General

AREA: 118,484 sq km (45,747 sq miles).

POPULATION: 10,114,000 (official estimate 1996).

POPULATION DENSITY: 85.4 per sq km.

CAPITAL: Lilongwe. Population: 395,, including suburbs). Blantyre, with a population of 446,), is the largest city in the country.

GEOGRAPHY: Malawi shares borders to the north and northeast with Tanzania, to the south, east and southwest with Mozambique and to the north and northwest with Zambia. Lake Malawi, the third-largest lake in Africa, is the dominant feature of the country, forming the eastern boundary with Tanzania and Mozambique. The scenery varies in the country's three regions. The Northern Region is mountainous, with the highest peaks reaching to over 3000m (9843ft), and features the rolling Nyika Plateau, rugged escarpments, valleys and the thickly forested slopes of the Viphya Plateau. The Central Region is mainly a plateau, over 1000m (3300ft) high, with fine upland scenery. This is the country's main agricultural area. The Southern Region is mostly low-lying except for the 2100m-high (6890ft) Zomba Plateau south of Lake Malawi and the huge, isolated Mulanje Massif in the southeast. The variety of landscape and the wildlife it supports make this relatively unspoilt country particularly attractive to visitors.

LANGUAGE: The official language is English. Chichewa is widely spoken and is being promoted by the state as the national language.

RELIGION: 75% are Christian, 10% Muslim, 10% follow traditional beliefs and there is a small Hindu minority.

TIME: GMT + 2.

ELECTRICITY: 220/240 volts AC, 50Hz. A variety of plugs are in use, most modern buildings using square 3-pin plugs.

COMMUNICATIONS: Telephone: IDD is available. Country code: 265 (no area codes). Outgoing international code: 101. Fax: Bureaux offering public fax services have recently opened in Blantyre and Zomba. Telegram: Public facilities for sending telegrams exist at the Main Post Office. Post: Letters take about ten days to reach Europe by airmail. Post offices are generally open and Monday to Friday. Post offices in some of the larger towns may be open Sunday, but only to sell stamps or to accept telegrams. Press: The two main newspapers are The Daily Times (Monday to Friday) and The Malawi News (Saturday). There are a number of independent newspapers, most of which are either weekly or come out every other two days, including: The Independent, Nation and New Express.

BBC World Service and Voice of America frequencies: From time to time these change.

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Voice of America:

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