Political Overview
Malawi operates as a presidential representative democratic republic in which the President serves as both head of state and head of government, elected by universal suffrage for a five-year term and limited to two terms in office. After gaining independence from Britain in July 1964, Malawi was under a one-party dictatorship led by Hastings Banda until a 1993 referendum ushered in a multi-party system in 1994. Since then, Malawi has held regular presidential and parliamentary elections every five years, with the most recent re-run presidential election taking place on 23 June 2020 following a court annulment of the 2019 vote, resulting in the victory of opposition leader Lazarus Chakwera. While its democracy is praised for resilience, challenges such as endemic corruption, periodic protests over economic conditions, and debates around executive power continue to shape Malawian politics.
Cultural Heritage and Identity
Malawi’s cultural identity is rooted in a rich mosaic of Bantu-speaking ethnic groups primarily the Chewa, Tumbuka, Yao, Lomwe and Ngoni united under a national identity often described as the “Warm Heart of Africa” due to the country’s reputation for hospitality. Traditional expressions such as the UNESCO-inscribed Mwinoghe dance– a joyous drum-and-whistle performance of northern Malawi alongside healing dances like Vimbuza and masks of the Gule Wamkulu secret society, reflect deep links between ritual, community and the spiritual world. Furthermore, the Chongoni Rock Art Area in Dedza District home to 127 Stone Age and Iron Age painting sites testifies to continuity between ancient hunter-gatherers (BaTwa) and later Chewa agriculturalists, earning World Heritage status for its embodiment of Malawi’s ancestral artistic traditions.
Geographical Landscape and Climate
Landlocked in southeastern Africa, Malawi spans approximately 118,484 km², dominated by the Great Rift Valley and the 380-mile-long Lake Malawi, which forms much of its eastern border and reaches depths exceeding 700 m. To the west of the rift lie high plateaus and mountain ranges such as the Nyika Uplands (up to 2,600 m) and the Mulanje Massif (3,002 m), while the lowland Shire Valley drains southward into Mozambique via the Shire River. The country experiences a tropical climate moderated by altitude, with a wet season from November to April characterized by heavy rains and thunderstorms, and a dry season from May to October during which cooler mists sweep the highlands and warm, dry conditions prevail in the south.
