Malawi (2005) | American Samoa (2001) | |
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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 (territory of the US); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are three districts and two islands* at the second order; Eastern, Manu'a, Rose Island*, Swains Island*, Western |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 46.9% (male 2,877,568/female 2,823,296)
15-64 years: 50.4% (male 3,041,352/female 3,081,762) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 132,175/female 202,771) (2005 est.) |
0-14 years:
38.44% (male 13,278; female 12,512) 15-64 years: 56.57% (male 18,784; female 19,163) 65 years and over: 4.99% (male 1,779; female 1,568) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; groundnuts, Macadamia nuts; cattle, goats | bananas, coconuts, vegetables, taro, breadfruit, yams, copra, pineapples, papayas; dairy products, livestock |
Airports | 42 (2004 est.) | 4 (2000 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 (2004 est.) |
total:
2 2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 20 (2004 est.) |
total:
2 under 914 m: 2 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
total:
199 sq km land: 199 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Rose Island and Swains Island |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than 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 under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution, which came into full effect the following year. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after the previous president failed to amend the constitution to permit another term, has struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor, who still leads their shared political party. MATHARIKA's anti-corruption efforts have led to several high-level arrests but no convictions. Increasing corruption, population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, and HIV/AIDS pose major problems for the country. | Settled as early as 1000 B. C., Samoa was "discovered" by European explorers in the 18th century. International rivalries in the latter half of the 19th century were settled by an 1899 treaty in which Germany and the US divided the Samoan archipelago. The US formally occupied its portion - a smaller group of eastern islands with the excellent harbor of Pago Pago - the following year. |
Birth rate | 43.95 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 24.88 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $536 million
expenditures: $635.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.) |
revenues:
$121 million (37% in local revenue and 63% in US grants) expenditures: $127 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY96/97) |
Capital | Lilongwe | Pago Pago |
Climate | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) | tropical marine, moderated by southeast trade winds; annual rainfall averages about 3 m; rainy season from November to April, dry season from May to October; little seasonal temperature variation |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 116 km |
Constitution | 18 May 1994 | ratified 1966, in effect 1967 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
conventional long form:
Territory of American Samoa conventional short form: American Samoa abbreviation: AS |
Currency | - | US dollar (USD) |
Death rate | 23.39 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 4.31 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $3.129 billion (2004 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | unincorporated and unorganized territory of the US; administered by the Office of Insular Affairs, US Department of the Interior |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires David GILMOUR
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 (territory of the US) |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard Herbert SANDE
chancery: 1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 721-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 721-0288 |
none (territory of the US) |
Disputes - international | disputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $540 million (1999) | important financial support from the US, more than $40 million in 1994 |
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 accounted for nearly 40% of GDP and 88% of export revenues in 2001. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for over 50% of exports. 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, including developing a market economy, improving educational facilities, facing up to environmental problems, dealing with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS, and satisfying foreign donors that fiscal discipline is being tightened. In 2005, the anticorruption campaign championed by President MUTHARIKA may help encourage investment and economic growth. | This is a traditional Polynesian economy in which more than 90% of the land is communally owned. Economic activity is strongly linked to the US, with which American Samoa conducts the great bulk of its foreign trade. Tuna fishing and tuna processing plants are the backbone of the private sector, with canned tuna the primary export. Transfers from the US Government add substantially to American Samoa's economic well-being. Attempts by the government to develop a larger and broader economy are restrained by Samoa's remote location, its limited transportation, and its devastating hurricanes. Tourism, a developing sector, has been held back by the recurring financial difficulties in East Asia. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.012 billion kWh (2002) | 120.9 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 1.088 billion kWh (2002) | 130 million kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
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:
Pacific Ocean 0 m highest point: Lata 966 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations | limited natural fresh water resources; the water division of the government has spent substantial funds in the past few years to improve water catchments and pipelines |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, 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 | Samoan (Polynesian) 89%, Caucasian 2%, Tongan 4%, other 5% |
Exchange rates | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 108.894 (2004), 97.433 (2003), 76.687 (2002), 72.197 (2001), 59.544 (2000) | the US dollar is used |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 46-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: Bingu wa MUTHARIKA elected president; percent of vote - Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (UDF) 35.9%, John TEMBO (MCP) 27.1%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA (MC) 25.7%, Brown MPINGANJIRA (NDA) 8.7%, Justin MALEWEZI (independent) 2.5% |
chief of state:
President George W. BUSH of the US (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001) head of government: Governor Tauese P. SUNIA (since 3 January 1997) and Lieutenant Governor Togiola TULAFONO (since 3 January 1997) cabinet: NA elections: US president and vice president elected on the same ticket for four-year terms; governor and lieutenant governor elected on the same ticket by popular vote for four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: Tauese P. SUNIA reelected governor; percent of vote - Tauese P. SUNIA (Democrat) 50.7%, Lealaifuaneva Peter REID (independent) 47.8% |
Exports | NA | $500 million (1998) |
Exports - commodities | tobacco 60%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel | canned tuna 93% |
Exports - partners | South Africa 13.5%, US 12%, Germany 11.6%, Egypt 8.4%, UK 6.6%, Mozambique 4.5% (2004) | US 99.6% |
