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COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z Africa Institute of South Africa | Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles 251 Malawi Orientation Landlocked Malawi is a long and narrow stretch of land located on the western and southern side of Lake Malawi. Malawi shares borders with Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. Compared with its neighbours, Malawi is a small country. A large part (24 400 km2 ) is covered by water (Lake Malawi and smaller lakes such as Malombe, Chiula and Chilwa). Blantyre (population 486 000), Lilongwe (population 442 000) and Mzuzu (population 88 000), are the three major cities in Malawi. Less than one-fifth of the population lives in towns and cities. Malawi’s tropical climate and fertile soil makes for a productive agricultural sector. The climate is temperate with high rainfall in the high-lying areas. Rainfall is generally reliable in the summer months, averaging 750–1 015 mm per year and is even higher in some areas; 34% of the land is arable with only 18% under cultivation. People The Chewa and related Nyanja account for about half the population and they have close ancestral links with other groups. Hence Chichewa is the official language besides English. The southern region is culturally diverse and contains a number of minority groups such as the Lomwe Yao, Ngoni and others. The northern region is predominantly Tumbuka, with Tonga and Nkhonde minority groups. Most people (75%) profess Christianity and belong to various Protestant denominations and African Indigenous Churches. Roman Catholics account for about a third of the population. Traditional beliefs retain a significant following. There are roughly over 1.5 million Muslims of whom the majority are Yao, living at the southern end of Lake Malawi. Economy About 80% of the population makes a living in agriculture. Agricultural output generates 90% of export earnings and contributes about half of GDP. Most of the food crops come from smallholders. Tobacco, grown on estates, is the principal crop, accounting for about half of total exports earnings. Other important exports are tea, cotton and sugar. Maize is grown throughout the country for subsistence and is the country’s staple crop. Fish is also important in the staple diet and fishing on Lake Malawi provides employment for roughly 200 000 people. The manufacturing sector is predominantly agricultural processing. Other activities in this sector include: textiles, clothing and footwear production. Manufacturing COUNTRY PROFILES A-Z 252 Africa A-Z: Continental and Country Profiles | Africa Institute of South Africa accounted for 13% and the services sector for 26% of GDP in 2000. History The Chewa, Nyanja, Nyasa, Nsenga, Phiri and Zimba inhabited the area around the southern end of Lake Malawi from about 600 years ago. Having broken away from the Lunda–Luba kingdom in central Africa, these groups formed a loose grouping of kingdoms that acknowledged the supremacy of the kalonga (king) of the Phiri clan. Other groups such as the Tumbuka settled along the northwestern side of Lake Malawi. The Yao settled to the northeast of the lake, where they were influenced by the Arabs and converted to Islam; many Yao’s later migrated southwards and settled in southern Malawi. Colonial rule began with the formation of the British protectorate of Nyasaland in 1891; British missionaries arrived as early as 1860 and were very active along the shores of Lake Malawi and the Shire River. The colonial population generally opposed the creation of the Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland in 1953. Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, who returned home in 1958 after spending much of his life overseas, led the anti-federation movement. In 1959 a state of emergency was declared and black leaders, including Banda, were arrested and detained. However, the British government decided to disband the federation and to grant independence to Nyasaland. Dr Banda, who led the Malawi Congress Party (MCP), won the 1961 pre-independence elections with an overwhelming majority. Banda became prime minister in 1962 and led the country, renamed Malawi, to independence in July 1964. A republican constitution was adopted in July 1966 and all political parties were banned except for the MCP. In 1969 the national assembly conferred on Banda the status of “president for life”. For the next 20 years Banda ruled Malawi with an iron hand, ruthlessly suppressing any opposition and giving favours to his close aides. The moves towards restoration of the multi-party system began by the end of the 1980s; under both internal and external pressure the ageing Banda yielded and announced...

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