Malawi, officially the Republic of Malawi and formerly known as Nyasaland, is a landlocked country in Southeastern 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 an estimated population of 19,431,566. Malawi's capital and largest city is Lilongwe. Its second-largest is Blantyre, its third-largest is Mzuzu and its fourth-largest is Zomba, the former capital.
Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the leader of Malawi from 1964 to 1994. He served as Prime Minister from independence in 1964 to 1966, when Malawi was a Dominion/Commonwealth realm. In 1966, the country became a republic and he became the first president as a result, ruling until his defeat in 1994.
Zomba is a city in southern Malawi, in the Shire Highlands. It is the former capital city of Malawi.
Blantyre is Malawi's centre of finance and commerce, and its second largest city, with a population of 800,264 as of 2018. It is sometimes referred to as the commercial and industrial capital of Malawi as opposed to the political capital, Lilongwe. It is the capital of the country's Southern Region as well as the Blantyre District.
Malawian English is the English language as spoken in Malawi. English is the country's official language.
Yatuta Chisiza was a Malawi minister of home affairs who led a brief guerrilla incursion into the country in October 1967. He is considered one of the most important figures in pre and post colonial politics in Malawi.
The Nyasaland African Congress (NAC) was an organisation that evolved into a political party in Nyasaland during the colonial period. The NAC was suppressed in 1959, but was succeeded in 1960 by the Malawi Congress Party, which went to on decisively win the first universal suffrage elections in 1961, and to lead the country to independence as Malawi in 1964.
Dunduzu Kaluli Chisiza (8 August 1930 – 2 September 1962), also known as Gladstone Chisiza, was an African nationalist who was active in the independence movements in Rhodesia and Nyasaland, respectively present-day Zimbabwe and Malawi.
Henry Masauko Blasius Chipembere was a Malawian nationalist politician who played a significant role in bringing independence from colonial rule to his native country, formerly known as Nyasaland. From an early age Chipembere was a strong believer in natural justice and, on his return in 1954 from university in South Africa, he joined his country's independence struggle as a nationalist strategist and spokesman. In 1957, considering that the independence movement needed a strong leader similar to Kwame Nkrumah, and considering himself too young for this task, he joined with other young nationalists in inviting Hastings Kamuzu Banda to return to Nyasaland as the movement's leader.
Sir Glyn Smallwood Jones was a British colonial administrator in Southern Africa. He was the last governor of Nyasaland from 1961 until it achieved independence in 1964. He served as the only governor-general of Malawi from 1964 until it became a republic in 1966. In 1964, he was appointed a GCMG.
Education in Malawi stresses academic preparation leading to access to secondary school and universities. However, few students go on to high school or university. The dropout rate is also very high particularly among primary school pupils.
Rugby union in Malawi, and its predecessor state, Nyasaland, is a minor sport, albeit one with a long history.
James Frederick Sangala was a founding member of the Nyasaland African Congress during the period of British colonial rule. Sangala was given the nickname "Pyagusi", which means "one who perseveres".
Charles Jameson Matinga was a politician in Nyasaland before the colony obtained independence from the British.
Rose Lomathinda Chibambo was a prominent politician in the British Protectorate of Nyasaland in the years leading up to independence as the state of Malawi in 1964, and immediately after.
The Malawi Defence Force is the state military organisation responsible for defending Malawi. It originated from elements of the British King's African Rifles, colonial units formed before independence in 1964.
Joyce Feith Tafatatha is a Malawian athlete who specializes in swimming. She participated in the London 2012 Olympics for Malawi in the women's 50 m freestyle swimming event. She currently holds a number of swimming records in Malawi. She recently moved to the Netherlands to further her swimming career after a brilliant showing at the 2012 London Summer Olympics, in which she swam a Personal Best time of 27.74.
Willie Chokani, who was born in Malawi, then called Nyasaland, in 1930, and had a variety of careers; as a teacher, a politician and a diplomat. He has also spent time in prison and was exiled from Malawi for almost 30 years after a confrontation with Hastings Banda, the first Prime Minister of the independent Malawi, in 1964. Chokani received a secondary education, which enabled him to attend university in Delhi and obtain teaching qualifications. He returned to Nyasaland in 1957 to become the first African headmaster in the protectorate, and was also politically active in the Nyasaland African Congress, campaigning for the end of colonial rule. In March 1959, a State of emergency was declared, and Chokani was arrested as a leading Congress member and detained until 1960. On his release, he joined the Malawi Congress Party and in 1961 was elected to the Legislative Council, becoming Minister of Labour in 1962. In 1964, there was a confrontation between Banda and most of his ministers, which led to the sacking of three cabinet members in September 1964. Chokani and two other cabinet ministers resigned in sympathy, and although Banda was willingness to re-instate Chokani and one or two other ministers, their insistence on all be reinstated ended any hope of a reconciliation. Chokani left Malawi for Zambia, where he resumed teaching, and was active in Malawian exile politics. He returned to Malawi in 1993, and in 1994 became Malawi's ambassador to the USA, later holding other diplomatic posts until his retirement. .
LaurenceMakata, (1916–1962), was a businessman influential in the Nyasaland independence movement in the 1950s and 1960s.
Ammara Pinto is a Malawian swimmer. She has represented Malawi at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the World Aquatics Championships.
