Saint Helena (2001) | Malawi (2006) | |
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Administrative divisions | 1 administrative area and 2 dependencies*; Ascension*, Saint Helena, Tristan da Cunha* | 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:
19.08% (male 699; female 687) 15-64 years: 71.72% (male 2,711; female 2,500) 65 years and over: 9.2% (male 286; female 383) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 46.5% (male 3,056,522/female 3,000,493)
15-64 years: 50.8% (male 3,277,573/female 3,332,907) 65 years and over: 2.7% (male 139,953/female 206,478) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, potatoes, vegetables; timber; fish, crawfish (on Tristan da Cunha) | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses, groundnuts, Macadamia nuts; cattle, goats |
Airports | 1 (2000 est.) | 42 (2006) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 6
over 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 (2006) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 36
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 15 under 914 m: 20 (2006) |
Area | total:
410 sq km land: 410 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes St. Helena Island, Ascension, and the island group of Tristan da Cunha, which consists of Tristan da Cunha Island, Gough Island, Inaccessible Island, and the three Nightingale Islands |
total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than two times the size of Washington, DC | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | Uninhabited when first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502, St. Helena was garrisoned by the British during the 17th century. It acquired fame as the place of Napoleon BONAPARTE's exile, from 1815 until his death in 1821, but its importance as a port of call declined after the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869. Ascension Island is the site of a US Air Force auxiliary airfield; Gough Island has a meteorological station. | Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution which came into full effect the following year. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, has struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor, who still leads their shared political party. MUTHARIKA's anti-corruption efforts have led to several high-level arrests and one prominent conviction. Increasing corruption, population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, and the spread of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for the country. |
Birth rate | 13.49 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 43.13 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$11.2 million expenditures: $11 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY92) |
revenues: $844.6 million
expenditures: $913.9 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (2005 est.) |
Capital | Jamestown | name: Lilongwe
geographic coordinates: 13 59 S, 33 44 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | Saint Helena - tropical; marine; mild, tempered by trade winds; Tristan da Cunha - temperate; marine, mild, tempered by trade winds (tends to be cooler than Saint Helena) | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 60 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 1 January 1989 | 18 May 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
none conventional short form: Saint Helena |
conventional long form: Republic of Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi local long form: Dziko la Malawi local short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | Saint Helenian pound (SHP) | - |
Death rate | 6.33 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 19.33 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $3.287 billion (2005 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affaires David GILMOUR
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 | none (overseas territory of the UK) | chief of mission: Ambassador Bernard Herbert SANDE
chancery: 1156 15th Street, NW, Suite 320, Washington, DC 20005 telephone: [1] (202) 721-0270 FAX: [1] (202) 721-0288 |
Disputes - international | none | disputes with Tanzania over the boundary in Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and the meandering Songwe River remain dormant |
Economic aid - recipient | $12.6 million (1995); note - $5.3 million from UK (1997) | $401.5 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | The economy depends largely on financial assistance from the UK, which amounted to about $5 million in 1997 or almost one-half of annual budgetary revenues. The local population earns income from fishing, the raising of livestock, and sales of handicrafts. Because there are few jobs, 25% of the work force has left to seek employment on Ascension Island, on the Falklands, and in the UK. | 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 accounted for nearly 36% of GDP and 80% of export revenues in 2005. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for over 60% of exports. 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, including developing a market economy, improving educational facilities, facing up to environmental problems, dealing with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS, and satisfying foreign donors that fiscal discipline is being tightened. In 2005, President MUTHARIKA championed an anticorruption campaign. Malawi's recent fiscal policy performance has been very strong, but a serious drought in 2005 and 2006 will heighten pressure on the government to increase spending. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.6 million kWh (1999) | 1.206 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 6 million kWh (1999) | 1.296 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
- |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Atlantic Ocean 0 m highest point: Queen Mary's Peak on Tristan da Cunha 2,060 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 | NA | deforestation; land degradation; water pollution from agricultural runoff, sewage, industrial wastes; siltation of spawning grounds endangers fish populations |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Marine Life Conservation, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | African descent 50%, white 25%, Chinese 25% | Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
Exchange rates | Saint Helenian pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6047 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); note - the Saint Helenian pound is at par with the British pound | Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 108.894 (2005), 108.898 (2004), 97.433 (2003), 76.687 (2002), 72.197 (2001) |
Executive branch | chief of state:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952) head of government: Governor and Commander in Chief David HOLLAMBY (since NA June 1999) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, two ex officio officers, and six elected members of the Legislative Council elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor is appointed by the monarch |
chief of state: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (since 24 May 2004); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: 46-member Cabinet named by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: Bingu wa MUTHARIKA elected president; percent of vote - Bingu wa MUTHARIKA (UDF) 35.9%, John TEMBO (MCP) 27.1%, Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA (MC) 25.7%, Brown MPINGANJIRA (NDA) 8.7%, Justin MALEWEZI (independent) 2.5% |
Exports | $704,000 (f.o.b., 1995) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | fish (frozen, canned, and salt-dried skipjack, tuna), coffee, handicrafts | tobacco 60%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel |
Exports - partners | South Africa, UK | US 18%, South Africa 12.2%, Egypt 7.6%, Germany 7%, Netherlands 6.9%, Japan 4.8%, Russia 4.6%, UK 4.2%, Mozambique 4% (2005) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | blue with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Saint Helenian shield centered on the outer half of the flag; the shield features a rocky coastline and three-masted sailing ship | 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 - $18 million (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
