Economy - overview Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural, with about 90% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture accounts for 37% of GDP and 85% of export revenues. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to spur exports, to improve educational and health facilities, to face up to environmental problems of deforestation and erosion, and to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS.
GDP purchasing power parity - $9.4 billion (1999 est.)
GDP - real growth rate 4.2% (1999 est.)
GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $940 (1999 est.)
GDP - composition by sector agriculture:37%
industry:29%
services:34% (1998 est.)
Population below poverty line 54% (1990-91 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share lowest 10%:NA%
highest 10%:NA%
Inflation rate (consumer prices) 45% (1999)
Labor force 3.5 million
Labor force - by occupation agriculture 86%, wage earners 14% (1990 est.)
Unemployment rate NA%
Budget revenues:$490 million
expenditures:$523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.)
Industries tobacco, tea, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer goods
Industrial production growth rate NA%
Electricity - production 922 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - production by source fossil fuel:2.39%
hydro:97.61%
nuclear:0%
other:0% (1998)
Electricity - consumption 857 million kWh (1998)
Electricity - exports 0 kWh (1998)
Electricity - imports 0 kWh (1998)
Agriculture - products tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats
Exports $510 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Exports - commodities tobacco, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products
Exports - partners South Africa 15%, US 9%, Germany 9%, Netherlands 7%, Japan (1998)
Imports $512 million (f.o.b., 1999)
Imports - commodities food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment
Imports - partners South Africa 38%, Zimbabwe 18%, Zambia 8%, Japan 4%, US, UK, Germany (1998)
Debt - external $2.3 billion (1999 est.)
Economic aid - recipient $416.5 million (1995)
Currency 1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala
Exchange rates Malawian kwachas (MK) per US$1 - 46.3494 (December 1999), 44.0881 (1999), 31.0727 (1998), 16.4442 (1997), 15.3085 (1996), 15.2837 (1995)
|
