Portal:Malawi

The Malawi Portal

Flag of Malawi

Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over 118,484 km² (45,747 sq mi) and has an estimated population of 22,224,282 (as of July 2025). Lilongwe is its capital and largest city, while the next three largest cities are Blantyre, Mzuzu, and Zomba, the former capital.

The part of Africa known as Malawi was settled around the 10th century by the Akafula, also known as the Abathwa. Later, the Bantu groups came and drove out the Akafula and formed various kingdoms such as the Maravi and Nkhamanga kingdoms, among others that flourished from the 16th century. In 1891, the area was colonised by the British as the British Central African Protectorate, and it was renamed Nyasaland in 1907. In 1964, Nyasaland became an independent country as a Commonwealth realm under Prime Minister Hastings Banda, and was renamed Malawi. Two years later, Banda became president by converting the country into a one-party presidential republic. Banda was declared President for life in 1971. Independence was characterized by Banda's highly repressive dictatorship. After the introduction of a multiparty system in 1993, Banda lost the 1994 general election. Today, Malawi has a democratic, multi-party republic headed by an elected president. According to the 2024 V-Dem Democracy indices, Malawi is ranked 74th electoral democracy worldwide and 11th electoral democracy in Africa. The country maintains positive diplomatic relations with most countries, and participates in several international organisations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Southern African Development Community (SADC), the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (COMESA), and the African Union (AU).

Malawi is one of the world's least-developed countries. The economy is heavily based on agriculture, and it has a largely rural and growing population. Key indicators of progress in the economy, education, and healthcare were seen in 2007 and 2008.

Malawi has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. HIV/AIDS is highly prevalent, which both reduces the labour force and requires increased government expenditures. The country has a diverse population that includes native peoples, Asians, and Europeans. Several languages are spoken. The population is predominantly Christian and the majority are Protestant. Although in the past there was a periodic regional conflict fuelled in part by ethnic divisions, by 2008 this internal conflict had considerably diminished, and the idea of identifying with one's Malawian nationality had reemerged. (Full article...)

Selected article -

The African Lakes Corporation plc was a British company originally set-up in 1877 by Scottish businessmen to co-operate with Presbyterian missions in what is now Malawi. Despite its original connections with the Free Church of Scotland, it operated its businesses in Africa on a commercial rather than a philanthropic basis. It had political ambitions in the 1880s to control part of Central Africa and engaged in armed conflict with Swahili traders. Its businesses in the colonial era included water transport on the lakes and rivers of Central Africa, wholesale and retail trading including the operation of general stores, labour recruitment, landowning and later an automotive business. The company later diversified, but suffered an economic decline in the 1990s and was liquidated in 2007. One of the last directors of the company kindly bought the records of the company and donated them to Glasgow University Archive Services, where they are still available for research. (Full article...)

List of selected articles

Did you know -

... that Monkey Bay (pictured) on Lake Malawi is a tourist resort accessed through the road to Cape Maclear?

General images -

The following are images from various Malawi-related articles on Wikipedia.

Image 1Scientific research output in terms of publications in Southern Africa, cumulative totals by field, 2008–2014 (from Malawi)
Image 2Chongoni Rock Art Area (from Malawi)
Image 3Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 4Malawi health passport showing 3 major languages most used in Malawi: English (red dot), Chewa (blue dot), and Tumbuka (green dot). (from Malawi)
Image 5Crafts market in Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 6Lake Malawi (from Malawi)
Image 7Mountains in Northern Malawi during the rainy season (from Malawi)
Image 8Children attending a farmer meeting in Nalifu village, Mulanje (from Malawi)
Image 9National Assembly building in Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 10Malawian female soldier (from Malawi)
Image 11Malawi's first Prime Minister and later the first President, Hastings Banda (left), with Tanzania's President Julius Nyerere (right) (from Malawi)
Image 12GDP in Southern African Development Community countries by economic sector, 2013 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 13Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014 (from Malawi)
Image 14Elephant in Majete Wildlife Reserve (from Malawi)
Image 15Locations of Malawian diplomatic embassies or high commissions as of 2012 (from Malawi)
Image 16The M1 road between Blantyre and Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 17Mbawemi Women's group in Malawi learning how to make beeswax into candles (from Malawi)
Image 18Musical instruments of Malawi (from Malawi)
Image 19Domestic expenditure on research in Southern Africa as a percentage of GDP, 2012 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 201897 British Central Africa stamp issued by the United Kingdom (from Malawi)
Image 21Harvesting groundnuts at an agricultural research station in Malawi (from Malawi)
Image 22Public expenditure on education in Southern Africa as a share of GDP, 2012 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 23Mission Church in Livingstonia (from Malawi)
Image 24Scientific publication trends in the most productive SADC countries, 2005–2014 (from Malawi)