Portal:Malawi


The Malawi Portal

Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, 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 22,224,282 (as of July 2025). Lilongwe is its capital and largest city, while the next three largest cities are Blantyre, Mzuzu, and Zomba, the former capital.

The part of Africa 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, among others that flourished from the 16th century. In 1891, the area was colonised by the British as the British Central African Protectorate, being 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. Independence was characterized by Banda's highly repressive dictatorship. After the introduction of a multiparty system in 1993, Banda lost the 1994 general election. 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 (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. The country has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. HIV/AIDS is highly prevalent. The country has a diverse population that includes native peoples, Asians, and Europeans. The population is predominantly Christian and the majority are Protestant. (Full article...)

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The Native Tobacco Board, or NTB, (later renamed the African Tobacco Board) was formed in Nyasaland in 1926 as a Government-sponsored body with the primary aim of controlling the production of tobacco by African smallholders and generating revenues for the government, and the secondary aim of increasing the volume and quality of tobacco exports. At the time of its formation, much of Nyasaland's tobacco was produced on European-owned estates, whose owners demanded protection against African tobacco production that might compete with their own, and against the possibility that profitable smallholder farming would draw cheap African labour away from their estates. From around 1940, the aim of the NTB was less about restricting African tobacco production and more about generating governmental revenues, supposedly for development but still involving the diversion of resources away from smallholder farming. In 1956, the activities, powers and duties of what had by then been renamed the African Tobacco Board were transferred to the Agricultural Production and Marketing Board, which had powers to buy smallholder surpluses of tobacco, maize, cotton and other crops, but whose producer prices continued to be biased against peasant producers. (Full article...)

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Malawi
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Buildings and structures in Malawi
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The following are images from various Malawi-related articles on Wikipedia.

In the news

Wikinews Malawi portal
4 October 2025 – 2025 Malawian general election
Peter Mutharika is sworn in for his second non-consecutive term as President of Malawi following his victory in last month's national election. (Reuters)
24 September 2025 – 2025 Malawian general election
Former Malawian president Peter Mutharika is declared the winner of the presidential election, winning 57% of votes against the incumbent Lazarus Chakwera, who received 33%. (BBC News)
23 September 2025 – 2025 Malawian general election
Former Malawian president Peter Mutharika is projected to win the 2025 presidential election with more than 56% of the vote, according to unofficial tallies, while official results from the electoral commission show him leading incumbent Lazarus Chakwera. (Reuters)

Topics in Malawi

Selected picture

Credit: khym54

Children in Mgona, one of the poorest communities in Lilongwe, Malawi. AIDS-orphans play with a selfmade car.


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WikiProject Malawi
WikiProject Africa

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