Portal:Malawi

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The Malawi Portal

Flag of Malawi

Malawi (/məˈlɑːwi/; lit. 'flames' in Chichewa and Chitumbuka), officially the Republic of Malawi and formerly known as Nyasaland, 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 21,240,689 (as of 2024). Malawi's capital and largest city is Lilongwe. Its second-largest is Blantyre, its third-largest is Mzuzu, and its fourth-largest is Zomba, the former capital.

The part of Africa now known as Malawi was settled around the 10th century by migrating Bantu groups. They formed various kingdoms such as Maravi kingdom and Nkhamanga Kingdom, 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 were 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, and there is an array of religious beliefs. 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...)

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The National Assembly of Malawi is the supreme legislative body of the nation. It is situated on Capital Hill, Lilongwe along Presidential Way. The National Assembly alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in Malawi. At its head is the Speaker of the House who is elected by his or her peers. Since June 19, 2019, the Speaker is Catherine Gotani Hara.

The 1994 Constitution provided for a Senate, but Parliament repealed it. Malawi therefore has a unicameral legislature in practice. The National Assembly has 193 members of Parliament (MPs) who are directly elected in single-member constituencies using the simple majority (or first-past-the-post) system and serve five-year terms. (Full article...)

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

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

Image 1Elephant in Majete Wildlife Reserve (from Malawi)
Image 2Scientific research output in terms of publications in Southern Africa, cumulative totals by field, 2008–2014 (from Malawi)
Image 3Lake Malawi (from Malawi)
Image 4Domestic expenditure on research in Southern Africa as a percentage of GDP, 2012 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 5Scientific publication trends in the most productive SADC countries, 2005–2014 (from Malawi)
Image 6Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 7Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014 (from Malawi)
Image 8Crafts market in Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 9Mbawemi Women's group in Malawi learning how to add value to beeswax by making candles (from Malawi)
Image 10Mountains in Northern Malawi during the rainy season (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 12Malawian female soldier (from Malawi)
Image 13Locations of Malawian diplomatic embassies or high commissions as of 2012^[update] (from Malawi)
Image 14Malawi health passport showing 3 languages most used in Malawi: English (red dot), Chewa (blue dot), and Tumbuka (green dot). (from Malawi)
Image 15GDP in Southern African Development Community countries by economic sector, 2013 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 16Mission Church in Livingstonia (from Malawi)
Image 17Bingu National Stadium in Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 181897 British Central Africa stamp issued by the United Kingdom (from Malawi)
Image 19Public expenditure on education in Southern Africa as a share of GDP, 2012 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 20Harvesting groundnuts at an agricultural research station in Malawi (from Malawi)
Image 21Chongoni Rock Art Area (from Malawi)
Image 22Children attending a farmer meeting in Nalifu village, Mulanje (from Malawi)
Image 23National Assembly building in Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 24The M1 road between Blantyre and Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 25Musical instruments of Malawi (from Malawi)

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In the news

Wikinews Malawi portal

20 August 2024 – 2023–2024 mpox epidemic: Malawi declares mpox a public health emergency, following growing concerns and a reported probable case of mpox in the country. (MBC Malawi)
11 June 2024 – 2024 Chikangawa Dornier 228 crash: The wreckage of an aircraft which went missing yesterday in Malawi amid bad weather is found. All ten people on board, including the country's Vice-President Saulos Chilima, are confirmed dead. (Reuters)
10 June 2024 – 2024 Chikangawa Dornier 228 crash: An aircraft carrying Malawian Vice-President Saulos Chilima and nine others is reported missing while flying from Lilongwe to Mzuzu. (BBC News)