Malawi

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Malawi}}
{{See also|Malawian food crisis|List of companies based in Malawi}}
[[File:Lilongwe (Malawi) - crafts market.JPG|thumb|right|Crafts market in Lilongwe]]
Malawi is among the world's least developed countries. Around 85% of the population lives in rural areas. The economy is based on agriculture, and more than one-third of GDP and 90% of export revenues come from this. In the past, the economy has been dependent on substantial economic aid from the [[World Bank]], the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF), and other countries.<ref name="CIA" /> Malawi was ranked the 119th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Euromoney Country Risk|url=http://www.euromoneycountryrisk.com/|publisher=Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC|access-date=15 August 2011}}</ref>

In December 2000, the IMF stopped aid disbursements due to corruption concerns, and many individual donors followed, resulting in an almost 80% drop in Malawi's development budget.<ref name="Africa08" /> However, in 2005, Malawi was the recipient of over US$575&nbsp;million in aid. The Malawian government faces challenges in developing a market economy, improving environmental protection, dealing with the rapidly growing [[HIV/AIDS]] problem, improving the education system, and satisfying its foreign donors that it is working to become financially independent. Improved financial discipline had been seen since 2005 under the leadership of President Mutharika and Financial Minister [[Goodall Edward Gondwe|Gondwe]]. This discipline has since evaporated as shown by the purchase in 2009 of a private presidential jet followed almost immediately by a nationwide fuel shortage which was officially blamed on logistical problems but was more likely due to the hard currency shortage caused by the jet purchase.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news|title=Britain reduces aid to Malawi over presidential jet|work=Reuters|date=10 March 2010|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/malawiNews/idAFLDE62921I20100310?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510021817/http://af.reuters.com/article/malawiNews/idAFLDE62921I20100310?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="Africa News">{{cite news|title=Malawi: Fuel shortage deepens|publisher=Africa News|date=11 November 2009|url=http://www.africanews.com/site/Malawi_Fuel_shortage_deepens/list_messages/27986|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724061651/http://www.africanews.com/site/Malawi_Fuel_shortage_deepens/list_messages/27986|archive-date=24 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="Nyasa Times">{{cite news|title=Forex shortage crimps Malawi ministers' foreign trips|publisher=Nyasa Times|date=19 November 2009|url=http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/forex-shortage-crimps-malawi-ministers-foreign-trips.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122080522/http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/forex-shortage-crimps-malawi-ministers-foreign-trips.html|archive-date=22 November 2009}}</ref> The overall cost to the economy (and healthcare system) is unknown.

In addition, some setbacks have been experienced, and Malawi has lost some of its ability to pay for imports due to a general shortage of foreign exchange, as investment fell 23% in 2009. There are many investment barriers in Malawi, which the government has failed to address, including high service costs and poor infrastructure for power, water, and telecommunications. {{As of|2017}}, it was estimated that Malawi had a GDP ([[purchasing power parity]]) of $22.42&nbsp;billion, with a per capita GDP of $1200, and inflation estimated at 12.2% in 2017.<ref name="CIA" />

Agriculture accounts for 35% of GDP, industry for 19% and [[Service (economics)|services]] for the remaining 46%.<ref name=TWB/> Malawi has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world,<ref name="Africa08" /> although economic growth was estimated at 9.7% in 2008 and strong growth is predicted by the [[International Monetary Fund]] for 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE53008220090401|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530230618/http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE53008220090401|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 May 2010|title=Malawi economy grew by around 9.7 pct in 2008: IMF|last=Banda|first= Mabvuto|date=1 April 2009|access-date=7 April 2009|agency=Reuters Africa}}</ref> The [[poverty rate]] in Malawi is decreasing through the work of the government and supporting organisations, with people living under the poverty line decreasing from 54% in 1990 to 40% in 2006, and the percentage of "ultra-poor" decreasing from 24% in 1990 to 15% in 2007.<ref name=UNDP>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org.mw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74:malawi-releases-the-2008-mdgs-report&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511075807/http://www.undp.org.mw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74:malawi-releases-the-2008-mdgs-report&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2011|title=Malawi releases the 2008 MDGs Report|publisher=United Nations Development Programme Malawi|date=23 December 2008|access-date=3 January 2009}}</ref>

Many analysts believe that economic progress for Malawi depends on its ability to control population growth.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.prb.org/pdf12/malawi-population-matters.pdf|title=Why Population Matters to Malawi's Development: Managing Population Growth for Sustainable Development Department of Population and Development.|date=2012|publisher=Department of Population and Development. Ministry of Economic Planning and Development. Government of Malawi.|access-date=8 October 2014|archive-date=17 May 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517002531/http://www.prb.org/pdf12/malawi-population-matters.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

