Map of Malawi
Malawi is a country in Africa with its capital at Lilongwe, home to about 22.22 million people across 118,484 km². The interactive map below plots 20 cities and towns, 1 rivers, 1 lakes and 1 mountain summits recorded for Malawi in YearMaps.
- Population
- 22.22 million
- Area
- 118,484 km²
- Capital
- Lilongwe
- Continent
- Africa
Interactive Map of Malawi
Centred on Lilongwe at 13.9833° S, 33.7833° E. Use the layer panel to switch on rivers, dams, ports, peaks and historical borders.
About Malawi
Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast, and Mozambique to the east, south, and southwest. Malawi spans over 118,484 km2 (45,747 sq mi) and has a population of 22,224,282 (as of July 2025). Lilongwe is its capital and largest city.
The part of Africa now known as Malawi was settled around the 10th century by the Akafula, also known as the Abathwa. Later, the Bantu groups came and drove out the Akafula and formed various kingdoms such as the Maravi and Nkhamanga kingdoms, that flourished from the 16th century. The British Empire began to consolidate control of the area following the 1890 British Ultimatum against the Portuguese, who had claimed the area between Angola and Mozambique in the 1885 Pink Map. In 1891, the area was designated by the British as the British Central African Protectorate, renamed Nyasaland in 1907. In 1964, Nyasaland became independent under Prime Minister Hastings Banda and was renamed Malawi. Two years later, Banda became president by converting the country into a one-party presidential republic. Banda was declared president for life in 1971. Malawi's first few decades of independence was characterized by Banda's highly repressive dictatorship. After the introduction of a multi-party system in 1993, Banda lost the 1994 general election, and the country has continued to experience peaceful transitions of power. Malawi has a democratic, multi-party republic headed by an elected president. According to the 2024 V-Dem Democracy indices, Malawi is ranked 74th electoral democracy worldwide and 11th electoral democracy in Africa. The country maintains diplomatic relations with most countries and participates in several international organisations, including the United Nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the Southern African Development Community, the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa, and the African Union.
Malawi is one of the world's least developed countries. Its economy is heavily based on agriculture, and it has a largely rural and growing population. The country has a low life expectancy and high infant mortality. HIV/AIDS is highly prevalent. The diverse population includes native peoples, Asians, and Europeans. The population is predominantly Christian, and the majority are Protestant.
Summary adapted from Wikipedia: Malawi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Geography and Climate of Malawi
Malawi shares its name with the Chewa word for flames and is linked to the Maravi people from whom the Chewa language originated. The Maravi settled in what is now Malawi around 1400, during one of the later waves of Bantu migration across central and southern Africa. A powerful Maravi kingdom established around 1500 reached its zenith around 1700, when it controlled what is now southern and central Malawi and portions of neighboring Mozambique and Zambia. The kingdom eventually declined because of destabilization from the escalating global trade in enslaved people. In the early 1800s, widespread conflict in southern Africa displaced various ethnic Ngoni groups, some of which moved into Malawi and further undermined the Maravi. Members of the Yao ethnic group -- which had long traded with Malawi from Mozambique -- introduced Islam and began to settle in Malawi in significant numbers in the mid-1800s, followed by members of the Lomwe ethnic group. British missionary and trading activity increased in the area around Lake Nyasa in the mid-1800s, and in 1891, Britain declared a protectorate called British Central Africa over what is now Malawi. The British renamed the territory Nyasaland in 1907, and it was part of the colonial Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland -- including present-day Zambia and Zimbabwe -- from 1953 to 1963 before gaining independence as Malawi in 1964. Hastings Kamuzu BANDA served as prime minister at independence and then as president when the country became a republic in 1966. He later instituted one-party rule under his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and was declared president for life. After three decades of one-party rule, the country held multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections in 1994 under a provisional constitution that came into full effect the following year. Bakili MULUZI of the United Democratic Front party became the first freely elected president of Malawi when he defeated BANDA at the polls in 1994; he won reelection in 1999. President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA was elected in 2004 and reelected to a second term in 2009. He died abruptly in 2012 and was succeeded by Vice President Joyce BANDA. MUTHARIKA's brother, Peter MUTHARIKA, defeated BANDA in the election in 2014. Peter MUTHARIKA was reelected in a disputed election in 2019 that resulted in countrywide protests. The courts ordered a new election, and in 2020, Lazarus CHAKWERA of the MCP was elected president. Population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and HIV/AIDS pose major problems for Malawi.
