Malawi

==Demographics==
{{Main|Demographics of Malawi}}
===Population===
Malawi has a population of over {{#expr:floor({{formatnum:{{UN_Population|Malawi}}|R}}/1e6)}} million, with a [[Population growth|growth rate]] of 3.32%, according to {{UN_Population|Year}} estimates.{{UN_Population|ref}}<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2002.html#mi |title=The World Factbook |publisher=Central Intelligence Agency |access-date=23 July 2017 |archive-date=4 May 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120504223114/https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/fields/2002.html#mi |url-status=dead }}</ref> The population is forecast to grow to over 47&nbsp;million people by 2050, nearly tripling the estimated 16&nbsp;million in 2010. Malawi's estimated 2016 population is, based on most recent estimates, 18,091,575.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ifs.du.edu/ifs/frm_GraphicalDisplay.aspx?ListNames=%27Population,%20History%20and%20Forecast%27&HistFor=True&GrpOp=0&Dim1=99&File=1|title=frm_Message|access-date=9 February 2016}}</ref>

===Cities===
{{See also|List of cities in Malawi}}
{{Largest cities of Malawi}}

===Ethnic groups===
{{bar box
|title=Ethnic Groups in Malawi ([[2018 Census of Malawi|2018 Census]])<ref name="Census2018" />
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Ethnic Groups
|right1=per cent
|float=right
|bars=
{{bar percent|Chewa|darkgreen|34.4}}
{{bar percent|Lomwe|purple|18.9}}
{{bar percent|Yao|red|14.3}}
{{bar percent|Tumbuka|orange|22.2}}
{{bar percent|Sena|darkblue|3.8}}
{{bar percent|Mang'anja|green|3.2}}
{{bar percent|Nyanja|maroon|1.9}}
{{bar percent|Tonga|darkgray|1.8}}
{{bar percent|Ngonde|gray|1}}
{{bar percent|Lambya|tan|0.6}}
{{bar percent|Sukwa|lime|0.5}}
{{bar percent|Other|Violet|1.1}}
}}
Malawi's population is made up of the [[Chewa people|Chewa]], [[Tumbuka people|Tumbuka]], [[Yao (ethnic group in Africa)|Yao]], [[Lomwe people|Lomwe]], [[Sena people|Sena]], [[Tonga people of Malawi|Tonga]], [[Ngoni people|Ngoni]], and [[Ngonde]] native [[ethnic group]]s, as well as populations of [[Chinese people in Malawi|Chinese]] and [[White Africans of European ancestry|Europeans]].
{{clear}}

===Languages===
{{main|Languages of Malawi}}
{{bar box
|title=Languages of Malawi (1998 Census)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.nsomalawi.mw/images/stories/data_on_line/demography/census_98/analytical_report.pdf |title=Census Analytical Report |website=nsomalawi.mw |access-date=28 February 2022}}</ref>
|titlebar=#ddd
|left1=Languages
|right1=per cent
|float=left
|bars=
{{bar percent|Chichewa|darkgreen|43.2}}
{{bar percent|Chitumbuka|purple|22.8}}
{{bar percent|Chiyao|red|11.1}}
{{bar percent|Chilomwe|black|12.5}}
{{bar percent|Chisena|orange|2.7}}
{{bar percent|Chilomwe|darkblue|2.4}}{{bar percent|Chitonga|green|1.7}}
{{bar percent|Chinkhonde|maroon|0.8}}
{{bar percent|Chingoni|darkgray|0.7}}
{{bar percent|Chilambya|tan|0.4}}
{{bar percent|Chisenga|lime|0.2}}
{{bar percent|Chinyakyusa|Violet|0.2}}
{{bar percent|English|lightgreen|0.2}}
{{bar percent|Other|lightblue|1.1}}
}}

The official language is English.<ref name=language>{{cite web |url=http://www.malawi.gov.mw |title=Malawi Government |publisher=Malawi Government |access-date=31 July 2015}}</ref>
[[File:Current Malawi health passport showing 3 languages most used in Malawi, English, Tumbuka and Chewa.jpg|thumb|Malawi health passport showing 3 languages most used in Malawi, '''English''' (red dot), [[Chewa language|Chewa]] (blue dot) and [[Tumbuka language|Tumbuka]] (green dot).]]
Major languages include [[Chewa language|Chichewa]], a [[Bantu language]] spoken by over 41% of the population, [[Tumbuka language|Chitumbuka]] (28.2%), [[Chewa language|Chinyanja]] (12.8%), and [[Yao language|Chiyao]] (16.1%).<ref name="CIA" /> Other [[native language]]s are [[Malawi Lomwe language|Malawian Lomwe]], spoken by around 250,000 in the southeast of the country; [[Kokola]], spoken by around 200,000 people also in the southeast; [[Lambya people|Lambya]], spoken by around 45,000 in the northwestern tip; [[Ndali language|Ndali]], spoken by around 70,000; [[Nyakyusa language|Nyakyusa-Ngonde]], spoken by around 300,000 in northern Malawi; Malawian [[Sena language|Sena]], spoken by around 270,000 in southern Malawi; and [[Tonga (Nyasa) language|Tonga]], spoken by around 170,000 in the north.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Malawi|title=Languages of Malawi|publisher=SIL International|access-date=21 November 2008|work=Ethnologue|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101129051300/http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=Malawi|archive-date=29 November 2010}}</ref>