Fiscal year | 1 July - 30 June | 1 October - 30 September |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band | blue, with a white triangle edged in red that is based on the outer side and extends to the hoist side; a brown and white American bald eagle flying toward the hoist side is carrying two traditional Samoan symbols of authority, a staff and a war club |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $500 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 54.8%
industry: 19.2% services: 26% (2004 est.) |
agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $8,000 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Geographic coordinates | 13 30 S, 34 00 E | 14 20 S, 170 00 W |
Geography - note | landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature | Pago Pago has one of the best natural deepwater harbors in the South Pacific Ocean, sheltered by shape from rough seas and protected by peripheral mountains from high winds; strategic location in the South Pacific Ocean |
Government - note | the executive exerts considerable influence over the legislature | - |
Highways | total: 28,400 km
paved: 5,254 km unpaved: 23,146 km (1999 est.) |
total:
350 km paved: 150 km unpaved: 200 km |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | NA | $471 million (1996) |
Imports - commodities | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment | materials for canneries 56%, food 8%, petroleum products 7%, machinery and parts 6% |
Imports - partners | South Africa 37.3%, India 8.1%, Mozambique 7.7%, Zimbabwe 7.2%, Tanzania 4.6%, Germany 4.1% (2004) | US 62%, Japan 9%, NZ 7%, Australia 11%, Fiji 4%, other 7% |
Independence | 6 July 1964 (from UK) | none (territory of the US) |
Industrial production growth rate | 1.4% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Industries | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods | tuna canneries (largely dependent on foreign fishing vessels), handicrafts |
Infant mortality rate | total: 103.32 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 107.44 deaths/1,000 live births female: 99.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
10.36 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12% (2004 est.) | NA% |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ESCAP (associate), Interpol (subbureau), IOC, SPC |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 280 sq km (1998 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 | High Court (chief justice and associate justices are appointed by the US Secretary of the Interior) |
Labor force | 4.5 million (2001 est.) | 14,000 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 90% (2003 est.) | government 33%, tuna canneries 34%, other 33% (1990) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.38%
permanent crops: 1.49% other: 75.13% (2001) |
arable land:
5% permanent crops: 10% permanent pastures: 0% forests and woodland: 70% other: 15% (1993 est.) |
Languages | Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census) | Samoan (closely related to Hawaiian and other Polynesian languages), English
note: most people are bilingual |
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 | NA |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UDF 74, MCP 60, Independents 24, RP 16, others 18, vacancies 1 |
bicameral Fono or Legislative Assembly consists of the House of Representatives (21 seats - 20 of which are elected by popular vote and 1 is an appointed, nonvoting delegate from Swains Island; members serve two-year terms) and the Senate (18 seats; members are elected from local chiefs and serve four-year terms)
elections: House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - only independents elected note: American Samoa elects one delegate to the US House of Representatives; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2002); results - Eni F. H. FALEOMAVAEGA (Democrat) reelected as delegate for a sixth term |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 41.43 years
male: 41.66 years female: 41.2 years (2005 est.) |
total population:
75.32 years male: 70.89 years female: 80.02 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62.7% male: 76.1% female: 49.8% (2003 est.) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 98% female: 97% (1980 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, east of Zambia | Oceania, group of islands in the South Pacific Ocean, about one-half of the way from Hawaii to New Zealand |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2000 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of the US |
Military branches | Malawi Armed Forces: Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes Mobile Force Unit) | - |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $11.1 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 0.7% (2004) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964) | Flag Day, 17 April (1900) |
Nationality | noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian |
noun:
American Samoan(s) adjective: American Samoan |
Natural hazards | NA | typhoons common from December to March |
Natural resources | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite | pumice, pumicite |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | 3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [John TEMBO]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA]; Malawi Forum for Unity and Development or MAFUNDE [George MNESA]; Mgwirizano Coalition or MC (coalition of MAFUNDE, MDP, MGODE, NUP, PETRA, PPM, RP) [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA]; Movement for Genuine Democratic Change or MGODE [Sam Kandodo BANDA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Brown MPINGANJIRA]; National Unity Party or NUP [Harry CHIUME]; New Congress for Democracy or NCD [Hetherwick NTABA]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Aleke BANDA]; People's Transformation Movement or PETRA [Kamuzu CHIBAMBO]; Republican Party or RP [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bingu wa MUTHARIKA] - governing party | Democratic Party [leader NA]; Republican Party [leader NA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | NA |
Population | 12,158,924
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 2005 est.) |
67,084 (July 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 55% (2004 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 2.06% (2005 est.) | 2.42% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba | Aunu'u (new construction), Auasi, Faleosao, Ofu, Pago Pago, Ta'u |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus a third station held in standby status) (2001) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Radios | - | 57,000 (1997) |
Railways | total: 797 km
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3% (1998 census) | Christian Congregationalist 50%, Roman Catholic 20%, Protestant and other 30% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.65 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
at birth:
1.06 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.13 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 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: country code - 265; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment:
NA domestic: good telex, telegraph, facsimile and cellular telephone services; domestic satellite system with 1 Comsat earth station international: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Pacific Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 85,000 (2003) | 13,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 135,100 (2003) | 2,550 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains | five volcanic islands with rugged peaks and limited coastal plains, two coral atolls (Rose Island, Swains Island) |
Total fertility rate | 5.98 children born/woman (2005 est.) | 3.5 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA (2003 est.) | 16% (1993) |
Waterways | 700 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire River (2003) |
none |