Malawi
Type of Government: Democracy
Independence: 1964 from the UK
Head of State: President Bingu wa Mutharika (since May 24, 2004)
2007/2008 UN Development Index ranking (out of 177 countries): 164
2007 TI Corruption Perception Index (out of 179): 118
Political Development: 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, struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor, culminating in Mutharika quitting the political party on whose ticket he was elected into office. Mutharika subsequently started his own party, the Democratic Progressive Party (DPP), and has continued with a halting anti-corruption campaign against abuses carried out under the previous regime. Increasing corruption, population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, and the spread of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for the country.
Adult HIV Rate: 14.2 %
Life Expectancy: 42.98
GDP: $2.202
Inflation: 14%
Poverty: 53%
Petroleum: N/A
Leading Export Partner: South Africa (12.6%)
Economic Note: Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world’s least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 85% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for about one-third of GDP and four-fifths of export revenues. The government faces many 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, the president championed an anticorruption campaign. Since 2005 the government has exhibited improved financial discipline under the guidance of Finance Minister Goodall Gondwe.
