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REPUBLIC OF MALAWI
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Malawi is sometimes confused with Malaysia because of its name. The resemblance ends there. Unlike Malaysia, Malawi is landlocked, bounded in by Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia. Surprisingly, its most prominent natural feature is water based - Lake Nyasa, some 580 km long.
Formerly known as Nyasaland, Malawi gained independence from Britain in 1964. It covers an area about four times the size of Malaysia to the east of Zambia.
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The land is taken up by a narrow elongated plateau, with rolling plains, rounded hills, and some mountains. Like many of its neighbours, Malawi faces a serious threat from HIV/AIDS. 75% of its population is Christian, with 20% Muslim. Official languages are English and Chichewa.
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Largely dependent on foreign aid, Malawi ranks among the world's poorest nations. Tobacco offers a key to short-term growth for its mainly agricultural economy. Some 90% of its 11 million population is rural. Economic activities include cattle and goat farming, and growing tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes, tapioca, sorghum, pulses, groundnuts, and Macadamia nuts. Industries are invariably linked to agriculture.
Only one fifth of the roads are paved, with waterways of importance in the hinterland of Lake Nyasa.
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