- Location
- Southern Africa, east of Zambia, west and north of Mozambique.
- Climate
- Sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November)
- Terrain
- Narrow elongated plateau with rolling plains, rounded hills, some mountains.
- Highest point
- Sapitwa (Mount Mlanje) 3,002 m.
- Lowest point
- Junction of the Shire River and international boundary with Mozambique 37 m.
- Coastline
- 0 km (landlocked)
- Land borders
- Total: 2,857 km; border countries: Mozambique 1,498 km; Tanzania 512 km; Zambia 847 km.
- Major rivers
- Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s], Angola, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Tanzania, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth.
- Major lakes
- Fresh water lake(s): Lake Malawi (shared with Mozambique and Tanzania) - 22,490; salt water lake(s): Lake Chilwa - 1,040 sq km.
- Natural resources
- Limestone, arable land, hydropower, unexploited deposits of uranium, coal, and bauxite.
- Land use
- Agricultural land: 64.2% (2023 est.); arable land: 42.4% (2023 est.); permanent crops: 2.1% (2023 est.); permanent pasture: 19.6% (2023 est.); forest: 22.4% (2023 est.); other: 13.4% (2023 est.)
- Natural hazards
- Flooding; droughts; earthquakes.
- Geographic note
- Landlocked; Lake Nyasa, about 580 km (360 mi) long, is the country's most prominent physical feature; it contains more fish species than any other lake on earth.
- Languages
- English (official), Chewa (dominant), Lambya, Lomwe, Ngoni, Nkhonde, Nyakyusa, Nyanja, Sena, Tonga, Tumbuka, Yao.
- Religions
- Protestant 33.5% (includes Church of Central Africa Presbyterian 14.2%, Seventh Day Adventist/Baptist 9.4%, Pentecostal 7.6%, Anglican 2.3%), Roman Catholic 17.2%, other Christian 26.6%, Muslim 13.8%, traditionalist 1.1%, other 5.6%, none 2.1% (2018 est.)
- Ethnic groups
- Chewa 34.3%, Lomwe 18.8%, Yao 13.2%, Ngoni 10.4%, Tumbuka 9.2%, Sena 3.8%, Mang'anja 3.2%, Tonga 1.8%, Nyanja 1.8%, Nkhonde 1%, other 2.2%, foreign 0.3% (2018 est.)
- Economy
- Low-income East African economy; primarily agrarian; investing in human capital; urban poverty increasing due to COVID-19; high public debt; endemic corruption and poor property rights; poor hydroelectric grid; localized pharmaceutical industry.
From the CIA World Factbook (public domain), archived edition of 2026-01-22. The Factbook is no longer updated, so figures reflect that edition.
Malawi in Numbers
- Population
- 22.22 million
- GDP
- US$14.9 billion
- GDP per person
- US$672
- Life expectancy
- 67.6 years
- Population growth
- 2.56% a year
- Population density
- 230 per km²
- Urban population
- 17.6%
- Surface area
- 118,484 km²
- Forest cover
- 22.0%
- Arable land
- 42.4%
- Access to electricity
- 15.6%
- Internet users
- 19.0%
Indicators from World Bank Open Data (CC BY 4.0). The year under each figure is its reference year.
Malawi in Depth
History
Before the arrival of the Bantu peoples from the North around the 10th century CE, the part of Africa now known as Malawi had a small population of hunter-gatherers, known in contemporary Malawi oral tradition as Akafula, BaTwa, Akaombe, or Mwandionerakuti. The BaTwa were gradually overtaken by the agrarian Bantu peoples.
