Malawi (2001) | Dominica (2005) | |
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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; note - there may be three new districts named Balaka, Likoma, and Phalombe | 10 parishes; Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Joseph, Saint Luke, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick, Saint Paul, Saint Peter |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
44.43% (male 2,348,940; female 2,337,290) 15-64 years: 52.78% (male 2,741,622; female 2,825,966) 65 years and over: 2.79% (male 119,283; female 175,149) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 26.7% (male 9,328/female 9,125)
15-64 years: 65.4% (male 23,225/female 21,900) 65 years and over: 7.9% (male 2,193/female 3,258) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats | bananas, citrus, mangoes, root crops, coconuts, cocoa; forest and fishery potential not exploited |
Airports | 44 (2000 est.) | 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
6 over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2000 est.) |
total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
38 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 23 (2000 est.) |
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Area | total:
118,480 sq km land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
total: 754 sq km
land: 754 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly more than four times the size of Washington, DC |
Background | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule, the country held multiparty elections in 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year. National multiparty elections were held again in 1999. | Dominica was the last of the Caribbean islands to be colonized by Europeans, due chiefly to the fierce resistance of the native Caribs. France ceded possession to Great Britain in 1763, which made the island a colony in 1805. In 1980, two years after independence, Dominica's fortunes improved when a corrupt and tyrannical administration was replaced by that of Mary Eugenia CHARLES, the first female prime minister in the Caribbean, who remained in office for 15 years. Some 3,000 Carib Indians still living on Dominica are the only pre-Columbian population remaining in the eastern Caribbean. |
Birth rate | 37.8 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 15.73 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$490 million expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $73.9 million
expenditures: $84.4 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2001) |
Capital | Lilongwe | Roseau |
Climate | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) | tropical; moderated by northeast trade winds; heavy rainfall |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 148 km |
Constitution | 18 May 1994 | 3 November 1978 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Republic of Malawi conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
conventional long form: Commonwealth of Dominica
conventional short form: Dominica |
Currency | Malawian kwacha (MWK) | - |
Death rate | 22.81 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 6.81 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.9 billion (2000 est.) | $161.5 million (2001) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Roger A. MEECE embassy: Area 40, Plot 24, Kenyatta Road mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] 773 166 FAX: [265] 770 471 |
the US does not have an embassy in Dominica; the US Ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Dominica |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission:
Ambassador Paul Tony Steven KANDIERO chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Swinburne LESTRADE
chancery: 3216 New Mexico Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20016 telephone: [1] (202) 364-6781 FAX: [1] (202) 364-6791 consulate(s) general: New York |
Disputes - international | dispute with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) | joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under UNCLOS, which permits Venezuela to extend its EEZ/continental shelf over a large portion of the Caribbean Sea |
Economic aid - recipient | $427 million (1999) | $22.8 million (2003 est.) |
Economy - 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 37% of GDP and 85% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face up to environmental problems, and to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS. | The Dominican economy depends on agriculture, primarily bananas, and remains highly vulnerable to climatic conditions and international economic developments. Production of bananas dropped precipitously in 2003, a major reason for the 1% decline in GDP. Tourism increased in 2003 as the government sought to promote Dominica as an "ecotourism" destination. Development of the tourism industry remains difficult, however, because of the rugged coastline, lack of beaches, and the absence of an international airport. The government began a comprehensive restructuring of the economy in 2003 - including elimination of price controls, privatization of the state banana company, and tax increases - to address Dominica's economic crisis and to meet IMF targets. In order to diversify the island's production base the government is attempting to develop an offshore financial sector and is planning to construct an oil refinery on the eastern part of the island. |
Electricity - consumption | 950 million kWh (1999) | 63.62 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 3 million kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.025 billion kWh (1999) | 68.41 million kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
2.44% hydro: 97.56% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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Elevation extremes | lowest point:
junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m highest point: Sapitwa 3,002 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Morne Diablatins 1,447 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations | NA |
Environment - international agreements | party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuko, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European | black, mixed black and European, European, Syrian, Carib Amerindian |
Exchange rates | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 80.0946 (December 2000), 59.5438 (2000), 44.0881 (1999), 31.0727 (1998), 16.4442 (1997), 15.3085 (1996) | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 36-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Bakili MULUZI reelected president; percent of vote - Bakili MULUZI (UDF) 51.4%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA (MCP-AFORD) 44.3% |
chief of state: President Nicholas J. O. LIVERPOOL (since October 2003)
head of government: Prime Minister Roosevelt SKERRIT (since 8 January 2004); note - assumed post after death of Prime Minister Pierre CHARLES cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president on the advice of the prime minister elections: president elected by the House of Assembly for a five-year term; election last held 1 October 2003 (next to be held October 2008); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Nicholas LIVERPOOL elected president; percent of legislative vote - NA% |
Exports | $416 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Exports - commodities | tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products | bananas, soap, bay oil, vegetables, grapefruit, oranges |
Exports - partners | South Africa 16%, Germany 16%, US 15%, Netherlands 7%, Japan (1999) | UK 21.6%, Jamaica 14.8%, Antigua and Barbuda 8.8%, Guyana 7.5%, Japan 5.4%, Trinidad and Tobago 4.8%, US 4.3%, Saint Lucia 4% (2004) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band | green, with a centered cross of three equal bands - the vertical part is yellow (hoist side), black, and white and the horizontal part is yellow (top), black, and white; superimposed in the center of the cross is a red disk bearing a sisserou parrot encircled by 10 green, five-pointed stars edged in yellow; the 10 stars represent the 10 administrative divisions (parishes) |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $9.4 billion (2000 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
