Poland (2007) | Malawi (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | 16 provinces (wojewodztwa, singular - wojewodztwo); Dolnoslaskie wojewodztwo, Kujawsko-Pomorskie wojewodztwo, Lodzkie wojewodztwo, Lubelskie wojewodztwo, Lubuskie wojewodztwo, Malopolskie wojewodztwo, Mazowieckie wojewodztwo, Opolskie wojewodztwo, Podkarpackie wojewodztwo, Podlaskie wojewodztwo, Pomorskie wojewodztwo, Slaskie wojewodztwo, Swietokrzyskie wojewodztwo, Warminsko-Mazurskie wojewodztwo, Wielkopolskie wojewodztwo, Zachodniopomorskie wojewodztwo | 27 districts; Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Chitipa, Dedza, Dowa, Karonga, Kasungu, Likoma, Lilongwe, Machinga (Kasupe), Mangochi, Mchinji, Mulanje, Mwanza, Mzimba, Ntcheu, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Nsanje, Ntchisi, Phalombe, Rumphi, Salima, Thyolo, Zomba |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 15.5% (male 3,070,388/female 2,906,121)
15-64 years: 71.1% (male 13,639,012/female 13,761,154) 65 years and over: 13.3% (male 1,964,429/female 3,177,137) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 44% (male 2,358,730; female 2,347,017)
15-64 years: 53.2% (male 2,810,478; female 2,884,601) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 120,761; female 180,237) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | potatoes, fruits, vegetables, wheat; poultry, eggs, pork, dairy | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats, groundnuts, Macadamia nuts |
Airports | 123 (2007) | 44 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 83
over 3,047 m: 4 2,438 to 3,047 m: 30 1,524 to 2,437 m: 39 914 to 1,523 m: 7 under 914 m: 3 (2007) |
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 40
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 13 under 914 m: 22 (2007) |
total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
Area | total: 312,685 sq km
land: 304,465 sq km water: 8,220 sq km |
total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than New Mexico | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | Poland is an ancient nation that was conceived near the middle of the 10th century. Its golden age occurred in the 16th century. During the following century, the strengthening of the gentry and internal disorders weakened the nation. In a series of agreements between 1772 and 1795, Russia, Prussia, and Austria partitioned Poland amongst themselves. Poland regained its independence in 1918 only to be overrun by Germany and the Soviet Union in World War II. It became a Soviet satellite state following the war, but its government was comparatively tolerant and progressive. Labor turmoil in 1980 led to the formation of the independent trade union "Solidarity" that over time became a political force and by 1990 had swept parliamentary elections and the presidency. A "shock therapy" program during the early 1990s enabled the country to transform its economy into one of the most robust in Central Europe, but Poland still faces the lingering challenges of high unemployment, underdeveloped and dilapidated infrastructure, and a poor rural underclass. Solidarity suffered a major defeat in the 2001 parliamentary elections when it failed to elect a single deputy to the lower house of Parliament, and the new leaders of the Solidarity Trade Union subsequently pledged to reduce the Trade Union's political role. Poland joined NATO in 1999 and the European Union in 2004. With its transformation to a democratic, market-oriented country largely completed, Poland is an increasingly active member of Euro-Atlantic organizations. | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule, the country held multiparty elections in 1994 under a provisional constitution, which took full effect the following year. National multiparty elections were held again in 1999. |
Birth rate | 9.94 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 37.13 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $63.7 billion
expenditures: $71.78 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $490 million
expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | name: Warsaw
geographic coordinates: 52 15 N, 21 00 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) daylight saving time: +1hr, begins last Sunday in March; ends last Sunday in October |
Lilongwe |
Climate | temperate with cold, cloudy, moderately severe winters with frequent precipitation; mild summers with frequent showers and thundershowers | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 491 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted by the National Assembly 2 April 1997; passed by national referendum 25 May 1997; effective 17 October 1997 | 18 May 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Poland
conventional short form: Poland local long form: Rzeczpospolita Polska local short form: Polska |
conventional long form: Republic of Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | - | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