In January 2015, southern Malawi was devastated by the worst floods in living memory, stranding at least 20,000 people. These floods affected more than a million people across the country, including 336,000 who were displaced, according to [[UNICEF]]. Over 100 people were killed and an estimated 64,000 hectares of cropland were washed away.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/02/devastation-disease-deadly-malawi-floods-150225070745817.html |title=Devastation and disease after deadly Malawi floods |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=25 February 2015 |access-date=9 February 2016}}</ref>

===Agriculture and industry===
{{main|Agriculture in Malawi}}
[[File:Groundnut harvesting in Malawi.jpg|thumb|right|Harvesting [[Bambara groundnut|groundnuts]] at an agricultural research station in Malawi]]

The [[economy of Malawi]] is predominantly agricultural. Over 80% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming, even though agriculture only contributed to 27% of GDP in 2013. The [[services sector]] accounts for more than half of GDP (54%), compared to 11% for manufacturing and 8% for other industries, including natural uranium mining. Malawi invests more in agriculture (as a share of GDP) than any other African country: 28% of GDP.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |url= http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf |title= Southern Africa. In: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |last1=Kraemer-Mbula |first1=Erika |last2=Scerri |first2=Mario |publisher= UNESCO |year=2015 |isbn= 978-92-3-100129-1 |location= Paris |pages= 535–555}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000228807 <!--http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002288/228807e.pdf-->|title=Mapping Research and Innovation in the Republic of Malawi|author1=Lemarchand, Guillermo A.|author2=Schneegans, Susan|publisher=UNESCO|year=2014|isbn=978-92-3-100032-4|location=Paris |access-date=22 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/one.org/images/131008_ONE_Maputo_FINAL.pdf|title=The Maputo Commitments and the 2014 African Year of Agriculture|publisher=ONE.org|year=2013}}</ref>

The main agricultural products of Malawi include [[tobacco]], [[sugarcane]], [[Gossypium|cotton]], [[Camellia sinensis|tea]], [[Maize|corn]], potatoes, [[sorghum]], cattle and goats. The main industries are tobacco, tea and sugar processing, [[sawmill]] products, cement and [[Final good|consumer goods]]. The industrial production growth rate is estimated at 10% (2009). The country makes no significant use of natural gas. {{As of|2008}}, Malawi does not import or export any electricity, but does import all its petroleum, with no production in country.<ref name="CIA" /> Beginning in 2006, the country began mixing unleaded petrol with 10% [[ethanol]], produced in-country at two plants, to reduce dependence on imported fuel. In 2008, Malawi began testing cars that ran solely on ethanol, and initial results are promising, and the country is continuing to increase its use of ethanol.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/malawis-ethanolfuel-tests-show-promise-2008-10-10|title=Malawi's ethanol-fuel tests show promise|newspaper=Engineering News|date=10 October 2008|last=Chimwala|first=Marcel|access-date=3 January 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Schoolchildren in Malawi.jpg|thumb|left|Children attending a [[farmer]] meeting in Nalifu village, [[Mulanje]]]]
{{As of|2009}}, Malawi exports an estimated US$945&nbsp;million in goods per year. The country's strong reliance on tobacco places a heavy burden on the economy as world prices decline and the international community increases pressure to limit tobacco production. Malawi's dependence on tobacco is growing, with the product jumping from 53% to 70% of export revenues between 2007 and 2008. The country also relies heavily on tea, sugar, and coffee, with these three plus tobacco making up more than 90% of Malawi's export revenue.<ref name="CIA" /><ref name="Africa08" /> 

Due to a rise in costs and a decline in sales prices, Malawi is encouraging farmers away from tobacco towards more profitable crops, including spices such as [[paprika]]. The move away from tobacco is further fueled by likely World Health Organisation moves against the particular type of tobacco that Malawi produces, burley leaf. It is seen to be more harmful to human health than other tobacco products. India [[hemp]] is another possible alternative, but arguments have been made that it will bring more crime to the country through its resemblance to varieties of [[cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] used as a [[recreational drug]] and the difficulty in distinguishing between the two types.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/708649.stm|work=BBC News|author=Tenthani, Raphael|title=Legal Hemp for Malawi?|date=24 April 2000|access-date=21 December 2011}}</ref> This concern is especially important because the cultivation of Malawian cannabis, known as [[Malawi Gold]], as a drug has increased significantly.<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/17/world/marijuana-cultivation-increases-in-malawi.html|title=Marijuana Cultivation Increases in Malawi|date=17 December 1998|access-date=21 December 2011}}</ref> Malawi is known for growing "the best and finest" cannabis in the world for [[recreational drug use]], according to a recent World Bank report, and cultivation and sales of the crop may contribute to corruption within the police force.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bnltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2877:malawis-chamba-valued-at-k1-4-billion&catid=42:national&Itemid=401|title=Malawi's Chamba valued at K1. 4 billion|date=11 December 2011|author=Mpaka, Charles|access-date=21 December 2011|work=Sunday Times|publisher=Blantyre Newspapers, Ltd|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112130233/http://www.bnltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2877:malawis-chamba-valued-at-k1-4-billion&catid=42:national&Itemid=401|archive-date=12 January 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref>
[[File:GDP in Southern African Development Community countries by economic sector, 2013 or closest year.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|GDP in Southern African Development Community countries by economic sector, 2013 or closest year<ref name="t2030">{{cite book |title= UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |date=2015}}</ref>]]
Other exported goods are cotton, peanuts, wood products, and [[Clothing|apparel]]. The main destination locations for the country's exports are South Africa, Germany, Egypt, Zimbabwe, the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. Malawi currently imports an estimated US$1.625&nbsp;billion in goods per year, with the main commodities being food, petroleum products, consumer goods, and transportation equipment. The main countries that Malawi imports from are South Africa, India, Zambia, Tanzania, the US, and China.<ref name="CIA" />