Although most of the Bantu peoples continued south, some remained and founded ethnic groups based on common ancestry. By the 16th century, the tribes had established several kingdoms such as the Maravi Empire that reached from north of what became Nkhotakota to the Zambezi River and from Lake Malawi to the Luangwa River in what became Zambia and the Nkhamanga.
Geography
Malawi is a landlocked country in Southeast Africa, bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the northeast, and Mozambique to the south, southwest, and east. It lies between latitudes 9° and 18°S, and longitudes 32° and 36°E. The Great Rift Valley runs through the country from north to south, and to the east of the valley lies Lake Malawi (also called Lake Nyasa), making up over three-quarters of Malawi's eastern boundary. Lake Malawi is sometimes called the Calendar Lake as it is about 365 miles (587 km) long and 52 miles (84 km) wide. The Shire River flows from the south end of the lake and joins the Zambezi 400 kilometres (250 mi) farther south in Mozambique.
Economy
Malawi is among the world's least developed countries. Around 85% of the population lives in rural areas. The economy is based on agriculture, and more than one-third of GDP and 90% of export revenues come from this. In the past, the economy has been dependent on substantial economic aid from the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), and other countries. Malawi was ranked the 119th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings. The government faces challenges in developing a market economy, improving environmental protection, dealing with the rapidly growing HIV/AIDS problem, improving the education system, and satisfying its foreign donors to become financially independent.
Demographics
Malawi has a population of over 19 million, with a growth rate of 3.32%, according to 2021 estimates. The population is forecast to grow to over 47 million people by 2050, nearly tripling the estimated 16 million in 2010.
The population is made up of the Chewa, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, and Ngonde native ethnic groups, as well as populations of Chinese and Europeans.
The official language is English. The country does not have a declared national language per its constitution but considers several major languages as regional which include Chichewa (42.5%), Chitumbuka (31.2%), and Chiyao (13.7%).
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Malawi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Malawi: Key Facts
| Currency | Malawian kwacha |
|---|---|
| Official languages | English, Chewa, Tumbuka |
| Head of state | Peter Mutharika |
| Head of government | Lazarus Chakwera |
| Calling code | +265 |
| Internet domain | .mw |
| Highest point | Mulanje Massif |
| Lowest point | Shire River |
| Established | 6 July 1964 |
Facts from Wikidata Q1020 (CC0).
History of Malawi: Empires and States
The atlas records 9 polities whose mapped territory included part of Malawi, from Kingdom of Portugal in 1895 CE to 2024 CE. They are listed in the order they first appear.
| Polity | Period here | Extent |
|---|---|---|
| Kingdom of Portugal | 1895–1910 CE | A small part |
| The Portuguese Empire | 1895–1910 CE | A small part |
| British Africa | 1895–1960 CE | Most |
| The British Empire | 1895–1968 CE | Most |
| Portuguese Republic | 1911–1925 CE | A small part |
| Estado Novo | 1926–1975 CE | A small part |
| British East Africa | 1961–1968 CE | Most |
| Malawi | 1967–2024 CE | Most |
| Mozambique | 1976–2024 CE | A small part |
Historical Maps of Malawi
Malawi on the world map in each year one of these states held it:
Derived by testing mapped cities against dated territorial polygons. Dates are when the polygons cover this place, not the polity's whole lifespan, and polities absent from the source dataset are not listed.
Visiting Malawi
Malawi (Chichewa: Malaŵi, Chitumbuka: Malaŵi) is a small, landlocked country in Africa whose eastern border mostly follows Lake Malawi, the third largest lake on the continent. It's described as the "Warm Heart of Africa", referring to the friendliness of the people.