All students in public elementary school receive instruction in Chichewa, which is described as the unofficial national language of Malawi. Students in private elementary schools, however, receive instruction in English if they follow the American or British curriculum.<ref>{{cite web|title=Culture {{!}} Embassy of the Republic of Malawi in the United States|url=http://www.malawiembassy-dc.org/page/culture|access-date=2020-08-23|website=www.malawiembassy-dc.org|archive-date=26 September 2020|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200926035417/http://www.malawiembassy-dc.org/page/culture|url-status=dead}}</ref>
{{clear}}

===Religion===
{{Further|Christianity in Malawi|Roman Catholicism in Malawi|Islam in Malawi|Hinduism in Malawi|Baháʼí Faith in Malawi}}
{{Pie chart
|thumb = right
|caption = '''Religion in Malawi''' (2018)<ref>{{cite web |title=2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census |url=http://www.nsomalawi.mw/images/stories/data_on_line/demography/census_2018/2018%20Malawi%20Population%20and%20Housing%20Census%20Main%20Report.pdf |website=Official Website of National Statistical Office, Malawi |publisher=National Statistical Office |access-date=16 August 2023}}</ref>
|label1 = [[Christianity]]
|value1 = 77.3
|color1 = Blue
|label2 = [[Islam]]
|value2 = 13.8
|color2 = Green
|label3 = Traditional
|value3 = 1.1
|color3 = Yellow
|label4 = Other or none
|value4 = 7.8
|color4 = black 
}}
[[File:Livingstonia_Mission_Church.jpg|thumb|left|Mission Church in [[Livingstonia, Malawi|Livingstonia]]]]
Malawi is a majority Christian country, with a significant Muslim minority. Government surveys indicate that 87% of the country is Christian, with a minority 11.6% Muslim population.<ref name="DHS 2016">{{cite web|url=https://dhsprogram.com/pubs/pdf/FR319/FR319.pdf|title=Demographic and Health Survey: 2015–2016|publisher=Malawi National Statistical Office|page=36|access-date=19 April 2018}}</ref> The largest Christian groups in Malawi are the Roman Catholic Church, of which 19% of Malawians are adherents, and the [[Church of Central Africa Presbyterian]] (CCAP) to which 18% belong.<ref name="DHS 2016" /> The CCAP is the largest Protestant denomination in Malawi with 1.3&nbsp;million members. There are smaller [[Presbyterian]] denominations like the [[Reformed Presbyterian Church of Malawi]] and the [[Evangelical Presbyterian Church of Malawi]]. There are also smaller numbers of [[Anglicanism|Anglicans]], [[Baptists]], evangelicals, [[Seventh-day Adventist Church|Seventh-day Adventists]], and the [[Lutheran Church of Central Africa|Lutherans]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.celc.info/site/cpage.asp?sec_id=180010197&cpage_id=180031340|title=Lutheran Church of Central Africa.—Malawi|publisher=Confessional Evangelical Lutheran Conference|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170111005306/http://www.celc.info/site/cpage.asp?sec_id=180010197&cpage_id=180031340|archive-date=11 January 2017}}</ref>

Most of the Muslim population is [[Sunni]], of either the [[Qadriya]] or Sukkutu groups, with a few who follow the [[Ahmadiyya]].<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ZyIpVV3FZlAC&pg=PA63 | title=Where Silence Rules: The Suppression of Dissent in Malawi | page=59 | author=Richard Carver | access-date=7 June 2014| isbn=9780929692739 | year=1990 | publisher=Human Rights Watch }}</ref>

