Note: The menu shows the 36 African countries where Africare has worked, not the other African countries.

 

Malawi (Map courtesy of The World Factbook)

Malawi

REGION: Southern Africa
CAPITAL CITY: Lilongwe
POPULATION: 12,608,000
LAND AREA: The size of Pennsylvania

A landlocked country, Malawi's geography ranges from wetlands and lakes to mountains and forests. Its most prominent physical feature is the 580-kilometer-long Lake Nyasa. And its national parks and game reserves are popular tourist destinations. The country's economy is predominantly agricultural, with agriculture accounting for about one-third of GDP and four-fifths of export revenues. Some 85 percent of Malawi's people live in rural areas; and most are subsistence farmers, trapped in poverty. Despite the predominance of agriculture, the country has required thousands of tons of food aid annually in recent years ― as farmers have been battered by natural disasters ranging from drought to heavy rainfall. Rapid population growth has added to the country's stresses. Malawi also faces high rates of HIV/AIDS prevalence, claiming lives, limiting productivity and generally straining the nation's very limited resources. Malawi is one of the least developed countries in the world.

 

Country Stats

Life expectancy: 46.3 years (USA: 77.9)

Under-5 child mortality: 125/1,000 live births (USA: 7/1,000)

HIV prevalence, ages 15-49: [6.9 - 21.4]% (USA: [0.4 - 1.0]%)

Physicians per 100,000 people: 2 (USA: 256)

People undernourished: 35% (USA: 0%)

People with access to safe drinking water: 73% (USA: 100%)

Adult literacy: 64.1% (USA: 99%)

Annual income, one way to look at it (GDP per capita, PPP US$): $667 (USA: $41,890)

Annual income, another way to look at it (GDP per capita): $161 (USA: $41,890)

People living on less than $1 a day: 20.8% (USA: 0%)

(HIV prevalence statistics, UNAIDS. All other statistics, 2007/2008 Human Development Report, UNDP)

 

(Updated, Dec. 18, 2007)