Travel notes adapted from Wikivoyage: Malawi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Largest Cities in Malawi
20 cities recorded. Ranked by metropolitan population. A port city's harbour is written up on the page of its sea.
| # | Name | Population | Region | Role |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lilongwe | 646,750 | Lilongwe | National capital |
| 2 | Blantyre | 584,877 | Blantyre | Admin-1 region capital |
| 3 | Mzuzu | 110,201 | Mzimba | Admin-1 region capital |
| 4 | Mangochi | 97,711 | Mangochi | Admin-1 capital |
| 5 | Zomba | 80,932 | Zomba | Populated place |
| 6 | Salima | 71,181 | Salima | Populated place |
| 7 | Nkhotakota | 59,854 | Nkhotakota | Admin-1 capital |
| 8 | Karonga | 34,207 | Chitipa | Populated place |
| 9 | Chiromo | 25,235 | Nsanje | Populated place |
| 10 | Nkhata Bay | 22,108 | Nkhata Bay | Admin-1 capital |
| 11 | Nsanje | 21,774 | Nsanje | Admin-1 capital |
| 12 | Mzimba | 19,308 | Mzimba | Admin-1 capital |
| 13 | Mchinji | 18,305 | Mchinji | Admin-1 capital |
| 14 | Mulanje | 16,483 | Mulanje | Admin-1 capital |
| 15 | Dedza | 15,608 | Dedza | Admin-1 capital |
| 16 | Chitipa | 13,412 | Chitipa | Populated place |
| 17 | Mwanza | 11,379 | Mwanza | Admin-1 capital |
| 18 | Ntcheu | 10,445 | Ntcheu | Admin-1 capital |
| 19 | Chiradzulu | 1,580 | Chiradzulu | Admin-1 capital |
| 20 | Machinga | 1,418 | Machinga | Admin-1 capital |
Highest Mountains in Malawi
1 mountain recorded. Ranked by summit elevation above sea level. A summit on a border is listed under both countries.
| # | Name | Elevation | Feet | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Sapitwa Peak | 3,003 m | 9,852 ft | Africa |
Largest Lakes in Malawi
1 lake recorded. Ranked by mapped surface area. A lake on a border is listed under each country it lies in, with the area of the whole lake.
| # | Name | Surface Area | Type |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Malawi | 28,974 km² | Lake |
Lake Malawi
Lake · 28,974 km²
Lake Malawi is a lake in Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania, with a mapped surface area of about 28,974 km². About 75% of its surface lies in Malawi, and the rest in Mozambique and Tanzania.
Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, (Swahili: Ziwa Nyasa) is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania.
It is the fourth largest freshwater lake in the world by volume, the ninth largest lake in the world by area and the third largest and second deepest lake in Africa. Lake Malawi is home to more species of fish than any other lake in the world, including at least 700 species of cichlid. The Mozambique portion of the lake was officially declared a reserve by the Government of Mozambique on June 10, 2011, while in Malawi a portion of the lake is included in Lake Malawi National Park.
Lake Malawi is a meromictic lake, meaning that its water layers do not mix. The permanent stratification of Lake Malawi's water and the oxic-anoxic boundary are maintained by moderately small chemical and thermal gradients.
Adapted from Wikipedia: Lake Malawi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Surface area
- 28,974 km²
- Area rank
- #9 of 756 indexed
- Type
- Lake
- Countries
- Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania
- Coordinates
- -11.6430°, 34.6456°
Among the 756 water bodies with a mapped extent in YearMaps, Lake Malawi ranks #9 by surface area, after Great Bear Lake (30,907 km²) and ahead of Great Slave Lake (27,481 km²). Areas are computed from the mapped outline and are approximate.
- Settlements on the shore:
- Nkhata Bay (31 km), Mzuzu (63 km), Nkhotakota (122 km)
More about Lake Malawi
Geography
Lake Malawi is between 560 kilometres (350 mi) and 580 kilometres (360 mi) long, and about 75 kilometres (47 mi) wide at its widest point. The lake has a total surface area of about 29,600 square kilometres (11,400 sq mi). The lake is 706 m (2,316 ft) at its deepest point, located in a major depression in the north-central part. Another smaller depression in the far north reaches a depth of 528 m (1,732 ft). The southern half of the lake is shallower; less than 400 m (1,300 ft) in the south-central part and less than 200 m (660 ft) in the far south.
