Malawi (2002) | Reunion (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 27 districts; Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Likoma, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 44% (male 2,358,730; female 2,347,017)
15-64 years: 53.2% (male 2,810,478; female 2,884,601) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 120,761; female 180,237) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 31.3% (male 121,119; female 115,501)
15-64 years: 62.8% (male 233,607; female 240,502) 65 years and over: 5.9% (male 18,036; female 26,406) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats, groundnuts, Macadamia nuts | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 44 (2001) | 2 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2002) |
total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
- |
Area | total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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. | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 37.13 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 20.17 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $490 million
expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
revenues: $1.26 billion
expenditures: $2.62 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | Lilongwe | Saint-Denis |
Climate | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry from May to November, hot and rainy from November to April |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 207 km |
Constitution | 18 May 1994 | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Currency | Malawian kwacha (MWK) | euro (EUR) |
Death rate | 23.2 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $2.8 billion (2001 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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] (1) 773 166 FAX: [265] (1) 770 471 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 FAX: [1] (202) 265-0976 |
none (overseas department of France) |
Disputes - international | Malawi and Tanzania maintain a largely dormant dispute over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and current location of historical boundary in meandering Songwe River | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $427 million (1999) (1999) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France |
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 40% of GDP and 88% 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 performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrates the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 767.25 million kWh (2000) | 1.005 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 825 million kWh (2000) | 1.08 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 55.5%
hydro: 44.5% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m
highest point: Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
- |
Ethnic groups | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
Exchange rates | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 67.3111 (December 2001), 72.1973 (2001), 59.5438 (2000), 44.0881 (1999), 31.0727 (1998), 16.4442 (1997) | euros per US dollar - 1.06 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998) |
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: 38-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 Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Gonthier FRIEDERICI (since NA)
head of government: President of the General Council Jean-Luc POUDROUX (since NA March 1998) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | $415.5 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3%, (1993) |
Exports - partners | South Africa 18%, Germany 13%, US 13%, UK 10%, Japan 7%, Netherlands 3% (2000) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | calendar year |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band | the flag of France is used |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $7 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $4.174 billion (1999 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 40%
industry: 19% services: 41% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $660 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $5,600 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 1.7% (2001 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 30 S, 34 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 E |
Geography - note | landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
Government - note | the executive exerts considerable influence over the legislature | - |
Highways | total: 14,594 km
paved: 2,773 km unpaved: 11,821 km (2001) |
total: 2,724 km
paved: 1,300 km (including 73 km of four-lane road) unpaved: 1,424 km (1994) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $463.6 million f.o.b. (2001) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | South Africa 40%, UK 11%, Zimbabwe 7%, Japan 5%, Germany 2%, US 1.8%, Zambia (2000) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2000) |
Independence | 6 July 1964 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
Industrial production growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
Infant mortality rate | 119.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 8.13 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.89 deaths/1,000 live births female: 7.34 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 28.6% (2001 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | FZ, InOC, WFTU |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 7 (2001) | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 280 sq km (1998 est.) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
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 | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 4.5 million (2001 est.) | 309,900 (2000) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 86% (1997 est.) | agriculture 13%, industry 12%, services 75% (2000) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 19.93%
permanent crops: 1.33% other: 78.74% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 13.2%
permanent crops: 2% other: 84.8% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally | French (official), Creole widely used |
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 | French 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 96, MCP 61, AFORD 30, others 6 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004); Regional Council - last held 15 March 1998 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PCR 19, UDF 9, RPR 8, various right-wing candidates 4, various left-wing candidates 5 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held NA 2001 (next to be held NA 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held NA 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UMP-RPR 1, UMP 1, PCR 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 36.59 years
male: 36.05 years female: 37.15 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 73.43 years
male: 70.03 years female: 77 years (2003 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 can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, east of Zambia | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Africa | World |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Army (including Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (including paramilitary Mobile Force Unit) | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (including Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $9.5 million (FY00/01) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.76% (FY00/01) | - |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 2,535,207 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 198,341 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 1,301,625 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 101,116 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 6,795 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | NA | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite | fish, arable land, hydropower |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] - governing party | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Paul VERGES]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Jean-Claude FRUTEAU]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | National Democratic Alliance [Brown MPINGANJIRA] | NA |
Population | 10,701,824
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 2002 est.) |
755,171 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 54% (FY90/91 est. ) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.39% (2002 est.) | 1.47% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba | Le Port, Pointe des Galets |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus a third station held in standby status) (2001) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
Radios | 2.6 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 797 km
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2001) |
0 km |
Religions | Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 3%, other 2% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 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 (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: NA
domestic: system employs 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 38,000 (1999) | 268,500 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 49,000 (2000) | 197,000 (September 2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 5.04 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 2.53 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 36% (1999 est.) |
Waterways | 144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall |
none |