
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