The lake has shorelines on western Mozambique, eastern Malawi, and southern Tanzania.
Geological history
Malawi is one of the major Rift Valley lakes and an ancient lake. The lake lies in a valley formed by the opening of the East African Rift, where the African tectonic plate is being split into two pieces. This is called a divergent plate tectonics boundary. Malawi has typically been estimated to be 1–2 million years old (mya), but more recent evidence points to a considerably older lake with a basin that started to form about 8.6 mya and deep-water condition first appeared 4.5 mya.
The water levels have varied dramatically over time, ranging from almost 600 m (2,000 ft) below current level to 10–20 m (33–66 ft) above. During periods the lake dried out almost completely, leaving only one or two relatively small, highly alkaline and saline lakes in what currently are Malawi's deepest parts.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Lake Malawi (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Lake Malawi: Key Facts
| Surface area | 29,600 km² |
|---|---|
| Maximum depth | 704 m |
| Surface elevation | 474 m |
| Inflows | Ruhuhu River, Dwangwa River, Lilongwe River, South Rukuru River, Songwe River, Lufilya |
| Outflows | Shire River |
| Drainage system | Zambezi Basin |
Facts from Wikidata Q5532 (CC0).
Rivers in Malawi
1 river recorded. Listed alphabetically. A river is listed where its mapped reach lies, so long rivers appear under more than one country.
| Name | Type | Also Flows Through |
|---|---|---|
| Shire | River | Mozambique |
UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Malawi
2 World Heritage Sites recorded. Listed by year of inscription, earliest first. Sites shared with another country appear under each.
| # | Name | Inscribed | Type | Criteria |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Lake Malawi National Park | 1984 | Natural | (vii) (ix) (x) |
| 2 | Mulanje Massif | 2025 | Cultural | (iii) (vi) |
Mountain Ranges, Deserts and Landforms of Malawi
3 mountain ranges, deserts and other landforms recorded. Ranked by mapped area. Covers mountain ranges, deserts, plateaus, named glaciers, plains, basins, peninsulas and capes. One that crosses a border is listed under every country it lies in, with the area of the whole feature.
| # | Name | Area | Type | Region |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Africa | 29.41M km² | Continent | Africa |
| 2 | Congo Basin | 3.11M km² | Basin | Africa |
| 3 | Great Rift Valley | 163,247 km² | Valley | Africa |
Congo Basin
Basin · 3.11M km²
Congo Basin is a basin in Africa, covering an estimated 3.11M km². It extends across the DR Congo, the Central African Republic, Angola, the Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Gabon, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda and Zambia. It is the 11th-largest of the 231 landforms with a mapped extent in YearMaps.
The Congo Basin is the sedimentary basin of the Congo River. The Congo Basin is located in Central Africa, in a region known as west equatorial Africa. The region is sometimes known simply as the Congo. It contains some of the largest tropical rainforests in the world and is an important source of water used in agriculture and energy generation.
The rainforest in the Congo Basin is the largest rainforest in Africa and second only to the Amazon rainforest in size, with 300 million hectares compared to the 800 million hectares in the Amazon. Because of its size and diversity the basin's forest is important for mitigating climate change in its role as a carbon sink. However, deforestation and degradation of the ecology by the impacts of climate change may increase stress on the forest ecosystem, in turn making the hydrology of the basin more variable. A 2012 study finds that the variability in precipitation caused by climate change will negatively affect economic activity in the basin.
Eight sites of the Congo Basin are inscribed on the World Heritage List, five being also on the list of World Heritage in Danger (all five located in Democratic Republic of the Congo).
Adapted from Wikipedia: Congo Basin (CC BY-SA 4.0).
