Malawi People, Population, Religion and Nationality

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Malawi People


Browse the information below for demographic information on Malawi, including population, religion, nationality and more. If you do not find the Malawi information you need on the people page, check out our complete listing on the Malawi Country Page.

  • Malawi Geography
  • Malawi Government
  • Malawi Economy
  • Malawi History

    People
    Nationality: Noun and adjective--Malawian(s).
    Population (2002 est.): 11 million.
    Annual growth rate (2002 est.): 2.2%.
    Ethnic groups: Chewa, Nyanja, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe, Sena, Tonga, Ngoni, Ngonde, Asian, European.
    Religions: Protestant 55%, Roman Catholic 20%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 3%, other 2%.
    Languages: English (official), Chichewa (official), regional dialects, i.e., Chitumbuka, Chiyao, Chilomwe.
    Education: Years compulsory--none. Attendance (1998 est.)--primary, 79%. Literacy (2003 est., age 15 and older)--63%.
    Health: Infant mortality rate (2003 est.)--105.15 deaths/1,000 live births. Life expectancy (at birth, 2003 est.)--38 yrs.

    People of Malawi
    Malawi derives its name from the Maravi, a Bantu people who came from the southern Congo about 600 years ago. On reaching the area north of Lake Malawi, the Maravi divided. One branch, the ancestors of the present-day Chewas, moved south to the west bank of the lake. The other, the ancestors of the Nyanjas, moved down the east bank to the southern part of the country.

    By AD 1500, the two divisions of the tribe had established a kingdom stretching from north of the present-day city of Nkhotakota to the Zambezi River in the south, and from Lake Malawi in the east, to the Luangwa River in Zambia in the west.

    Migrations and tribal conflicts precluded the formation of a cohesive Malawian society until the turn of the 20th century. In more recent years, ethnic and tribal distinctions have diminished. Regional distinctions and rivalries, however, persist. Despite some clear differences, no significant friction currently exists between tribal groups, and the concept of a Malawian nationality has begun to take hold. Predominately a rural people, Malawians are generally conservative and traditionally nonviolent.

    The Chewas constitute 90% of the population of the central region; the Nyanja tribe predominates in the south and the Tumbuka in the north. In addition, significant numbers of the Tongas live in the north; Ngonis--an offshoot of the Zulus who came from South Africa in the early 1800s--live in the lower northern and lower central regions; and the Yao, who are mostly Muslim, live along the southeastern border with Mozambique.

    source: http://www.state.gov

  • Malawi Geography
  • Malawi Government
  • Malawi Economy
  • Malawi History