Death rate | 9.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 23.2 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $121.5 billion (2006 est.) | $2.8 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Victor ASHE
embassy: Aleje Ujazdowskie 29/31 00-540 Warsaw mailing address: American Embassy Warsaw, US Department of State, Washington, DC 20521-5010 (pouch) telephone: [48] (22) 504-2000 FAX: [48] (22) 504-2688 consulate(s) general: Krakow |
chief of mission: Ambassador Roger A. MEECE
embassy: Area 40, Plot 24, Kenyatta Road mailing address: P. O. Box 30016, Lilongwe 3, Malawi telephone: [265] (1) 773 166 FAX: [265] (1) 770 471 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Janusz REITER
chancery: 2640 16th Street NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 234-3800 through 3802 FAX: [1] (202) 328-6271 consulate(s) general: Chicago, Los Angeles, New York |
chief of mission: Ambassador Paul Tony Steven KANDIERO
chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007 FAX: [1] (202) 265-0976 |
Disputes - international | as a member state that forms part of the EU's external border, Poland must implement the strict Schengen border rules to restrict illegal immigration and trade along its eastern borders with Belarus and Ukraine | Malawi and Tanzania maintain a largely dormant dispute over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and current location of historical boundary in meandering Songwe River |
Economic aid - recipient | $1.524 billion in available EU structural adjustment and cohesion funds (2004) | $427 million (1999) (1999) |
Economy - overview | Poland has steadfastly pursued a policy of economic liberalization since 1990 and today stands out as a success story among transition economies. In 2006, GDP grew 5.3%, based on rising private consumption, a 16.7% jump in investment, and burgeoning exports. Poland today has a thriving private sector which created more than 300,000 new jobs during 2006 alone. GDP per capita roughly equals that of the three Baltic states. Consumer price inflation - at 1.3% in 2006 - remains among the lowest in the EU. Since 2004, EU membership and access to EU structural funds has provided a major boost to the economy. Inflows of direct foreign investment exceeded $10 billion in 2006 alone - and more than $100 billion since 1990 - with major investments being announced by foreign firms in computer, consumer electronics, and automobile component production. In early 2006, Poland reached agreement with its EU partners that will permit it to benefit from EU funds totaling nearly $80 billion during 2007-13. Since 2002, even though the zloty appreciated 30%, Poland's exports more than doubled. Despite Poland's successes, more remains to be done. Unemployment, which stood at 15% in December 2006, is still the highest in the EU. An inefficient commercial court system, a rigid labor code, bureaucratic red tape, and persistent corruption keep the private sector from performing to its potential. Agriculture is handicapped by inefficient small farms and inadequate investment. Restructuring and privatization of the remaining state-owned industries, especially "sensitive sectors" such as coal, oil refining, railroads, and energy transmission and generation, have stalled due to concerns about loss of control over critical national assets and lay-offs. Reforms in health care, education, the pension system, and state administration have failed so far to reduce the government budget deficit, which was roughly 2.7 percent of GDP in 2006. Further progress in public finance depends mainly on reducing losses in Polish state enterprises, restraining entitlements, and overhauling the tax code. The previous Socialist-led government introduced a package of social and administrative spending cuts to reduce public spending by about $17 billion through 2007, but full implementation of the plan was trumped by election-year politics in 2005. The right-wing Law and Justice party won parliamentary elections in September 2005, and Lech KACZYNSKI won the presidential election in October, running on a state-interventionist fiscal and monetary platform. The new government has proceeded cautiously on economic matters, however, retaining, for example, the corporate income tax cuts initiated by the previous administration and indicating its intention to reduce the top personal income tax rate. | Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 40% of GDP and 88% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face up to environmental problems, and to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth. |
Electricity - consumption | 120.4 billion kWh (2005) | 767.25 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 16.19 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 5.002 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 146.2 billion kWh (2005) | 825 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: near Raczki Elblaskie -2 m
highest point: Rysy 2,499 m |
lowest point: junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m
highest point: Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 m |
