Portal:Malawi

The Malawi Portal

Flag of Malawi

Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeast 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 a population of 22,224,282 (as of July 2025). Lilongwe is its capital and largest city.

The part of Africa now known as Malawi was settled around the 10th century by the Akafula, also known as the Abathwa. Later, the Bantu groups came and drove out the Akafula and formed various kingdoms such as the Maravi and Nkhamanga kingdoms, that flourished from the 16th century. The British Empire began to consolidate control of the area following the 1890 British Ultimatum against the Portuguese, who had claimed the area between Angola and Mozambique in the 1885 Pink Map. In 1891, the area was designated by the British as the British Central African Protectorate, renamed Nyasaland in 1907. In 1964, Nyasaland became independent 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. Malawi's first few decades of independence was characterized by Banda's highly repressive dictatorship. After the introduction of a multi-party system in 1993, Banda lost the 1994 general election, and the country has continued to experience peaceful transitions of power. 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 diplomatic relations with most countries and participates in several international organisations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the African Union.

Malawi is one of the world's least developed countries. Its economy is heavily based on agriculture, and it has a largely rural and growing population. The country has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. HIV/AIDS is highly prevalent. The diverse population includes native peoples, Asians, and Europeans. The population is predominantly Christian, and the majority are Protestant. (Full article...)

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In August and September 1964, a cabinet crisis occurred in Malawi following the dismissal of three cabinet ministers and a parliamentary secretary by Prime Minister Hastings Banda on 7 September. The dismissals came after an unresolved confrontation, between Banda and some of his ministers on 26 August, and would be followed by the resignations of three more cabinet ministers along with another parliamentary secretary who were sympathetic with those who were dismissed. Initially, this only left the President and one other minister in post, although one of those who had resigned rescinded his resignation within a few hours.

The reasons that the ex-ministers put forward for the confrontation and subsequent resignations were the autocratic attitude of Banda, who failed to consult other ministers and kept power in his own hands, his insistence on maintaining diplomatic relations with South Africa and Portugal, and a number of domestic austerity measures. It is unclear whether the former ministers intended to remove Banda entirely, to reduce his role to that of a non-executive figurehead or simply to force him to recognise collective cabinet responsibility. (Full article...)

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

Image 1Malawian female soldier (from Malawi)
Image 2Mbawemi Women's group in Malawi learning how to make beeswax into candles (from Malawi)
Image 3Public expenditure on education in Southern Africa as a share of GDP, 2012 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 4The M1 road between Blantyre and Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 5Malawi's first Prime Minister and later the first President, Hastings Banda (left), with Tanzania's President Julius Nyerere (right) (from Malawi)
Image 6Crafts market in Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 7Mountains in Northern Malawi during the rainy season (from Malawi)
Image 8Elephant in Majete Wildlife Reserve (from Malawi)
Image 91897 British Central Africa stamp issued by the United Kingdom (from Malawi)
Image 10Mission Church in Livingstonia (from Malawi)
Image 11Children attending a farmer meeting in Nalifu village, Mulanje (from Malawi)
Image 12Harvesting groundnuts at an agricultural research station in Malawi (from Malawi)
Image 13National Assembly building in Lilongwe (from Malawi)
Image 14Chongoni Rock Art Area (from Malawi)
Image 15Locations of Malawian diplomatic embassies or high commissions as of 2012^[update] (from Malawi)
Image 16GDP in Southern African Development Community countries by economic sector, 2013 or closest year (from Malawi)
Image 17Musical instruments of Malawi (from Malawi)
Image 18Lake Malawi (from Malawi)
Image 19Scientific publication trends in the most productive SADC countries, 2005–2014 (from Malawi)

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... that St Michael and All Angels Church (pictured) in Blantyre, Malawi, was constructed of brick in the late 1800s by local builders, led by a cleric who had no formal architectural training?

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