In 2006, in response to disastrously low agricultural harvests, Malawi began a programme of [[fertilizer]] subsidies, the Fertiliser Input Subsidy Programme (FISP) that was designed to re-energise the land and boost crop production. It has been reported that this programme, championed by the country's president, is radically improving Malawi's agriculture, and causing Malawi to become a net exporter of food to nearby countries.<ref>{{cite news|author=Dugger, Celia W.|title=Ending Famine, Simply by Ignoring the Experts|date=2 December 2007|work=[[The New York Times]]|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/world/africa/02malawi.html|access-date=5 August 2008}}</ref> The FISP fertiliser subsidy programmes ended with President Mutharika's death; the country quickly faced food shortages again, and farmers developed reluctance to purchase fertilisers and other agricultural inputs on the open markets that remained.{{cn|date=April 2024}}

In 2016, Malawi was hit by a drought, and in January 2017, the country reported an outbreak of [[African armyworm|armyworms]] around Zomba. The moth is capable of wiping out entire fields of corn, the staple grain of impoverished residents.<ref>{{cite news|title=Malawi hit by armyworm outbreak, threatens maize crop|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-grains-armyworms-idUSKBN14W0NT?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews|access-date=12 January 2017|work=Reuters|date=12 January 2017}}</ref> On 14 January 2017, the agriculture minister [[George Chaponda]] reported that 2,000 hectares of crop had been destroyed, having spread to nine of twenty-eight districts.<ref>{{cite news|title=Malawi's armyworm outbreak destroys 2,000 hectares: minister|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-grains-armyworm-idUSKBN14Y0DK?il=0|access-date=14 January 2017|work=Reuters|date=14 January 2017}}</ref>

===Infrastructure===
{{Main|Transport in Malawi|Rail transport in Malawi|Communications in Malawi}}
[[File:2010-10-21 12-42-27 Malawi - Bula.JPG|thumb|The M1 road between Blantyre and Lilongwe]]
{{As of|2012}}, Malawi has 31&nbsp;airports, seven with paved runways (two [[international airport]]s) and 24 with unpaved runways. {{As of|2008}}, the country has {{convert|797|km|mi}} of railways, all [[narrow-gauge]], and, as of 2003, {{convert|15451|mi|km|order=flip}} of [[roadway]]s in various conditions, {{convert|6956|km|mi}} paved and {{convert|8495|km|mi}} unpaved. Malawi also has {{convert|700|km|mi}} of [[waterway]]s on Lake Malawi and along the Shire River.<ref name="CIA" />

{{As of|2022}}, there were 10.23&nbsp;million mobile phone connections in Malawi. There were 4.03 million Internet users in 2022 ([https://datareportal.com/reports/digital-2022-malawi Datareportal]). Also, {{as of|2022}} there was one government-run radio station (Malawi Broadcasting Corporation) and approximately a dozen more owned by private enterprises.

Radio, television and postal services in Malawi are regulated by the [[Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority]] (MACRA).<ref>{{cite web|title=Welcome to Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA)|url=http://www.macra.org.mw/|website=www.macra.org.mw|publisher=MACRA|access-date=24 March 2017|archive-date=18 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218213634/http://www.macra.org.mw/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Act No. 41 of 1998|url=http://www.macra.org.mw/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Communications-Act-19981.pdf|publisher=[[Malawi Government Gazette]]|date=30 December 1998|access-date=24 March 2017|archive-date=25 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325030415/http://www.macra.org.mw/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Communications-Act-19981.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> Malawi television is improving. The country boasts 20 television stations by 2016 broadcasting on the country's digital network MDBNL e.g.[3] This includes Times Group, Timveni, Adventist, and Beta, Zodiak and CFC.<ref name="CIA" /> In the past, Malawi's telecommunications system has been named as some of the poorest in Africa, but conditions are improving, with 130,000 land line telephones being connected between 2000 and 2007. Telephones are much more accessible in urban areas, with less than a quarter of land lines being in rural areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uneca.org/aisi/NICI/country_profiles/malawi/malab.htm |title=Malawi |work=NICI in Africa |publisher=Economic Commission for Africa |access-date=6 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410063206/http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/malawi/malab.htm |archive-date=10 April 2009 }}</ref>