Aminet 6/Aminet 6 - June 1995.iso/Aminet/docs/misc/wfbook93_texi.lha/texi/147.data

Text File | 1995-03-27 | 8.9 KB | 339 lines

@node Geography (Malawi)
@section Geography (Malawi)

@display

Location:
  Southern Africa, between Mozambique and Zambia
Map references:
  Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Area:  total area:
  118,480 km2
 land area:
  94,080 km2
 comparative area:
  slightly larger than Pennsylvania
Land boundaries:
  total 2,881 km, Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km
Coastline:
  0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
  none; landlocked
International disputes:
  dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi)
Climate:
  tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November)
Terrain:
  narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains
Natural resources:
  limestone, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite
Land use:
 arable land:
  25%
 permanent crops:
  0%
 meadows and pastures:
  20%
 forest and woodland:
  50%
 other:
  5%
Irrigated land:
  200 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  deforestation
Note:
  landlocked



@end display

@node People (Malawi)
@section People (Malawi)

@display

Population:
  9,831,935 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  -0.95% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  51.1 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  22.87 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  -37.71 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  141.9 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:   40.48 years
 male:
  39.61 years
 female:
  41.37 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  7.5 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Nationality:
 noun:
  Malawian(s)
 adjective:
  Malawian
Ethnic divisions:
  Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian,
  European
Religions:
  Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, traditional indigenous
  beliefs
Languages:
  English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important
  regionally
Literacy:
  age 15 and over can read and write (1966)
 total population:
  22%
 male:
  34%
 female:
  12%
Labor force:
  428,000 wage earners
 by occupation:
  agriculture 43%, manufacturing 16%, personal services 15%, commerce 9%,
  construction 7%, miscellaneous services 4%, other permanently employed 6%
  (1986)



@end display

@node Government (Malawi)
@section Government (Malawi)

@display

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Malawi
 conventional short form:
  Malawi
 former:
  Nyasaland
Digraph:
  MI
Type:
  one-party republic
 note:
  a referendum to determine whether Malawi should remain a one-party state is
  scheduled to be held on 14 June 1993
Capital:
  Lilongwe
Administrative divisions:
  24 districts; Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga,
  Kasungu, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza,
  Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Rumphi, Salima,
  Thyolo, Zomba
Independence:
  6 July 1964 (from UK)
Constitution:
  6 July 1964; republished as amended January 1974
Legal system:
  based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of
  legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory
  ICJ jurisdiction
National holiday:
  Independence Day, 6 July (1964)
Political parties and leaders:
  only party - Malawi Congress Party (MCP), Wadson DELEZA, administrative
  secretary; John TEMBO, treasurer general; top party position of secretary
  general vacant since 1983
Other political or pressure groups:
  Alliance for Democracy (AFORD), Chakufwa CHIHANA; United Democratic Front
  (UDF) Bakili MULUZI; Malawi Democratic People (MDP), leader NA
Suffrage:
  21 years of age; universal
Elections:
 President:
  President BANDA sworn in as President for Life on 6 July 1971
 National Assembly:
  last held 26-27 June 1987 (next to be held by June 1997); results - MCP is
  the only party; seats - (141 total, 136 elected) MCP 141
Executive branch:
  president, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
  unicameral National Assembly
Judicial branch:
  High Court, Supreme Court of Appeal
Leaders:
 Chief of State and Head of Government:
  President Dr. Hastings Kamuzu BANDA (since 6 July 1966; sworn in as
  President for Life 6 July 1971)



@end display

@node Government (Malawi 2. usage)
@section Government (Malawi 2. usage)

@display

Member of:
  ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
  ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LORCS,
  NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO
Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Robert B. MBAYA
 chancery:
  2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008
 telephone:
  [phone]
US diplomatic representation:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Michael T. F. PISTOR
 embassy:
  address NA, in new capital city development area in Lilongwe
 mailing address:
  P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe
 telephone:
  [265] 730-166
 FAX:
  [265] 732-282
Flag:
  three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant,
  rising, red sun centered in the black band; similar to the flag of
  Afghanistan, which is longer and has the national coat of arms superimposed
  on the hoist side of the black and red bands



@end display

@node Economy (Malawi)
@section Economy (Malawi)

@display

Overview:
  Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The
  economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population
  living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 40% of GDP and 90% of export
  revenues. After two years of weak performance, economic growth improved
  significantly in 1988-91 as a result of good weather and a broadly based
  economic adjustment effort by the government. Drought cut overall output
  sharply in 1992. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic
  assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.9 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  -7.7% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $200 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  21% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  NA%
Budget:
  revenues $398 million; expenditures $510 million, including capital
  expenditures of $154 million (FY91 est.)
Exports:
  $400 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.)
 commodities:
  tobacco, tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts, wood products
 partners:
  US, UK, Zambia, South Africa, Germany
Imports:
  $660 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
 commodities:
  food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation
  equipment
 partners:
  South Africa, Japan, US, UK, Zimbabwe
External debt:
  $1.8 billion (December 1991 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate 4.0% (1990 est.); accounts for about 18% of GDP (1988)
Electricity:
  190,000 kW capacity; 620 million kWh produced, 65 kWh per capita (1992)
Industries:
  agricultural processing (tea, tobacco, sugar), sawmilling, cement, consumer
  goods
Agriculture:
  accounts for 40% of GDP; cash crops - tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, and
  corn; subsistence crops - potatoes, cassava, sorghum, pulses; livestock -
  cattle, goats
Economic aid:
  US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $215 million; Western (non-US)
  countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $2,150 million
Currency:
  1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala
Exchange rates:
  Malawian kwacha (MK) per US$1 - 4.3418 (November 1992), 2.8033 (1991),
  2.7289 (1990), 2.7595 (1989), 2.5613 (1988), 2.2087 (1987)
Fiscal year:
  1 April - 31 March



@end display

@node Communications (Malawi)
@section Communications (Malawi)

@display

Railroads:
  789 km 1.067-meter gauge
Highways:
  13,135 km total; 2,364 km paved; 251 km crushed stone, gravel, or stabilized
  soil; 10,520 km earth and improved earth
Inland waterways:
  Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi); Shire River, 144 km
Ports:
  Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, and Nkotakota - all on Lake Nyasa (Lake
  Malawi)
Airports:
 total:
  47
 usable:
  41
 with permanent-surface runways:
  5
 with runways over 3,659 m:
  0
 with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
  1
 with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
  10
Telecommunications:
  fair system of open-wire lines, radio relay links, and radio communications
  stations; 42,250 telephones; broadcast stations - 10 AM, 17 FM, no TV;
  satellite earth stations - 1 Indian Ocean INTELSAT and 1 Atlantic Ocean
  INTELSAT
Note:
  a majority of exports would normally go through Mozambique on the Beira,
  Nacala, and Limgogo railroads, but now most go through South Africa because
  of insurgent activity and damage to rail lines



@end display

@node Defense Forces (Malawi)
@section Defense Forces (Malawi)

@display

Branches:
  Army (including Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (including
  paramilitary Mobile Force Unit), paramilitary Malawi Young Pioneers
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 2,059,509; fit for military service 1,048,986 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $22 million, 1.6% of GDP (1989 est.)



@end display