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Map of Malawi

Malawi

Malawi remains one of the poorest countries in the world. Around 70% of the population live below the international poverty line of US$1.90 per day, and 89% of Malawi’s workforce are employed in the informal economy. In 2018 the population of Malawi was 17.55 million. It is a small landlocked country sharing borders with Mozambique, Zambia and Tanzania.  Malawi is 118,484 km2 in extent, of which 29,600 km2 is water. Despite its relatively small surface area, Lake Malawi is the fifth largest lake in the world by volume.
Socio-economic indicators browse all
Land Area
9,428,000 ha
GDP/Capita
1,491.1 USD

More on this country

News Browse all

New Publication: State of Land Information in Malawi

20 March 2023

Land Portal Publishes New State of Land Information Report for Malawi During the colonial era, data and information was largely treated as confidential in Malawi. According to Mambulasa (2016), many statutes in Malawi dating back to colonial times promote government secrecy and the withholding of…

Land law amendment bars foreigners from owning land in Malawi

7 December 2022

Deputy Minister of Lands, Deus Gumba .“There has been an outcry that foreigners are taking over our land. The current land law has been amended with an aim of protecting the land from foreign citizens’ ownership”.

Malawi becomes the first country to open the IMF’s new ‘Food Shock Window’

25 October 2022

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has a new financing tool called the ‘Food Shock Window’ to address balance of payments needs linked to the global food crisis. Malawi, where hunger among the poor is common, is the first low-income country to open that window. Under the “staff-level agreement”,…

About 85% of the population live in rural areas and depend on small scale agricultural production which is increasingly vulnerable to climate shocks.

Blogs Browse all

Navigating Malawi's Land Laws: Unravelling Colonial Legacies and Customary Challenges

4 March 2024

The article examines the challenges in Malawi's land governance, tracing issues back to colonial legacies and addressing contemporary problems in customary land practices. Despite amendments to incorporate indigenous people and customary laws, challenges persist, particularly in ownership claims…

Events Browse all
9th Capitalization Meeting of the EU Land Governance Programme - Day 3 - WEBINAR ON COVID-19 AND TENURE SECURITY

Webinar on COVID-19 and Tenure Security

9th Capitalization Meeting of the EU Land Governance Programme   3 NOVEMBER 2020, 10.00 – 11.30 CET (9.00 – 10.30 GMT)  Project implementation in all countries and at the transversal level have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Anecdotal evidence from many countries suggest that the pandemic…