Malawi, a largely agricultural nation, is making efforts to beat many years of underdevelopment.
For the primary 30 years of independence Malawi was run by an authoritarian and quixotic President Hastings Kamuzu Banda, however democratic establishments have taken maintain since he relinquished energy within the mid-Nineties.
Most Malawians depend on subsistence farming, however the meals provide state of affairs is precarious due to the local weather.
In recent times the nation has achieved vital financial development.
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Capital: Lilongwe
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Space: 118,484 sq km
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Inhabitants: 20.5 million
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Languages: English, plus Chewa, Lambya, Lomwe, Ngoni, Nyakyusa, Nyanja, Sena, Tonga, Tumbuka, Yao
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Life expectancy: 60 years (males) 67 years (girls)
President: Lazarus Chakwera
Mr Chakwera was sworn in as president in June 2020, ending a interval of turmoil after annulled elections the earlier yr.
A Christian preacher and theologian, he beat the incumbent president Peter Mutharika in a re-run of the 2019 ballot, which the courts determined had seen widespread irregularities.
President Chakwera has pledged to attempt to unite the nation after the bruising political stand-off.
Radio is the main medium and state-run Malawi Broadcasting Company (MBC) is the principle nationwide broadcaster.
The mid-Nineties noticed the beginning of a brand new period for press freedom in Malawi, with the emergence of unbiased newspapers and radio stations.
Nevertheless, newspapers are revealed in English, which limits their attain in a rustic the place many don’t communicate the language.
Some key dates in Malawi’s historical past:
1480 – Bantu tribes unite a number of smaller political states to kind the Maravi Confederacy which at its peak contains massive elements of present-day Zambia and Mozambique plus the fashionable state of Malawi.
seventeenth Century – Portuguese explorers arrive from the east coast of present-day Mozambique.
1850 – Scottish missionary David Livingstone’s exploration of the area paves the best way for missionaries, European adventurers, merchants.
1891 – Britain establishes the Nyasaland and District Protectorate.
1915 – Chilembwe rebellion. A riot in opposition to British colonial rule led by John Chilembwe, a US-educated Baptist minister, motivated by grievances together with compelled labour, racial discrimination and new calls for imposed on folks following the outbreak of World Struggle One. It’s militarily suppressed. Chilembwe and as much as 90 are both killed or later executed.
1953 – Regardless of robust opposition from the Nyasaland African Congress and white liberal activists, Britain combines Nyasaland with the Federation of Northern and Southern Rhodesia (now Zambia and Zimbabwe respectively).
1964 – Nyasaland declares independence as Malawi. Dr Hastings Kamuzu Banda, “the black messiah”, turns into president and guidelines over a one-party state for the subsequent three many years.
1994 – Bakili Muluzi is elected president in first multi-party elections since independence. He instantly frees political prisoners and re-establishes freedom of speech.
2011 – Police kill 19 folks in two days of protests in opposition to the best way the economic system is managed. Britain suspends help over governance considerations. US follows swimsuit.
2012 – President Bingu wa Mutharika dies in workplace, is succeeded by vice-president Joyce Banda.
2014 – Peter Mutharika, brother of Bingu wa Mutharika, wins presidential election.
2020 – Opposition chief Lazarus Chakwera beats Peter Mutharika in rescheduled elections, after the earlier yr’s ballot was annulled over vote-tampering.
