Malawi
Article Free PassDemographic trends
The population is growing at a rate above average for sub-Saharan Africa. The birth rate is among the highest on the continent, but the death rate is also high, and life expectancy for both genders is significantly lower than the average for sub-Saharan Africa, primarily because of the incidence of HIV/AIDS. Nearly half the population is younger than age 15, and about three-fourths of the population is 29 or younger. A modest reduction in the country’s high fertility rates in the late 20th and early 21st centuries may be attributed in part to government policy aimed at improving female literacy and promoting more-effective contraceptive methods. The Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services, guided by the National Gender Policy, has played a major role in this effort.
Economy
The backbone of the Malawi economy is agriculture, which in the 2000s employed more than four-fifths of the working population and accounted for about one-third of the gross domestic product (GDP) and the vast majority of export earnings. Tobacco, the most important export crop, accounts for a major portion of the country’s trade income; tea, sugar, and cotton—all mostly grown in the estate sector—are also important.
Since the mid-1960s the government has sought to strengthen the agricultural sector by encouraging integrated land use, higher crop yields, and irrigation schemes. In pursuit of these goals, several large-scale integrated rural-development programs, covering one-fifth of the country’s land area, have been put into operation. These projects include extension services; credit and marketing facilities; physical infrastructure such as roads, buildings, and water supplies; health centres; afforestation units; and crop storage and protection facilities. Outside the main program areas, advisory services and educational programs are available. However, these schemes have brought little benefit to the smallholders, real growth instead being largely concentrated within the estate sector, which has been favoured by the government. Many smallholders have remained poor and indebted, and smallholder production has generally not increased enough to meet the demands of the rapidly growing population.
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