President: Bingu wa Mutharika (2004)

Area: 45,745 sq mi (118,480 sq km)

Population (2005 est.): 12,158,924 (growth rate: 2.1%); birth rate: 44.0/1000; infant mortality rate: 103.3/1000; life expectancy: 37.0; density per sq mi: 266

Capital (2003 est.): Lilongwe, 499,200

Largest city: Blantyre, 547,500

Monetary unit: Kwacha

Languages: English and Chichewa (both official), others important regionally

Ethnicity/race: Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European

Religions: Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Islam 20%, indigenous beliefs 3%, other 2%

Literacy rate: 63% (2003 est.)

Economic summary: GDP/PPP (2004 est.): $7.41 billion; per capita $600. Real growth rate: 4%. Inflation: 12%. Unemployment: n.a. (2003 est.). Arable land: 23%. Agriculture: tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; groundnuts, Macadamia nuts; cattle, goats. Labor force: 4.5 million (2001 est.); agriculture 90% (2003 est.). Industries: tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods. Natural resources: limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite. Exports: $503.4 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): tobacco 60%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel. Imports: $521.1 million (f.o.b., 2004 est.): food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment. Major trading partners: South Africa, U.S., Germany, Egypt, Portugal, Japan, Netherlands, South Africa, India, Tanzania (2003).

Member of Commonwealth of Nations

Communications: Telephones: main lines in use: 45,000 (2000); mobile cellular: 49,000 (2000). Radio broadcast stations: AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus a third station held in standby status) (2001). Radios: 2.6 million (1997). Television broadcast stations: 1 (2001). Televisions: n.a. Internet Service Providers (ISPs): 3 (2002). Internet users: 35,000 (2002).

Transportation: Railways: total: 797 km (2002). Highways: total: 28,400 km; paved: 5,254 km; unpaved: 23,146 km (1999 est.). Waterways: 144 km; Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall. Ports and harbors: Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba. Airports: 43 (2002).

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