Facts & Figures
Population : c 13,000,000
Life Expectancy : 41.5 years on average (compared with 78 in the UK). However, a child born today can expect to live only 28 years, the third worst figure in the world. The infant mortality rte in Malawi is 95 per thousand, compared with 5.7 in Scotland.
Health : About 1,000,000 Malawians are HIV positive. There are at least 500,000 AIDS orphans, many of whom are themselves HIV positive. Expenditure on health is $46 per head per year (the British figure is $2,389).
Education : Malawi is committed to free primary education for all and to free secondary education for girls. Implementing this policy has proved very difficult because of shortage of resources. It is believed that a quarter of Malawi's education budget is spent on burying teaching staff who have died of AIDS.
Economy : Malawi has among the lowest per capita income in Africa. Poverty is chronic and widespread. 6.5 million (65.3%) of the population live in poverty and a further 27% live in extreme poverty. Unemployment is estimated to be around 93%. For the past few years, Malawi has stuck to a policy of painful economic reforms under the high-indebted poor country initiative. This was rewarded in September 2006 when the International Monetary Fund and World Bank announced that 90 percent of Malawi's $2.9 billion official foreign debt had been written off - a recognition that the country has achieved significant improvements in its economic performance. This debt relief will allow the Malawi Government to direct additional funds towards improving basic service provision in the areas of health, education, social protection and water development.
Further good news came in November when *The Paris Club agreed to cancel almost all of Malawi's remaining debt. As a result of this agreement and additional bilateral assistance, Malawi's debt to Paris Club creditors will be reduced from $363 million to $9 million in nominal terms. Paris Club members said they applauded Malawi's "determination to implement a comprehensive poverty reduction strategy and an ambitious economic programme providing the basis for sustainable economic growth".
(*The Paris Club is an informal group of official creditors whose role is to find co-ordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor nations.)
Politics : Bingu wa Mutharika, the candidate of the ruling United Democratic Front (UDF), was sworn in on 24 May 2004 after winning presidential elections. Less than a year later he resigned from the UDF, accusing the party and his predecessor Bakili Muluzi of opposing his high-profile anti-corruption campaign. He formed a new grouping, the Democratic Progressive Party and has adopted a strong anti-corruption stance.