Other religious groups within the country include [[Jehovah's Witnesses]] (over 95,000),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.jw.org/en/publications/books/2018-service-year-report/2018-country-territory/|title=2018 Country and Territory Reports|publisher=[[Jehovah's Witnesses]]|access-date=25 April 2019}}</ref> [[The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints]] with just over 2,000 members in the country at the end of 2015,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org/facts-and-statistics/country/malawi|title=Statistics and Church Facts &#124; Total Church Membership|website=newsroom.churchofjesuschrist.org}}</ref> [[Rastafari movement|Rastafari]], [[Hindu]]s, [[Baháʼí Faith|Baháʼís]], (0.2%<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp |title=Baha'i population by country |publisher=Thearda.com |access-date=19 April 2013 |archive-date=14 April 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100414021730/http://www.thearda.com/QuickLists/QuickList_40c.asp |url-status=dead }}</ref>) and around 300 [[Jews]].{{citation needed|date=June 2019}} [[Atheism|Atheists]] make up around 4% of the population, although this number may include people who practice traditional African religions that do not have any gods.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://2001-2009.state.gov/g/drl/rls/irf/2007/90107.htm|title=Malawi|work=International Religious Freedom Report 2007|access-date=18 December 2008|publisher=U.S. Department of State|date=14 September 2007}}</ref>

===Health===
{{main|Healthcare in Malawi}}
[[File:The time is now – mums waiting for family planning services (7513648798).jpg|thumb|Malawi women with young children attending [[family planning]] services]]
Malawi has central hospitals, regional and private facilities. The public sector offers free health services and medicines, while [[non-government organizations]] offers services and medicines for fees. Private doctors offer fee-based services and medicines. Health insurance schemes have been established since 2000.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www-wds.worldbank.org/external/default/WDSContentServer/WDSP/IB/2010/02/19/000333037_20100219005458/Rendered/PDF/531070WP0Pharm10Box345597B01PUBLIC1.pdf|author=McCabe, Ariane|title=Private Sector Pharmaceutical Supply and Distribution Chains: Ghana, Mali and Malawi|work=Health Systems Outcome Publication|publisher=World Bank|date=December 2009|access-date=2 April 2012}}</ref> The country has a [[pharmaceutical manufacturing]] industry consisting of four privately owned pharmaceutical companies. Malawi's healthcare goal is for "promoting health, preventing, reducing and curing disease, and reducing the occurrence of premature death in the population".<ref>Malawi Investment Promotion Agency, 2008, p. 20 – Investment Guide</ref>

[[Infant mortality]] rates are high, and [[life expectancy]] at birth is 50.03&nbsp;years. Abortion is illegal in Malawi,<ref>{{Cite news|url=http://www.ibtimes.com/where-abortion-illegal-protest-against-culture-death-malawi-religious-groups-2456454|title=Where Is Abortion Illegal? Protest Against 'Culture Of Death' By Malawi Religious Groups|website=Ibtimes.com|access-date=23 July 2017}}</ref> except to save the mother's life. The Penal Code punishes women who seek illegal or clinical abortion with 7 years in prison, and 14 years for those perform the abortion.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.womenonwaves.org/en/page/5002/abortion-law-malawi |title=Abortion law Malawi |publisher=Women on Waves |date=15 June 2012 |access-date=23 July 2017}}</ref> There is a high adult prevalence rate of [[HIV/AIDS]], with an estimated 980,000&nbsp;adults (or 9.1% of the population) living with the disease in 2015. There are approximately 27,000&nbsp;deaths each year from HIV/AIDS, and over half a million children orphaned because of the disease (2015).<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unaids.org/en/regionscountries/countries/malawi|title= HIV and AIDS estimates (2015)|publisher=[[Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS|UNAIDS]]|access-date=6 January 2017}}</ref> Approximately 250&nbsp;new people are infected each day, and at least 70% of Malawi's hospital beds are occupied by HIV/AIDS patients. The high rate of infection has resulted in an estimated 5.8% of the farm labour force dying of the disease. The government spends over $120,000 each year on funerals for civil servants who die of the disease.<ref name="Africa08" /> In 2006, international superstar [[Madonna]] started [[Raising Malawi]], a foundation that helps AIDS orphans in Malawi, and also financed a documentary about the hardships experienced by Malawian orphans, called ''[[I Am Because We Are]]''.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1223372,00.html|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060819180859/http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1223372,00.html|url-status=dead|archive-date=19 August 2006|title=Madonna Finds a Cause|magazine=[[Time (magazine)|Time]]|author=Luscombe, Belinda|date=6 August 2006|access-date=24 October 2008}}</ref> Raising Malawi also works with the [[Millennium Villages Project]] to improve education, health care, infrastructure and agriculture in Malawi.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=http://www.vanityfair.com/culture/features/2007/07/madonna200707|title=Raising Malawi|magazine=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]|author=Hutton, Punch|date=July 2007|access-date=24 October 2008}}</ref>