37% industry: 29% services: 34% (1998 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,500 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 3% (2000 est.) | -1% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 30 S, 34 00 E | 15 25 N, 61 20 W |
Geography - note | landlocked | known as "The Nature Island of the Caribbean" due to its spectacular, lush, and varied flora and fauna, which are protected by an extensive natural park system; the most mountainous of the Lesser Antilles, its volcanic peaks are cones of lava craters and include Boiling Lake, the second-largest, thermally active lake in the world |
Highways | total:
16,451 km paved: 3,126 km unpaved: 13,325 km (1997) |
total: 780 km
paved: 393 km unpaved: 387 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | - | transshipment point for narcotics bound for the US and Europe; minor cannabis producer; anti-money-laundering enforcement is weak, making the country particularly vulnerable to money laundering |
Imports | $435 million (f.o.b., 2000) | NA |
Imports - commodities | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment | manufactured goods, machinery and equipment, food, chemicals |
Imports - partners | South Africa 43%, Zimbabwe 14%, UK 5%, Germany 5%, Zambia, Japan, US (1999) | China 20.4%, US 16.8%, Trinidad and Tobago 12.3%, UK 6.9%, South Korea 4.6%, Japan 4.3% (2004) |
Independence | 6 July 1964 (from UK) | 3 November 1978 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | -10% (1997 est.) |
Industries | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods | soap, coconut oil, tourism, copra, furniture, cement blocks, shoes |
Infant mortality rate | 121.12 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 14.15 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 18.68 deaths/1,000 live births female: 9.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 29.5% (2000) | 1% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACCT, ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, MIGA, NAM (observer), OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 8 (2001) | - |
Irrigated land | 280 sq km (1993 est.) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court, consisting of the Court of Appeal and the High Court (located in Saint Lucia; one of the six judges must reside in Dominica and preside over the Court of Summary Jurisdiction) |
Labor force | 3.5 million | 25,000 (1999 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 86% (1997 est.) | agriculture 40%, industry and commerce 32%, services 28% |
Land boundaries | total:
2,881 km border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land:
34% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 20% forests and woodland: 39% other: 7% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 6.67%
permanent crops: 20% other: 73.33% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally | English (official), French patois |
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 | based on English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - UDF 48%, MCP 34%, AFORD 15%, others 3%; seats by party - UDF 94, MCP 66, AFORD 29, others 4 |
unicameral House of Assembly (30 seats, 9 appointed senators, 21 elected by popular vote; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 5 May 2005 (next to be held by 5 August 2010); note - tradition dictates that the election will be held within five years of the last election, but technically it is five years from the first seating of parliament (12 May 2005) plus a 90-day grace period election results: percent of vote by party - DLP 52.08%, UWP 43.6%, DFP 3.15%; seats by party - DLP 12, UWP 8, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
37.08 years male: 36.61 years female: 37.55 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 74.65 years
male: 71.73 years female: 77.71 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 58% male: 72.8% female: 43.4% (1999 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 94% male: 94% female: 94% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, east of Zambia | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about one-half of the way from Puerto Rico to Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
contiguous zone: 24 nm exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | total: 32 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 13,771 GRT/19,736 DWT
by type: bulk carrier 2, cargo 19, chemical tanker 2, container 1, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 5, refrigerated cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1 foreign-owned: 21 (Estonia 6, Greece 3, Pakistan 1, Russia 2, Singapore 6, Syria 2, UAE 1) (2005) |
Military branches | Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes paramilitary Mobile Force Unit) | no regular military forces; Commonwealth of Dominica Police Force (includes Coast Guard) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9.5 million (FY00/01) | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.76% (FY00/01) | NA |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
2,466,708 (2001 est.) |
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Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49:
1,265,893 (2001 est.) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 6 July (1964) | Independence Day, 3 November (1978) |
Nationality | noun:
Malawian(s) adjective: Malawian |
noun: Dominican(s)
adjective: Dominican |
Natural hazards | NA | flash floods are a constant threat; destructive hurricanes can be expected during the late summer months |
Natural resources | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite | timber, hydropower, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | -11.6 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA, president]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Gwanda CHAKUAMBA, president, John TEMBO, vice president]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA, president]; National Independence Party; Social Democratic Party or SDP [Eston KAKHOME, president]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] - governing party | Dominica Freedom Party or DFP [Charles SAVARIN]; Dominica Labor Party or DLP [Roosevelt SKERRIT]; United Workers Party or UWP [Edison JAMES] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | Dominica Liberation Movement or DLM (a small leftist party) |
Population | 10,548,250
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.) |
69,029 (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 54% (FY90/91 est.) | 30% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.5% (2001 est.) | -0.27% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba | Portsmouth, Roseau |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 4 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 3 (1998) | AM 2, FM 4, shortwave 0 (2004) |
Radios | 2.6 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total:
789 km narrow gauge: 789 km 1.067-m gauge |
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Religions | Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs | Roman Catholic 77%, Protestant 15% (Methodist 5%, Pentecostal 3%, Seventh-Day Adventist 3%, Baptist 2%, other 2%), other 6%, none 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
NA domestic: fair system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: fully automatic network international: country code - 1-767; microwave radio relay and SHF radiotelephone links to Martinique and Guadeloupe; VHF and UHF radiotelephone links to Saint Lucia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 37,000 (1997) | 23,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,000 (1997) | 9,400 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1999) | 1 (2004) |
Terrain | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains | rugged mountains of volcanic origin |
Total fertility rate | 5.18 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 1.96 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 23% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall |
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