Environment - current issues | situation has improved since 1989 due to decline in heavy industry and increased environmental concern by post-Communist governments; air pollution nonetheless remains serious because of sulfur dioxide emissions from coal-fired power plants, and the resulting acid rain has caused forest damage; water pollution from industrial and municipal sources is also a problem, as is disposal of hazardous wastes; pollution levels should continue to decrease as industrial establishments bring their facilities up to EU code, but at substantial cost to business and the government | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Air Pollution, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Kyoto Protocol, Law of the Sea, Marine Dumping, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulfur 94 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | Polish 96.7%, German 0.4%, Belarusian 0.1%, Ukrainian 0.1%, other and unspecified 2.7% (2002 census) | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
Exchange rates | zlotych per US dollar - 3.1032 (2006), 3.2355 (2005), 3.6576 (2004), 3.8891 (2003), 4.08 (2002)
note: zlotych is the plural form of zloty |
Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 67.3111 (December 2001), 72.1973 (2001), 59.5438 (2000), 44.0881 (1999), 31.0727 (1998), 16.4442 (1997) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Lech KACZYNSKI (since 23 December 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Donald TUSK (since 16 November 2007); Deputy Prime Ministers Waldemar PAWLAK (since 16 November 2007) and Grzegorz SCHETYNA (since 16 November 2007) cabinet: Council of Ministers responsible to the prime minister and the Sejm; the prime minister proposes, the president appoints, and the Sejm approves the Council of Ministers elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 9 and 23 October 2005 (next to be held in the fall 2010); prime minister and deputy prime ministers appointed by the president and confirmed by the Sejm election results: Lech KACZYNSKI elected president; percent of popular vote - Lech KACZYNSKI 54%, Donald Tusk 46% |
chief of state: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Bakili MULUZI (since 21 May 1994); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 38-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: Bakili MULUZI reelected president; percent of vote - Bakili MULUZI (UDF) 51.4%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA (MCP-AFORD) 44.3% |
Exports | 51,780 bbl/day (2004) | $415.5 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 37.8%, intermediate manufactured goods 23.7%, miscellaneous manufactured goods 17.1%, food and live animals 7.6% (2003) | tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel |
Exports - partners | Germany 27.2%, Italy 6.6%, France 6.2%, UK 5.7%, Czech Republic 5.6%, Russia 4.3% (2006) | South Africa 18%, Germany 13%, US 13%, UK 10%, Japan 7%, Netherlands 3% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of white (top) and red; similar to the flags of Indonesia and Monaco which are red (top) and white | three equal horizontal bands of black (top), red, and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 4.5%
industry: 31.7% services: 63.8% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 40%
industry: 19% services: 41% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $660 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 6.1% (2006 est.) | 1.7% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 52 00 N, 20 00 E | 13 30 S, 34 00 E |
Geography - note | historically, an area of conflict because of flat terrain and the lack of natural barriers on the North European Plain | landlocked; Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long, is the country's most prominent physical feature |
Government - note | - | the executive exerts considerable influence over the legislature |
Heliports | 7 (2007) | - |
Highways | - | total: 14,594 km
paved: 2,773 km unpaved: 11,821 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 27% (2002) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | despite diligent counternarcotics measures and international information sharing on cross-border crimes, a major illicit producer of synthetic drugs for the international market; minor transshipment point for Southwest Asian heroin and Latin American cocaine to Western Europe | - |
Imports | 480,300 bbl/day (2004) | $463.6 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment 38%, intermediate manufactured goods 21%, chemicals 14.8%, minerals, fuels, lubricants, and related materials 9.1% (2003) | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | Germany 29%, Russia 9.6%, Italy 6.4%, Netherlands 5.7%, France 5.4% (2006) | South Africa 40%, UK 11%, Zimbabwe 7%, Japan 5%, Germany 2%, US 1.8%, Zambia (2000) |
Independence | 11 November 1918 (republic proclaimed) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 10.2% (2006 est.) | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