There is a very high degree of risk for major infectious diseases, including bacterial and protozoal [[diarrhoea]], [[hepatitis A]], [[typhoid fever]], [[malaria]], [[Plague (disease)|plague]], [[schistosomiasis]], and [[rabies]].<ref name="CIA" /> Malawi has been making progress on decreasing child mortality and reducing the incidences of HIV/AIDS, malaria and other diseases; however, the country has been "performing dismally" on reducing maternal mortality and promoting [[gender equality]].<ref name=UNDP/> [[Female genital mutilation]] (FGM), while not widespread, is practiced in some local communities.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.medcol.mw/commhealth/publications/cultural_practices_report.pdf|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20141111184006/http://www.medcol.mw/commhealth/publications/cultural_practices_report.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 November 2014 |title=Cultural Practices and their Impact on the Enjoyment of Human Rights, Particularly the Rights of Women and Children in Malawi |publisher=Malawi Human Rights Commission |date=11 November 2014}}</ref>

On 23 November 2016, a court in Malawi sentenced an HIV-positive man to two years in prison with forced labour for having sex with 100 women without disclosing his status. Women rights activists asked the government to review the sentence calling it too "lenient".<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-sexcrimes-women-idUSKBN13J01P|title=Malawi faces calls to review two-year jail term for HIV-positive 'hyena' man}}</ref> Some of the major health facilities in the country are Blantyre Adventist Hospital, Mwaiwathu Private Hospital, Queen Elizabeth Central, and Kamuzu Central Hospitals.<ref>{{cite web|date=March 2017|title=Medical Resources in Malawi – List Provided to U.S. Citizens|url=https://mw.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/219/2017/03/Medical-facilities-list.pdf|access-date=October 17, 2021|website=U.S. Embassy, Lilongwe, Malawi|archive-date=28 June 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210628193836/https://mw.usembassy.gov/wp-content/uploads/sites/219/2017/03/Medical-facilities-list.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref>

===Education===
{{Main|Education in Malawi}}
[[File:Public expenditure on education in Southern Africa as a share of GDP, 2012 or closest year.svg|thumb|Public expenditure on education in Southern Africa as a share of GDP, 2012 or closest year<ref name="Web"/>]]
In 1994, free primary education for all Malawian children was established by the government, and primary education has been compulsory since the passage of the Revised Education Act in 2012. As a result, attendance rates for all children have improved, with enrollment rates for primary schools up from 58% in 1992 to 75% in 2007. Also, the percentage of students who begin standard one and complete standard five has increased from 64% in 1992 to 86% in 2006. According to the World Bank, it shows that youth literacy had also increased from 68% in 2000 to 75% in 2015.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS|title=Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15–24) {{!}} Data|website=data.worldbank.org|access-date=22 September 2019}}</ref> This increase is primarily attributed to improved learning materials in schools, better infrastructure and feeding programs that have been implemented throughout the school system.<ref name=UNDP/> However, attendance in the secondary school falls to approximately 25%, with attendance rates being slightly higher for males.<ref name=Furlong>{{cite book|last1=Furlong|first1=Andy|title=Youth Studies: An Introduction|date=2013|publisher=Routledge|location=USA|isbn=978-0-415-56479-3|page=233}}</ref><ref name=U.N.>{{cite web|title=The world youth report: youth and climate change|url=https://www.un.org/esa/socdev/unyin/documents/WYR2010Final%20online%20version.pdf|website=United Nations|access-date=17 January 2012}}</ref> Dropout rates are higher for girls than boys,<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2001/Malawi.htm|title=Malawi|access-date=6 October 2008|publisher=Bureau of International Labour Affairs, US Dept. of Labour|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081006092319/http://www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/TDA2001/malawi.htm|archive-date=6 October 2008}}</ref> attributed to security problems during long walks to school, as girls face a higher prevalence of gender-based violence.{{citation needed|date=July 2020}}

Education in Malawi comprises eight years of primary education, four years of secondary school and four years of university. There are four public universities in Malawi: [[Mzuzu University]] (MZUNI), [[Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources]] (LUANAR), the [[University of Malawi]] (UNIMA) and [[Malawi University of Science and Technology]] (MUST). There are also private universities, such as Livingstonia, Malawi Lakeview, Catholic University of Malawi, Central Christian University, African Bible College, UNICAF University, and MIM. The entry requirement is six credits on the Malawi School Certificate of Education, which is equivalent to O levels.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Sasnett |first1=Martena Tenney |last2=Sepmeyer |first2=Inez Hopkins |title=Educational Systems of Africa: Interpretations for Use in the Evaluation of Academic Credentials |date=1967 |publisher=University of California Press |page=903 |language=en}}</ref>