Malawi geography, the Rift Valley, the great East African tomb, traverses the country from north to south and contains the Malawi Lake and to the south the valley of the Shire River. The west bank of the lake rises steeply towards the country’s central plateau (700-1300 m); to the north it is replaced by the Nyika and Viphyas mountains (up over 2600 m), and to the south near the border with Mozambique lies the mountain range Mulanje with the highest point of the country (3000 m). Between this and the Shire Valley lies Blantyre-Limbe, the country’s largest city and commercial center, while Lilongwe, located in the middle of the country, was chosen as the capital for regional political reasons.
Population
Malawi is one of Africa’s most densely populated countries, 109 in. km2. Most live in the southern part of the country, which has also been politically dominant. Population growth is high (2.2% in 2004), but declining, especially due to increased mortality. In 2003, it was estimated that approximately 14% of the population between the ages of 15 and 49 had HIV/AIDS. Among the country’s poor, malnutrition is widespread, and in the months leading up to this year’s harvest there is also actual hunger. Child mortality is high and mean life is low, respectively. 44 and 45 years for men and women. 80% live in the countryside. The many ethnic groups are all Bantu people, who mainly live on arable farming, and in many places there are also cattle breeding; the spread of the tsetse flyis a limiting factor. The largest group is Chewa, which lives mainly on the middle part of Lake Malawi; yao lives at the southern part of the lake, nsenga in the central highlands and tonga to the north. With regard. religion divides the population roughly equally between Christianity, Islam and traditional religions. The majority of ethnic groups are matrilinearly organized; they count not only kinship, inheritance and succession according to the mother line, but also political duties. In the villages, the various matrilines are in principle led by the elder uncle. To this group, the village chief has only a limited influence, although under Hastings Banda they were part of a strong hierarchical system with the almost sacred chief (Banda) at the top. After the fall of Banda, many chiefs are considered to be compromised.
Countryaah: Do you know how many people there are in Malawi? Check this site to see population pyramid and resident density about this country.
The country’s weak economy has since the early 1900’s. As a result, an increasing number of men have taken up jobs in neighboring countries, especially on farms in Zimbabwe and South Africa’s mines. For culture and traditions of Malawi, please check allunitconverters.
Climate
Malawi is located in the tropical climate belt, but both temperature and rainfall vary widely in the mountainous country. There is dry season from May to October with low temperatures in the mountains, while the average temperature in the rainy summer from November to March is usually 25-30 °C on the central plateau. The lowest areas of the lake receive the least rainfall, 600-900 mm; several mountain areas get over 2000 mm and are covered by lush rainforest. Frost can occur on the highest peaks.
Agriculture
Agriculture is Malawi’s completely dominant occupation; it employs the vast majority of the workforce and contributes 90% of export revenue, especially tobacco and tea from large plantations as well as sugar. Only a few farmers participate in this commercial sector; the vast majority are small farmers who grow corn, rice, cassava, peanuts and beans for their own consumption. The operating modes are traditional and the yield per hectare is very low.
A little under half of the area is covered by forest, and forestry is under development. for the purpose of paper production.
Industry
The industry is poorly developed and especially aimed at simple processing of agricultural raw materials. Development is limited by the weak domestic market and poorly developed infrastructure. Add to this the 25 years of civil war in Mozambique, where the port cities of Nacala and Beira are located. Both road and rail networks have been oriented towards this, which has long costly and complicated both industrial development and foreign trade; the Nacala railway was reopened in 2002. In 2002, an Australian company began the establishment of the country’s first uranium mine.
Nature
The densely populated Malawi cannot offer big game experiences in the same class as other East African countries, but seven national parks reflect the country’s varied and, in many places, very beautiful scenery. Best known is Nyika National Park with, among other things, many antelope species on the highland savannah and Kasungu with elephants and lions. Nyika also has breathtaking views at the old Mission station Livingstonia: from 800 m altitude you can see here over Lake Malawi.