Industries | machine building, iron and steel, coal mining, chemicals, shipbuilding, food processing, glass, beverages, textiles | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.07 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.3 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
119.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1% (2006 est.) | 28.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT (observer), Arctic Council (observer), Australia Group, BIS, BSEC (observer), CBSS, CE, CEI, CERN, EAPC, EBRD, EIB, EU, FAO, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, IMSO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MINURSO, MONUC, NAM (guest), NATO, NSG, OAS (observer), OECD, OIF (observer), OPCW, OSCE, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNDOF, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNIFIL, UNMEE, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNOMIG, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WEU (associate), WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO, ZC | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 7 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 1,000 sq km (2003) | 280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (judges are appointed by the president on the recommendation of the National Council of the Judiciary for an indefinite period); Constitutional Tribunal (judges are chosen by the Sejm for nine-year terms) | Supreme Court of Appeal; High Court (chief justice appointed by the president, puisne judges appointed on the advice of the Judicial Service Commission); magistrate's courts |
Labor force | 16.94 million (2006 est.) | 4.5 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 16.1%
industry: 29% services: 54.9% (2002) |
agriculture 86% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,056 km
border countries: Belarus 416 km, Czech Republic 790 km, Germany 467 km, Lithuania 103 km, Russia (Kaliningrad Oblast) 210 km, Slovakia 541 km, Ukraine 529 km |
total: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land: 40.25%
permanent crops: 1% other: 58.75% (2005) |
arable land: 19.93%
permanent crops: 1.33% other: 78.74% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Polish 97.8%, other and unspecified 2.2% (2002 census) | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally |
Legal system | based on a mixture of Continental (Napoleonic) civil law and holdover Communist legal theory; changes being gradually introduced as part of broader democratization process; limited judicial review of legislative acts, but rulings of the Constitutional Tribunal are final; court decisions can be appealed to the European Court of Justice in Strasbourg; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations | based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
Legislative branch | bicameral National Assembly or Zgromadzenie Narodowe consists of the Senate or Senat (upper house) (100 seats; members are elected by a majority vote on a provincial basis to serve four-year terms), and the Sejm (lower house) (460 seats; members are elected under a complex system of proportional representation to serve four-year terms); the designation of National Assembly is only used on those rare occasions when the two houses meet jointly
elections: Senate - last held 21 September 2007 (next to be held by September 2011); Sejm elections last held 21 September 2007 (next to be held by September 2011) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PO 60, PiS 39, independents 1; Sejm - percent of vote by party - PO 41.5%, PiS 32.1%, SLD 13.2%, PSL 8.9%, other 4.3%; seats by party - PO 209, PiS 166, SLD 53, PSL 31, German minorities 1 note: one seat is assigned to ethnic minority parties in the Sejm only |
unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 15 June 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - UDF 48%, MCP 34%, AFORD 15%, others 3%; seats by party - UDF 96, MCP 61, AFORD 30, others 6 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 75.19 years
male: 71.18 years female: 79.44 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 36.59 years
male: 36.05 years female: 37.15 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 99.8% male: 99.8% female: 99.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58% male: 72.8% female: 43.4% (1999 est.) |
Location | Central Europe, east of Germany | Southern Africa, east of Zambia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: defined by international treaties |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total: 11 ships (1000 GRT or over) 55,701 GRT/45,082 DWT
by type: cargo 6, chemical tanker 2, passenger/cargo 1, roll on/roll off 1, vehicle carrier 1 foreign-owned: 1 (Nigeria 1) registered in other countries: 102 (Antigua and Barbuda 2, Bahamas 15, Cyprus 18, Liberia 14, Malta 25, Norway 3, Panama 15, Slovakia 2, St Vincent and The Grenadines 1, Vanuatu 7) (2007) |
- |