NA% industry: NA% services: NA% |
agriculture: 34.2%
industry: 15.8% services: 49.9% (2005 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (1998 est.) | - |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 1.9% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 15 56 S, 5 42 W | 13 30 S, 34 00 E |
Geography - note | harbors at least 40 species of plants unknown anywhere else in the world; Ascension is a breeding ground for sea turtles and sooty terns | 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 |
Highways | total:
158 km (Saint Helena 118 km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) paved: 138 km (Saint Helena 98km, Ascension 40 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) unpaved: NA km 20 km (Saint Helena 20 km, Ascension 0 km, Tristan da Cunha 0 km) |
- |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Imports | $14.434 million (c.i.f., 1995) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | food, beverages, tobacco, fuel oils, animal feed, building materials, motor vehicles and parts, machinery and parts | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | UK, South Africa | South Africa 37.9%, Zambia 8.7%, Mozambique 7.8%, Zimbabwe 7.3%, India 6.4%, Tanzania 4.6% (2005) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 7.9% (2005 est.) |
Industries | construction, crafts (furniture, lacework, fancy woodwork), fishing | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
Infant mortality rate | 22.38 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | total: 94.37 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 98.66 deaths/1,000 live births female: 89.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.2% (1997 est.) | 15.4% (2005 est.) |
International organization participation | ICFTU | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, COMESA, FAO, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (correspondent), ITU, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, ONUB, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 1 (2000) | - |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 560 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; Magistrate's Court; Small Debts Court; Juvenile Court | 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 | 3,500 (1998 est.)
note: 1,200 of whom are working offshore |
4.5 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture and fishing 6%, industry (mainly construction) 48%, services 46% (1987 est.) | agriculture: 90%
industry and services: 10% (2003 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | total: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land:
6% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 6% forests and woodland: 6% other: 82% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 20.68%
permanent crops: 1.18% other: 78.14% (2005) |
Languages | English | Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%, Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6% (1998 census) |
Legal system | NA | based on English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal; accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction, with reservations |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (15 seats, including the speaker, 3 ex officio and 12 elected members; members are elected by popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 9 July 1997 (next to be held NA August 2001) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats - independents 15 |
unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 20 May 2004 (next to be held May 2009) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - UDF 74, MCP 60, Independents 24, RP 16, others 18, vacancies 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
77.01 years male: 74.13 years female: 80.04 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 41.7 years
male: 41.93 years female: 41.45 years (2006 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 20 and over can read and write total population: 97% male: 97% female: 98% (1987 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 62.7% male: 76.1% female: 49.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | islands in the South Atlantic Ocean, about mid-way between South America and Africa | Southern Africa, east of Zambia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive fishing zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | Malawi Armed Forces: Army (includes Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (includes Mobile Force Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $15.81 million (2005 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 0.8% (2005 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun:
Saint Helenian(s) adjective: Saint Helenian |
noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian |
Natural hazards | active volcanism on Tristan da Cunha | NA |
Natural resources | fish | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Political parties and leaders | none | Alliance for Democracy or AFORD [Chakufwa CHIHANA]; Congress for National Unity or CONU; Democratic Progressive Party or DPP [Bingu wa MUTHARIKA]; Malawi Congress Party or MCP [John TEMBO]; Malawi Democratic Party or MDP [Kampelo KALUA]; Malawi Forum for Unity and Development or MAFUNDE [George MNESA]; Mgwirizano Coalition or MC [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA] (coalition of MAFUNDE, MDP, MGODE, NUP, PETRA, PPM, RP); Movement for Genuine Democratic Change or MGODE [Sam Kandodo BANDA]; National Democratic Alliance or NDA [Brown MPINGANJIRA]; National Unity Party or NUP [Harry CHIUME]; People's Progressive Movement or PPM [Aleke BANDA]; People's Transformation Movement or PETRA [Kamuzu CHIBAMBO]; Republican Party or RP [Gwandaguluwe CHAKUAMBA]; United Democratic Front or UDF |
Political pressure groups and leaders | none | NA |
Population | 7,266 (July 2001 est.) | 13,013,926
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 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 55% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.72% (2001 est.) | 2.38% (2006 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Georgetown (on Ascension), Jamestown | - |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus a third station held in standby status) (2001) |
Radios | 3,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | 0 km | total: 797 km
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2005) |
Religions | Anglican (majority), Baptist, Seventh-Day Adventist, Roman Catholic | Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3% (1998 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.04 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.08 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.75 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
Suffrage | NA years of age | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
can communicate with any place in the world domestic: automatic network international: HF radiotelephone from Saint Helena to Ascension which is a major coaxial submarine cable relay point between South Africa, Portugal, and UK ; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: system employs open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links, and radiotelephone communications stations international: country code - 265; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (1 Indian Ocean and 1 Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 2,000 (1997) | 102,700 (2005) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1997) | 429,300 (2005) |
Television broadcast stations | 0 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | Saint Helena - rugged, volcanic; small scattered plateaus and plains
note: the other islands of the group have a volcanic origin |
narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 1.53 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.92 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 14% (1998 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | none | 700 km (on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire River) (2006) |