horizontal bands of black (top), red,
and green with a radiant, rising, red sun centered in the black band

@Malawi:Economy

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 45% of GDP and 90% of export revenues. The economy
depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF,
the World Bank, and individual donor nations. The new government faces
strong challenges, e.g., to spur exports, to improve educational and
health facilities, and to deal with environmental problems of
deforestation and erosion.

GDP: purchasing power parity-$8.6 billion (1997 est.)

GDP-real growth rate: 6% (1997 est.)

GDP-per capita: purchasing power parity-$900 (1997 est.)

GDP-composition by sector:
agriculture: 45%
industry: 30%
services: 25% (1995 est.)

Inflation rate-consumer price index: 83.4% (1995)

Labor force:
total: 3.5 million
by occupation: agriculture 86%, wage earners 14% (1990 est.)

Unemployment rate: NA%

Budget:
revenues: $530 million
expenditures: $674 million, including capital expenditures of $129
million (1993)

Industries: tea, tobacco, sugar, sawmill products, cement, consumer
goods

Industrial production growth rate: 0.9% (1995)

Electricity-capacity: 185,000 kW (1995)

Electricity-production: 800 million kWh (1995)

Electricity-consumption per capita: 82 kWh (1995)

Agriculture-products: tobacco, sugarcane, cotton, tea, corn, potatoes,
cassava (tapioca), sorghum, pulses; cattle, goats

Exports:
total value: $405 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: tobacco, tea, sugar, coffee, peanuts, wood products
partners: US, South Africa, Germany, Japan

Imports:
total value: $475 million (f.o.b., 1995)
commodities: food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer
goods, transportation equipment
partners: South Africa, Zimbabwe, Japan, US, UK, Germany

Debt-external: $2.3 billion (1996 est.)

Economic aid:
recipient: donor pledges, $332 million (1996)

Currency: 1 Malawian kwacha (MK) = 100 tambala

Exchange rates: Malawian kwacha (MK) per US$1-17.5300 (October 1997),
15.3085 (1996), 15.2837 (1995), 8.7364 (1994), 4.4028 (1993)

Fiscal year: 1 April-31 March

Communications

Telephones: 43,000 (1985 est.)

Telephone system:
domestic: fair system of open-wire lines, microwave radio relay links,
and radiotele