- Feature class
- Basin
- Mapped extent
- 3.11M km²
- Size rank
- #11 of 231 landforms
- Region
- Africa
- Countries
- DR Congo, Central African Republic, Angola, Republic of the Congo, Cameroon, South Sudan, Sudan, Burundi, Gabon, Malawi, Rwanda, Uganda, Zambia
- Coordinates
- -0.6351°, 21.4534°
- Ranges:
- Ruwenzori Range (Africa), Marrah Mountains (Africa)
- Settlements:
- Karonga (1,725 km), Mzuzu (1,837 km), Nkhata Bay (1,870 km)
More about Congo Basin
Geology
The Congo Basin is a large depression within the Congo Craton, making it a patch of relatively recent (Phanerozoic-aged, and mostly Mesozoic and onwards) sedimentary rock within a large, otherwise ancient (Archean-aged) piece of exposed continental crust. The deformation of the craton began as early as the late Cambrian or early Ordovician and continued over the Paleozoic, but the deformation over this period led to rapid erosion of much of the Paleozoic rock, creating a large unconformity. Sediment started to rapidly accumulate in the basin from the Mesozoic (Triassic) up to the present day.
Deposits throughout the Jurassic suggest the presence of a freshwater, lacustrine habitat in the basin, and this continued into the Early Cretaceous.
Climate
The Congo Basin is a globally important climatic region with annual rainfall of between 1,500 to 2,000 millimetres (59 to 79 in). It is one of three hotspots of deep convection (thunderstorms) in the tropics, the other two being over the Maritime continent and the Amazon. These three regions together drive the climate circulation of the tropics and beyond. The Congo Basin has the highest lightning strike frequency of anywhere on the planet. The high rainfall supports the second-largest rainforest on Earth, which is a globally significant carbon sink and an important component of the global carbon cycle.
Averaged across the basin, there are two major rainfall seasons in March to May and September to November.
Ecology and protection
At a global level, Congo's forests act as the planet's second lung, counterpart to the rapidly dwindling Amazon. They are a huge "carbon sink", trapping carbon that could otherwise remain carbon dioxide. The Congo Basin holds roughly 8% of the world's forest-based carbon. Despite this importance, it gets far less scientific attention than the Amazon or the tropical forests of South East Asia. If these woodlands are deforested, the carbon they trap will be released into the atmosphere. Predictions for future unabated deforestation estimate that by 2050 activities in the DRC will release roughly the same amount of carbon dioxide as the United Kingdom has emitted over the last 60 years. A 2013 study by British scientists shows that deforestation in the Congo Basin rainforest is slowing.
History
The first inhabitants of the Congo Basin area were believed to be pygmies, and at that time, the dense forests and wet climate kept the population of the region low, with the prevention of hunter-gatherer society, whose remnants of their culture survive to the present day. Eventually Bantu peoples migrated there and founded the Kingdom of Kongo.Belgium, France, and Portugal later established colonial control over the entire region by the late 19th century.
Sections adapted from Wikipedia: Congo Basin (CC BY-SA 4.0).
Congo Basin: Key Facts
| Area | 1,000,000 km² |
|---|---|
| Highest point | Mount Karisimbi |
| On | River Congo |
Facts from Wikidata Q932289 (CC0).
Countries Bordering Malawi
Land and maritime neighbours.
More Maps in Africa
Malawi: Quick Answers
- What is the capital of Malawi?
- The capital of Malawi is Lilongwe.
- What is the population of Malawi?
- Malawi has a population of about 22.22 million, the #61 largest of 225 countries in YearMaps. Source: World Bank, 2025.
- How big is Malawi?
- Malawi covers 118,484 km², ranking #101 by area, with about 188 people per square kilometre.
- Which continent is Malawi in?
- Malawi is in Africa.
- Which countries border Malawi?
- Malawi shares a land or maritime border with Tanzania, Zambia, Mozambique.
- What is the largest city in Malawi?
- Lilongwe is the largest city in Malawi, with a metropolitan population of about 646,750.
- What is the highest mountain in Malawi?
- The highest summit recorded for Malawi in YearMaps is Sapitwa Peak at 3,003 m (9,852 ft). Summits on a border are counted for both countries.
- What is the largest lake in Malawi?
- The largest lake recorded in or bordering Malawi is Lake Malawi, at roughly 28,974 km².