Malawi commodities and industry

Welcome to Malawi

Official name: Republic of Malawi
Capital: Lilongwe
Area: 118,484 km ²
Provincial nature: In the NE shore of Lake Malawi area, according to S then Shire ditch, then Shire highlands, in the highlands west of elongated strips
Climate: Tropical wet-changing, in the deeper parts of the country very hot
Main rivers: Shire, Bua
Highest point: Mount Mlanje 3 ooo m
Lowest point: Lake Malawi
Government: presidential republic
Head of state: President
Management: 3 Regions
Parliament: National Assembly (unicameral parliament) with 192 deputies elected for 5 years
National Day: 6 July
Population: 10.64 million (1999) 13,013,926 (estimated for July 2006)
Population density: 90 persons per sq / km ² (1999)
Urban population: 15% (1999)
Illiteracy rate: 44% (1999)
Language: Nyanja (Chewa), English (official languages), Tumbuka, Lomwe, Yao, etc.
Religion: Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%
Import commodities: machinery, vehicles, diesel fuel, gasoline, yarns, textiles, iron, steel, paper
Export commodities: tobacco (70%), tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts, rice


The surface shape of the small landlocked country of Malawi is dominated by the East African grave fault system. With steep, sometimes heavily cut-up scarp rising side of the ditch-wide high levels in 1000 to 1500 m altitude. Which is uniform from the dry forest-lined hull surface by numerous inselbergs and massifs dominated. The country stretches from the southern border of Tanzania to the Zambezi valley, where the Lake Malawi (Lake Nyasa) draining Shire flows into this stream. The east-west extension of the country is a maximum of 350 km, the north-south length of 850 km. Accordingly, the different alternating wet tropical climate: the duration of the rainy season decreases from south to north from about 5 to 8 months.

Population and history
The original population, probably related groups were the San, the Marawi - immigrant Bantu tribes such Tumbuku, Chewa and Tonga - pushed away, absorbed or destroyed. In the 16 / 17 Century, they created a well-organized political system, the Kingdom "Marawi", which gave the name of the present Republic. Later came the warlike tribes of the Ngoni pastoralists from southern Africa and the Muslim Yao into the country. The slave trade, the Arabs associated with the operated Yao led to high loss of life in this region.

Powered by the travel reports of the African explorer David Livingstone, who accused the indirect debt of his European contemporaries in the slave trade can be, from 1875 to Scottish missionaries settled in the sea area. They were followed by traders and merchants, and in 1891 the country was declared a British protectorate. The current borders between Zambia and Malawi, then Nyasaland (Nyasaland), were without consideration of tribal borders of Great Britain and the "British South Africa Company" set. The colonial policy was responsible for the establishment of tobacco, tea and coffee plantations.
In the context of southern Africa from Zimbabwe to South Africa spanning economic policy of the British built in the densely populated strip of land in 1900 by levying a poll tax, a system that made the cheap labor of migrant workers. Temporarily employed over 100,000 citizens of Malawi (around 1970) in South African mines, in 1987 there were approximately 15,000, and many others must still deny their livelihoods in Zambia and Zimbabwe.


1953 Nyasaland was joined with Southern and Northern Rhodesia to the Central African Federation. That same year brought the black African liberation organization, founded in 1944, "Nyasaland African Congress" (NAC), the dissolution of the federation of the national target. As the undisputed leader of the successor organization, the "Malawi Congress Party" (MCP), which had taken up the struggle against white supremacy, was Dr. Hastings Kamuzu Banda (1906-1997) proclaimed independence in 1964. The strictly conservative government was focused on Banda, who had himself as "Ngwazi", meaning "conquering hero and" designate "protected" by means of rigorous press censorship, tightly guided one-party system and powerful intelligence from any criticism.

One of the poorest countries in the world
The economic situation of the state, is among the ten poorest countries in the world, is today marked by financial difficulties and anxieties. Economy and foreign trade of natural resources are very poor country dominated by agriculture. About 90% of exports accounted for by the agricultural sector. Despite efforts to create a more diversified export structure, the concentration within the agricultural products has increased even more: tobacco, tea and sugar together account for approximately 90% of total export revenues. In agriculture, more than 80% of workers are employed, the majority live as subsistence farmers from planting their products, such as maize, cassava, beans and rice. The plantations are owned by foreign individuals and corporations as well as the political leadership of the country. Banda was one of the largest plantation owners and controlled significant parts of economic life, although it by conditions imposed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund that gave the land loans, was the personal access determining the economic life "press Holding" withdrawn. To improve the balance of payments were parastatal enterprises sold eingleitet and a liberalization of import regulations.


The Banda era ended in 1994. Under pressure from the opposition, the dictator had to allow free elections on the basis of a pluralistic constitution. The opposition leader Bakili Muluzi (born 1943), a Muslim Yao was elected as the new head of state in 1999 and confirmed in office.


Developments
After a 1.1-bilion U.S. $ loan from the IMF and World Bank, the finance minister of his creditors, among other things promised to sack corrupt officials in the future. The question remains whether all of the people will benefit in Malawi, most of whom live on U.S. $ 1 per day. 90% of the population are dependent on tobacco growing. The main export product is suffering from declining demand and unstable prices. In April 2000 the price per pound fell to the Stock Exchange of Lilongwe within half an hour of around U.S. $ 2 to 10 cents and recovered only after lengthy negotiations.


The new government took office in 2004 under Dr. Bingu wa Mutharika has big plans by 2009 to improve the situation in the country. To read the government's program is here.

February 2006. A consortium led by the German Telekom has bought in Malawi 80 percent of the state telephone company, Malawi Telecommunications. This was announced by the Privatisation Administration of the country.