Malawi

Outside Lilongwe - rural Malawi

The land strikes you as being very lush and green (remember that this is the wet / rainy season). However on the 2 hour journey, I so no new buildings. The pictures below represent all the houses which are either run down and in bad repair or are mud huts with straw roofs.

About Malawi -Facts and Figure

The Malawi flag was officially adopted on July 6, 1964, shortly after gaining its independence.

The rising sun represents a new dawn, or beginning, black is symbolic of the country's African heritage, red the blood shed in the long struggle for freedom, and green represents the land.

Geography
Area: 45,747 square miles
Capital: Lilongwe (pop 523,000)
Environmental concerns: deforestation; land degradation; water pollution; siltation of fish spawning grounds
Geographical features: narrow plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains; landlocked
Climate: subtropical

People
10,702,000 people; 90% Chewa, 10% Nyanja, Lomwe, other Bantu groups
Annual growth rate: 1.39%
Major languages are Chichewa; English; regional languages
Religions: Christian (75%), Muslim (20%), indigenous beliefs (5%)

Health and social issues
Life expectancy: Men, 36 years; women, 37 years
Infant mortality: 120 deaths per 1000 live births
More than 50 % of the population lives in poverty
1 physician per 47,634 people
HIV/AIDS rate in adults: 15.96%
58% of adults are literate
Compulsory education 6-14 years

Communication and transportation
38,000 land-line telephones
36,000 Internet users (2002)
8,756 miles of highway
489 miles of railroad
44 airfields
55,000 motor vehicles

Government
Malawi is a democracy that became independent on July 6, 1964
President Bingu Wa Mutharika is head of state and government
4 political parties
Voting age =18

Military
Military expenditures are 0.76% of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
Current disputes: boundary dispute with Tanzania

Economy
Currency: kwachas
Per capita GDP: $660
GDP: $7 billion
GDP growth rate: 1.7%
Inflation rate: 28.6%
Labor force: 86% agriculture

Resources and industry
Natural resources: limestone; uranium; coal; bauxite; arable land; hydropower
Agriculture: tobacco, tea; sugarcane; cotton; potatoes; cassava; sorghum; pulses; livestock
Industry: tobacco; sugar; tea; sawmill products; cement; consumer goods
Exports: $415.5 million
Imports: $463.6 million

National Anthem

by Michael-Fredrick Paul Sauka, adopted: 1964, selected as a result of a competition a few months before independence in 1964, the anthem resembles the musical style of southern African songs. (Download the tune at the bottom of this page)

O God bless our land of Malawi,
Keep it a land of peace.
Put down each and every enemy,
Hunger, disease, envy.
Join together all our hearts as one,
That we be free from fear.
Bless our leader, each and every one,
And Mother Malawi.

Our own Malawi, this land so fair,
Fertile and brave and free.
With its lakes, refreshing mountain air,
How greatly blest are we.
Hills and valleys, soil so rich and rare,
Give us a bounty free.
Wood and forest, plains so broad and fair,
All-beauteous Malawi.

Freedom ever, let us all unite
To build up Malawi.
With our love, our zeal and loyalty,
Bringing our best to her.
In time of war, or in time of peace,
One purpose and one goal.
Men and women serving selflessly
In building Malawi.