Military branches | Armed Forces of the Polish Republic (Sily Zbrojne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, SZRP): Land Forces (includes Navy (Marynarka Wojenna, MW)), Polish Air Force (Sily Powietrzne Rzeczypospolitej Polskiej, SPRP) (2006) | Army (including Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (including paramilitary Mobile Force Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $9.5 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.71% (2005 est.) | 0.76% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 2,535,207 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 1,301,625 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Constitution Day, 3 May (1791) | Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun: Pole(s)
adjective: Polish |
noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian |
Natural hazards | flooding | NA |
Natural resources | coal, sulfur, copper, natural gas, silver, lead, salt, amber, arable land | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
Net migration rate | -0.46 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 13,552 km; oil 1,384 km; refined products 777 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Catholic-National Movement or RKN [Antoni MACIEREWICZ]; Civic Platform or PO [Donald TUSK]; Conservative Peasants Party or SKL [Artur BALASZ]; Democratic Left Alliance or SLD [Wojciech OLEJNICZAK]; Democratic Party or PD [Janusz ONYSZKIEWICZ]; Dom Ojczysty (Fatherland Home); German Minority of Lower Silesia or MNSO [Henryk KROLL]; Law and Justice or PiS [Jaroslaw KACZYNSKI]; League of Polish Families or LPR [Roman GIERTYCH]; Peasant-Democratic Party or PLD [Roman JAGIELINSKI]; Polish Accord or PP [Jan LOPUSZANSKI]; Polish Peasant Party or PSL [Waldemar PAWLAK]; Ruch Patriotyczny or RP [Jan OLSZEWSKI]; Samoobrona or SO [Andrzej LEPPER]; Social Democratic Party of Poland or SDPL [Marek BOROWSKI]; Social Movement or RS [Krzysztof PIESIEWICZ]; Union of Labor or UP [Andrzej SPYCHALSKI] | Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA, president]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [Gwanda CHAKUAMBA, president, John TEMBO, vice president]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA, president]; United Democratic Front or UDF [Bakili MULUZI] - governing party |
Political pressure groups and leaders | All Poland Trade Union Alliance or OPZZ (trade union) [Jan GUZ]; Roman Catholic Church [Cardinal Jozef GLEMP]; Solidarity Trade Union [Janusz SNIADEK] | National Democratic Alliance [Brown MPINGANJIRA] |
Population | 38,518,241 (July 2007 est.) | 10,701,824
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 17% (2003 est.) | 54% (FY90/91 est. ) |
Population growth rate | -0.046% (2007 est.) | 1.39% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 14, FM 777, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus a third station held in standby status) (2001) |
Radios | - | 2.6 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 23,072 km
broad gauge: 629 km 1.524-m gauge standard gauge: 22,443 km 1.435-m gauge (20,555 km operational; 11,910 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 797 km
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 89.8% (about 75% practicing), Eastern Orthodox 1.3%, Protestant 0.3%, other 0.3%, unspecified 8.3% (2002) | Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 3%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.06 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.057 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.991 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.618 male(s)/female total population: 0.941 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.67 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modernization of the telecommunications network has accelerated with market based competition finalized in 2003; fixed-line service, dominated by the former state-owned company, is dwarfed by the growth in wireless telephony
domestic: wireless service, available since 1993 (GSM service available since 1996) and provided by three nation-wide networks, has grown rapidly in response to the weak fixed-line coverage; third generation UMTS service available in urban areas; cellular coverage is generally good with more gaps in the east; fixed-line service is growing slowly and still lags in rural areas international: country code - 48; international direct dialing with automated exchanges; satellite earth station - 1 with access to Intelsat, Eutelsat, Inmarsat, and Intersputnik |
general assessment: NA
domestic: system employs open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 11.475 million (2006) | 38,000 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 36.746 million (2006) | 49,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | 40 (2006) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly flat plain; mountains along southern border | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.26 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.04 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14.9% (2006 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 3,997 km (navigable rivers and canals) (2006) | 144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall |