United States (2001) | Malawi (2002) | |
Administrative divisions | 50 states and 1 district*; Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia*, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming | 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:
21.12% (male 30,034,674; female 28,681,253) 15-64 years: 66.27% (male 91,371,753; female 92,907,199) 65 years and over: 12.61% (male 14,608,948; female 20,455,054) (2001 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 | wheat, other grains, corn, fruits, vegetables, cotton; beef, pork, poultry, dairy products; forest products; fish | tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats, groundnuts, Macadamia nuts |
Airports | 14,720 (2000 est.) | 44 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
5,174 over 3,047 m: 182 2,438 to 3,047 m: 220 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1,331 914 to 1,523 m: 2,440 under 914 m: 1,001 (2000 est.) |
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:
9,546 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 6 1,524 to 2,437 m: 164 914 to 1,523 m: 1,675 under 914 m: 7,698 (2000 est.) |
total: 37
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 14 under 914 m: 22 (2002) |
Area | total:
9,629,091 sq km land: 9,158,960 sq km water: 470,131 sq km note: includes only the 50 states and District of Columbia |
total: 118,480 sq km
land: 94,080 sq km water: 24,400 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Russia; about three-tenths the size of Africa; about one-half the size of South America (or slightly larger than Brazil); slightly larger than China; about two and one-half times the size of Western Europe | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania |
Background | The United States became the world's first modern democracy after its break with Great Britain (1776) and the adoption of a constitution (1789). During the 19th century, many new states were added to the original 13 as the nation expanded across the North American continent and acquired a number of overseas possessions. The two most traumatic experiences in the nation's history were the Civil War (1861-65) and the Great Depression of the 1930s. Buoyed by victories in World Wars I and II and the end of the Cold War in 1991, the US remains the world's most powerful nation-state. The economy is marked by steady growth, low unemployment and inflation, and rapid advances in technology. | 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 | 14.2 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 37.13 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$1.828 trillion expenditures: $1.703 trillion, including capital expenditures of $NA (1999) |
revenues: $490 million
expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.) |
Capital | Washington, DC | Lilongwe |
Climate | mostly temperate, but tropical in Hawaii and Florida, arctic in Alaska, semiarid in the great plains west of the Mississippi River, and arid in the Great Basin of the southwest; low winter temperatures in the northwest are ameliorated occasionally in January and February by warm chinook winds from the eastern slopes of the Rocky Mountains | sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November) |
Coastline | 19,924 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 17 September 1787, effective 4 March 1789 | 18 May 1994 |
Country name | conventional long form:
United States of America conventional short form: United States abbreviation: US or USA |
conventional long form: Republic of Malawi
conventional short form: Malawi former: British Central African Protectorate, Nyasaland Protectorate, Nyasaland |
Currency | US dollar (USD) | Malawian kwacha (MWK) |
Death rate | 8.7 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 23.2 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $862 billion (1995 est.) | $2.8 billion (2001 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | - | 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 Paul Tony Steven KANDIERO
chancery: 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 797-1007 FAX: [1] (202) 265-0976 |
Disputes - international | maritime boundary disputes with Canada (Dixon Entrance, Beaufort Sea, Strait of Juan de Fuca, Machias Seal Island); US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay is leased from Cuba and only mutual agreement or US abandonment of the area can terminate the lease; Haiti claims Navassa Island; US has made no territorial claim in Antarctica (but has reserved the right to do so) and does not recognize the claims of any other nation; Marshall Islands claims Wake Island | 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 - donor | ODA, $6.9 billion (1997) | - |
Economic aid - recipient | - | $427 million (1999) (1999) |
Economy - overview | The US has the largest and most technologically powerful economy in the world, with a per capita GDP of $36,200. In this market-oriented economy, private individuals and business firms make most of the decisions, and government buys needed goods and services predominantly in the private marketplace. US business firms enjoy considerably greater flexibility than their counterparts in Western Europe and Japan in decisions to expand capital plant, lay off surplus workers, and develop new products. At the same time, they face higher barriers to entry in their rivals' home markets than the barriers to entry of foreign firms in US markets. US firms are at or near the forefront in technological advances, especially in computers and in medical, aerospace, and military equipment, although their advantage has narrowed since the end of World War II. The onrush of technology largely explains the gradual development of a "two-tier labor market" in which those at the bottom lack the education and the professional/technical skills of those at the top and, more and more, fail to get comparable pay raises, health insurance coverage, and other benefits. Since 1975, practically all the gains in household income have gone to the top 20% of households. The years 1994-2000 witnessed solid increases in real output, low inflation rates, and a drop in unemployment to below 5%. Long-term problems include inadequate investment in economic infrastructure, rapidly rising medical costs of an aging population, sizable trade deficits, and stagnation of family income in the lower economic groups. Growth weakened in the fourth quarter of 2000; growth for the year 2001 almost certainly will be substantially lower than the strong 5% of 2000. The outlook for 2001 is further clouded by the continued economic problems of Japan, Russia, Indonesia, Brazil, and many other countries. | 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 | 3.45 trillion kWh (1999) | 767.25 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 14 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 43 billion kWh (1999) | 0 kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 3.678 trillion kWh (1999) | 825 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
69.64% hydro: 8.31% nuclear: 19.8% other: 2.25% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 3%
hydro: 97% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Death Valley -86 m highest point: Mount McKinley 6,194 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 | air pollution resulting in acid rain in both the US and Canada; the US is the largest single emitter of carbon dioxide from the burning of fossil fuels; water pollution from runoff of pesticides and fertilizers; very limited natural fresh water resources in much of the western part of the country require careful management; desertification | 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, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Antarctic-Environmental Protocol, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Antarctic Seals, Antarctic Treaty, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Marine Dumping, Marine Life Conservation, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Tropical Timber 83, Tropical Timber 94, Wetlands, Whaling signed, but not ratified: Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds, Biodiversity, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Hazardous Wastes |
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 | white 83.5%, black 12.4%, Asian 3.3%, Amerindian 0.8% (1992)
note: a separate listing for Hispanic is not included because the US Census Bureau considers Hispanic to mean a person of Latin American descent (especially of Cuban, Mexican, or Puerto Rican origin) living in the US who may be of any race or ethnic group (white, black, Asian, etc.) |
Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European |
Exchange rates | British pounds per US dollar - 0.6764 (January 2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998), 0.6106 (1997), 0.6403 (1996); Canadian dollars per US dollar - 1.5032 (January 2001), 1.4851 (2000), 1.4857 (1999), 1.4835 (1998), 1.3846 (1997), 1.3635 (1996); French francs per US dollar - 5.65 (January 1999), 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996), 4.9915 (1995), 5.5520 (1994); Italian lire per US dollar - 1,668.7 (January 1999), 1,763.2 (1998), 1,703.1 (1997), 1,542.9 (1996), 1,628.9 (1995), 1,612.4 (1994); Japanese yen per US dollar - 117.10 (January 2001), 107.77 (2000), 113.91 (1999), 130.91 (1998), 120.99 (1997), 108.78 (1996); German deutsche marks per US dollar - 1.69 (January 1999), 1.9692 (1998), 1.7341 (1997), 1.5048 (1996), 1.4331 (1995), 1.6228 (1994); euros per US dollar - 1.06594 (January 2001), 1.08540 (2000), 0.93863 (1999)
note: financial institutions in France, Italy, and Germany and eight other European countries started using the euro on 1 January 1999 with the euro replacing the local currency in consenting countries for all transactions in 2002 |
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 George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government head of government: President George W. BUSH (since 20 January 2001) and Vice President Richard B. CHENEY (since 20 January 2001); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president with Senate approval elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by a college of representatives who are elected directly from each state; president and vice president serve four-year terms; election last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held NA November 2004) election results: George W. BUSH elected president; percent of popular vote - George W. BUSH (Republican Party) 48%, Albert A. GORE, Jr. (Democratic Party) 48%, Ralph NADER (Green Party) 3%, other 1% |
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 | $776 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $415.5 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Exports - commodities | capital goods, automobiles, industrial supplies and raw materials, consumer goods, agricultural products | tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel |
Exports - partners | Canada 23%, Mexico 14%, Japan 8%, UK 5%, Germany 4%, France, Netherlands (2000) | South Africa 18%, Germany 13%, US 13%, UK 10%, Japan 7%, Netherlands 3% (2000) |
Fiscal year | 1 October - 30 September | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | thirteen equal horizontal stripes of red (top and bottom) alternating with white; there is a blue rectangle in the upper hoist-side corner bearing 50 small, white, five-pointed stars arranged in nine offset horizontal rows of six stars (top and bottom) alternating with rows of five stars; the 50 stars represent the 50 states, the 13 stripes represent the 13 original colonies; known as Old Glory; the design and colors have been the basis for a number of other flags, including Chile, Liberia, Malaysia, and Puerto Rico | 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 - $9.963 trillion (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $7 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
