Malawi

Malawi is a landlocked country in southeastern Africa, between Zambia, Tanzania and Mozambique. The Great Rift Valley runs through it from north to south, and Lake Malawi forms most of its eastern border.

Lilongwe is the capital and largest city, and Blantyre is the commercial center. English is the official language, while Chichewa, Chitumbuka and Chiyao are the main regional languages. Bantu peoples arrived around the 10th century, and by the 16th century the Maravi Empire reached from Lake Malawi to the Zambezi and Luangwa rivers, with the Nkhamanga kingdom in the north. The country's name comes from the Maravi and means flames in Chichewa and Chitumbuka. David Livingstone reached the lake in 1859, and Britain declared the British Central Africa Protectorate in 1891, renamed Nyasaland in 1907. On 6 July 1964 Nyasaland became independent as Malawi, with Hastings Banda as its leader, and a multi-party system was introduced in 1993.

Under the presidential system, the president, elected together with a vice president, leads both the state and the government under the constitution of 18 May 1995. Farming is the base of the economy, and tobacco, tea, sugar and coffee earn most of the export income, along with cotton, peanuts and wood products. Industries process tobacco, tea and sugar and make cement, and since 2006 locally made ethanol has been mixed into petrol. The country covers 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi), with plateaus in the north and the Shire Highlands in the south.

Lake Malawi National Park became a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984, and the Chongoni Rock Art Area followed in 2006. Mount Mulanje rises to 3,048 m (10,000 ft) in the south. The country is known as the Warm Heart of Africa for the friendliness of its people. Basket weaving and mask carving are old crafts, and the National Dance Troupe was formed in 1987. Nsima, a stiff porridge of ground corn, is the staple food, eaten with chambo and other fish from the lake, and the women's football team qualified for the Women's World Cup of 2027.