Surface: 118.484 km²
Population: 9.700.000 inhabitants
Density of population: 79 inhabitants/km²
Capital: Lilongwe
Official language: Chichewa and English
Official currency: kwacha
Imported products: car pieces, cars, textiles, food, petroleum
Exported products: tobacco, tea, cotton, sugar
Brut Intern Product: 2.222 million $
State type: republic

Geographical Characteristics:
Malawi is a no seaside country and has a maximum width of 160 km. It has mountains, plateaus and valleys. In the west side there is a plateau which continues with Nyika Mountains in the north which have 2.600 m and Shire Mountains in the south which has 3.000m on the Mulanje Peak. The Valley of the Great Rift cross the country and is occupied by Malawi Lake, the third lake as surface in Africa.


Climate:
Climate varies with altitude. The depressions are very hot in the wet season. In summer the temperature are 27°C and 20-21°C in the winter. The plateaus have a better climate. The rainy season is between October and March. A part of the mountains has rainfall of 200 cm per year but in most of them the rainfall is 100 cm per year.

Agriculture:
75% of the people work in agriculture which brings 90% of the export incomes. 50% of the surface of the country is grasslands. They cultivate corn, tea, tobacco, and sugar cane. Tobacco is the main commercial plant and Malawi is the second producer in Africa after Zimbabwe. The tea plantations are important. For food they cultivate corn, bean, peanuts, manioca, millet and rice. The Tze-Tze flee is a problem for the over 1 million cows. They also grow sheep, pigs and goats. The forests are a source of wood and Malawi Lake is an important source of fish.

Energy and Industry:
There are some factory for processing tea, tobacco and sugar, and also some wood and cement ones. 79% of the electric energy is produced by the hydro electric stations especially in the Tedzani and Nkula Waterfalls. There are some thermo electric power stations at Blantyre and Lilongwe.

Cities and Transports:
Lilongwe became the new capital in 1975 but the old capital was Zomba. Blantyre is the most important center with railways to Beira and Nacala in Mozambique. Malawi has 18.845 km of roads and navigable ways on Malawi Lake and Shire River.



Malawi Lists

	Malawi
	African countries
	African Union member states
	Landlocked countries
	English-speaking countries and territories
	Least Developed Countries
	Members of the Commonwealth of Nations
	States and territories established in 1964

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Tags: lilongwe, chichewa, english, kwacha, republic

Date Added: 15 November '06

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