2% industry: 18% services: 80% (1999) |
agriculture: 40%
industry: 19% services: 41% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $36,200 (2000 est.) | purchasing power parity - $660 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5% (2000 est.) | 1.7% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 38 00 N, 97 00 W | 13 30 S, 34 00 E |
Geography - note | world's third-largest country (after Russia and Canada) | 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 | 131 (2000 est.) | - |
Highways | total:
6,370,031 km paved: 5,733,028 km (including 74,091 km of expressways) unpaved: 637,003 km (1997) |
total: 14,594 km
paved: 2,773 km unpaved: 11,821 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 30.5% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | consumer of cocaine shipped from Colombia through Mexico and the Caribbean; consumer of heroin, marijuana, and increasingly methamphetamine from Mexico; consumer of high-quality Southeast Asian heroin; illicit producer of cannabis, marijuana, depressants, stimulants, hallucinogens, and methamphetamine; money-laundering center | - |
Imports | $1.223 trillion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) | $463.6 million f.o.b. (2001) |
Imports - commodities | crude oil and refined petroleum products, machinery, automobiles, consumer goods, industrial raw materials, food and beverages | food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment |
Imports - partners | Canada 19%, Japan 11%, Mexico 11%, China 8%, Germany 5%, UK, Taiwan (2000) | South Africa 40%, UK 11%, Zimbabwe 7%, Japan 5%, Germany 2%, US 1.8%, Zambia (2000) |
Independence | 4 July 1776 (from Great Britain) | 6 July 1964 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 5.6% (2000 est.) | 2.5% (2001 est.) |
Industries | leading industrial power in the world, highly diversified and technologically advanced; petroleum, steel, motor vehicles, aerospace, telecommunications, chemicals, electronics, food processing, consumer goods, lumber, mining | tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods |
Infant mortality rate | 6.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 119.96 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.4% (2000) | 28.6% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | APEC, ARF (dialogue partner), AsDB, ASEAN (dialogue partner), Australia Group, BIS, CCC, CE (observer), CERN (observer), CP, EAPC, EBRD, ECE, ECLAC, ESCAP, FAO, G-5, G-7, G-10, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICC, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IEA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, MINURSO, MIPONUH, NAM (guest), NATO, NEA, NSG, OAS, OECD, OPCW, OSCE, PCA, SPC, UN, UN Security Council, UNCTAD, UNHCR, UNIKOM, UNITAR, UNMEE, UNMIBH, UNMIK, UNOMIG, UNRWA, UNTAET, UNTSO, UNU, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTrO, 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) | 7,800 (2000 est.) | 7 (2001) |
Irrigated land | 207,000 sq km (1993 est.) | 280 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court (its nine justices are appointed for life by the president with confirmation by the Senate); United States Courts of Appeal; United States District Courts; State and County Courts | 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 | 140.9 million (includes unemployed) (2000) | 4.5 million (2001 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | managerial and professional 30.2%, technical, sales and administrative support 29.2%, services 13.5%, manufacturing, mining, transportation, and crafts 24.6%, farming, forestry, and fishing 2.5% (2000)
note: figures exclude the unemployed |
agriculture 86% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | total:
12,248 km border countries: Canada 8,893 km (including 2,477 km with Alaska), Cuba 29 km (US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay), Mexico 3,326 km note: Guantanamo Naval Base is leased by the US and thus remains part of Cuba |
total: 2,881 km
border countries: Mozambique 1,569 km, Tanzania 475 km, Zambia 837 km |
Land use | arable land:
19% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 25% forests and woodland: 30% other: 26% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 19.93%
permanent crops: 1.33% other: 78.74% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English, Spanish (spoken by a sizable minority) | English (official), Chichewa (official), other languages important regionally |
Legal system | based on English common law; judicial review of legislative acts; 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 Congress consists of Senate (100 seats, one-third are renewed every two years; two members are elected from each state by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and House of Representatives (435 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote to serve two-year terms)
elections: Senate - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002); House of Representatives - last held 7 November 2000 (next to be held 4 November 2002) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 50, Democratic Party 50; House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - Republican Party 221, Democratic Party 211, independent 2, vacant 1 |
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:
