MALAWI

Malawi is a landlocked, southern African country. It became the British protectorate in 1891 and attained independence in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Kamuzu Banda, the country held multiparty elections in 1994 under a provisional constitution that came into full effect the following year. With limited resources and a largely unskilled work force, Malawi’s economy relies almost entirely on agriculture which makes it vulnerable to shocks such as adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in world commodity prices. The country remains one of the poorest and least developed in the world, and is highly dependent on donor support and economic assistance from international financial institutions.