Attribute | Value |
---|---|
Geography | |
Area | 118,484 km² |
Continent | Africa |
Land area | 94,080 km² |
Water area | 24,404 km² |
Land boundaries | 2,857 km |
Border countries |
|
Coastline | 0 km |
Mean elevation | 779 m |
Lowest point | 37 m |
Highest point | 3,002 m |
People | |
Population | 21,196,629 |
Official languages |
|
Religion | Protestant |
Government | |
Long country name | Republic of Malawi |
Short country name | Malawi |
Long local name | Dziko la Malawi |
Short local name | Malawi |
Former name |
|
Government type | Presidential republic |
Capital | Lilongwe |
Economy | |
GDP (PPP) | 22,420,000,000 USD |
GDP (OER) | 6,240,000,000 USD |
GDP (real growth rate) | 4 % |
GDP - per capita (PPP) | 1,200 USD |
Gross national saving | 3.9 % of GDP |
Labor force | 7,000,000 |
Unemployment rate | 20.4 % |
Population below poverty line | 50.7 % |
Budget revenues | 1,356,000,000 USD |
Budget expenditures | 1,567,000,000 USD |
Military expenditures | 0.85 % of GDP |
Taxes and other revenues | 21.7 % of GDP |
Budget surplus or deficit | -3.4 % of GDP |
Public debt | 59.2 % of GDP |
Inflation rate | 12.2 % |
Central bank discount rate | 16 % |
Commercial bank prime lending rate | 38.1 % |
Stock of narrow money | 632,400,000 USD |
Stock of broad money | 632,400,000 USD |
Stock of domestic credit | 1,161,000,000 USD |
Market value of publicly traded shares | 18,970,000 USD |
Current account balance | -591,000,000 USD |
Exports | 1,420,000,000 USD |
Imports | 2,312,000,000 USD |
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | 780,200,000 USD |
External debt | 2,102,000,000 USD |
National currency | Malawian kwachas |
National currency (code) | MWK |
National currency (symbol) | MK |
National currency rate to USD | 731.69 |
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 presidential and parliamentary elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution that came into full effect the following year. Bakili MULUZI became the first freely elected president of Malawi when he won the presidency in 1994; he won re-election in 1999. President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in 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 and subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party in 2005. MUTHARIKA was reelected to a second term in 2009. He oversaw some economic improvement in his first term, but was accused of economic mismanagement and poor governance in his second term. He died abruptly in 2012 and was succeeded by vice president, Joyce BANDA, who had earlier started her own party, the People's Party. MUTHARIKA's brother, Peter MUTHARIKA, defeated BANDA in the 2014 election. Population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and the scourge of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for Malawi.