77.26 years male: 74.37 years female: 80.05 years (2001 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: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1979 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58% male: 72.8% female: 43.4% (1999 est.) |
Location | North America, bordering both the North Atlantic Ocean and the North Pacific Ocean, between Canada and Mexico | Southern Africa, east of Zambia |
Map references | North America | Africa |
Maritime claims | contiguous zone:
24 NM continental shelf: not specified exclusive economic zone: 200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | total:
376 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 10,814,622 GRT/14,416,517 DWT ships by type: barge carrier 9, bulk 68, cargo 29, chemical tanker 13, combination bulk 3, container 80, liquefied gas 1, multi-functional large-load carrier 3, passenger 9, passenger/cargo 1, petroleum tanker 98, roll on/roll off 49, short-sea passenger 3, specialized tanker 1, vehicle carrier 9 (2000 est.) |
- |
Military branches | Department of the Army, Department of the Navy (includes Marine Corps), Department of the Air Force
note: the Coast Guard is normally subordinate to the Department of Transportation, but in wartime reports to the Department of the Navy |
Army (including Air Wing and Naval Detachment), Police (including paramilitary Mobile Force Unit) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $276.7 billion (FY99 est.) | $9.5 million (FY00/01) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.2% (FY99 est.) | 0.76% (FY00/01) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49:
70,819,436 (2001 est.) |
males age 15-49: 2,535,207 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | NA | males age 15-49: 1,301,625 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males:
2,039,414 (2001 est.) |
- |
National holiday | Independence Day, 4 July (1776) | Independence Day (Republic Day), 6 July (1964) |
Nationality | noun:
American(s) adjective: American |
noun: Malawian(s)
adjective: Malawian |
Natural hazards | tsunamis, volcanoes, and earthquake activity around Pacific Basin; hurricanes along the Atlantic and Gulf of Mexico coasts; tornadoes in the midwest and southeast; mud slides in California; forest fires in the west; flooding; permafrost in northern Alaska, a major impediment to development | NA |
Natural resources | coal, copper, lead, molybdenum, phosphates, uranium, bauxite, gold, iron, mercury, nickel, potash, silver, tungsten, zinc, petroleum, natural gas, timber | limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite |
Net migration rate | 3.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | petroleum products 276,000 km; natural gas 331,000 km (1991) | - |
Political parties and leaders | Democratic Party [Terence McAULIFFE, national committee chairman]; Republican Party [James S. GILMORE III, national committee chairman]; several other groups or parties of minor political significance | 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 | NA | National Democratic Alliance [Brown MPINGANJIRA] |
Population | 278,058,881 (July 2001 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 | 12.7% (1999 est.) | 54% (FY90/91 est. ) |
Population growth rate | 0.9% (2001 est.) | 1.39% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Anchorage, Baltimore, Boston, Charleston, Chicago, Duluth, Hampton Roads, Honolulu, Houston, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, New Orleans, New York, Philadelphia, Port Canaveral, Portland (Oregon), Prudhoe Bay, San Francisco, Savannah, Seattle, Tampa, Toledo | Chipoka, Monkey Bay, Nkhata Bay, Nkhotakota, Chilumba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 4,762, FM 5,542, shortwave 18 (1998) | AM 9, FM 5 (plus 15 repeater stations), shortwave 2 (plus a third station held in standby status) (2001) |
Radios | 575 million (1997) | 2.6 million (1997) |
Railways | total:
225,750 km mainline routes standard gauge: 225,750 km 1.435-m gauge (1999) |
total: 797 km
narrow gauge: 797 km 1.067-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Protestant 56%, Roman Catholic 28%, Jewish 2%, other 4%, none 10% (1989) | Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 3%, other 2% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.05 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2001 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:
a very large, technologically advanced, multipurpose communications system domestic: a large system of fiber-optic cable, microwave radio relay, coaxial cable, and domestic satellites carries every form of telephone traffic; a rapidly growing cellular system carries mobile telephone traffic throughout the country international: 24 ocean cable systems in use; satellite earth stations - 61 Intelsat (45 Atlantic Ocean and 16 Pacific Ocean), 5 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region), and 4 Inmarsat (Pacific and Atlantic Ocean regions) (2000) |
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 | 194 million (1997) | 38,000 (1999) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 69.209 million (1998) | 49,000 (2000) |
Television broadcast stations | more than 1,500 (including nearly 1,000 stations affiliated with the five major networks - NBC, ABC, CBS, FOX, and PBS; in addition, there are about 9,000 cable TV systems) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | vast central plain, mountains in west, hills and low mountains in east; rugged mountains and broad river valleys in Alaska; rugged, volcanic topography in Hawaii | narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains |
Total fertility rate | 2.06 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 5.04 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 4% (2000) | NA% |
Waterways | 41,009 km
note: navigable inland channels, exclusive of the Great Lakes |
144 km
note: on Lake Nyasa (Lake Malawi) and Shire Riverall |