Editing Malawi (section)

==Economy==
{{Main|Economy of Malawi}}
{{See also|Malawian food crisis|List of companies based in Malawi}}
[[File:Lilongwe (Malawi) - crafts market.JPG|thumb|right|Crafts market in Lilongwe]]
Malawi is among the world's least developed countries. Around 85% of the population lives in rural areas. The economy is based on agriculture, and more than one-third of GDP and 90% of export revenues come from this. In the past, the economy has been dependent on substantial economic aid from the [[World Bank]], the [[International Monetary Fund]] (IMF), and other countries.<ref name="CIA" /> Malawi was ranked the 119th safest investment destination in the world in the March 2011 Euromoney Country Risk rankings.<ref>{{cite web|title=Euromoney Country Risk|url=http://www.euromoneycountryrisk.com/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110205065205/http://www.euromoneycountryrisk.com/|url-status=usurped|archive-date=5 February 2011|publisher=Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC|access-date=15 August 2011}}</ref> The Malawian government faces challenges in developing a market economy, improving environmental protection, dealing with the rapidly growing [[HIV/AIDS]] problem, improving the education system, and satisfying its foreign donors to become financially independent.

In December 2000, the IMF stopped aid disbursements due to corruption concerns, and many individual donors followed, resulting in an almost 80% drop in Malawi's development budget.<ref name="Africa08" /> However, in 2005, Malawi was the recipient of over US$575&nbsp;million in aid. Many analysts believe that economic progress for Malawi depends on its ability to control population growth.<ref>{{cite web |date=2012 |title=Why Population Matters to Malawi's Development: Managing Population Growth for Sustainable Development Department of Population and Development. |url=http://www.prb.org/pdf12/malawi-population-matters.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170517002531/http://www.prb.org/pdf12/malawi-population-matters.pdf |archive-date=17 May 2017 |access-date=8 October 2014 |publisher=Department of Population and Development. Ministry of Economic Planning and Development. Government of Malawi.}}</ref> A 2009 purchase of a private presidential jet followed almost immediately by a nationwide fuel shortage, which was officially blamed on logistical problems, was more likely due to the hard currency shortage caused by the jet purchase.<ref name="Reuters">{{cite news|title=Britain reduces aid to Malawi over presidential jet|work=Reuters|date=10 March 2010|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/malawiNews/idAFLDE62921I20100310?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110510021817/http://af.reuters.com/article/malawiNews/idAFLDE62921I20100310?pageNumber=1&virtualBrandChannel=0|url-status=dead|archive-date=10 May 2011}}</ref><ref name="Africa News">{{cite news|title=Malawi: Fuel shortage deepens|publisher=Africa News|date=11 November 2009|url=http://www.africanews.com/site/Malawi_Fuel_shortage_deepens/list_messages/27986|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100724061651/http://www.africanews.com/site/Malawi_Fuel_shortage_deepens/list_messages/27986|archive-date=24 July 2010}}</ref><ref name="Nyasa Times">{{cite news|title=Forex shortage crimps Malawi ministers' foreign trips|publisher=Nyasa Times|date=19 November 2009|url=http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/forex-shortage-crimps-malawi-ministers-foreign-trips.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091122080522/http://www.nyasatimes.com/national/forex-shortage-crimps-malawi-ministers-foreign-trips.html|archive-date=22 November 2009}}</ref>

In addition, some setbacks have been experienced, and Malawi has lost some of its ability to pay for imports due to a general shortage of foreign exchange, as investment fell 23% in 2009. There are many investment barriers in Malawi, which the government has failed to address, including high service costs and poor infrastructure for power, water, and telecommunications. {{As of|2017}}, it was estimated that Malawi had a [[purchasing power parity]] (PPP) of $22.42&nbsp;billion, with a per capita GDP of $1200, and inflation estimated at 12.2% in 2017.<ref name="CIA" />

Agriculture accounts for 35% of GDP, industry for 19%, and [[Service (economics)|services]] for the remaining 46%.<ref name=TWB/> Malawi has one of the lowest per capita incomes in the world,<ref name="Africa08" /> although economic growth was estimated at 9.7% in 2008 and strong growth is predicted by the [[International Monetary Fund]] for 2009.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE53008220090401|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100530230618/http://af.reuters.com/article/investingNews/idAFJOE53008220090401|url-status=dead|archive-date=30 May 2010|title=Malawi economy grew by around 9.7 pct in 2008: IMF|last=Banda|first= Mabvuto|date=1 April 2009|access-date=7 April 2009|agency=Reuters Africa}}</ref> The [[poverty rate]] in Malawi is decreasing through the work of the government and supporting organisations, with people living under the poverty line decreasing from 54% in 1990 to 40% in 2006, and the percentage of "ultra-poor" decreasing from 24% in 1990 to 15% in 2007.<ref name=UNDP>{{cite web|url=http://www.undp.org.mw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74:malawi-releases-the-2008-mdgs-report&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110511075807/http://www.undp.org.mw/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=74:malawi-releases-the-2008-mdgs-report&catid=1:latest-news&Itemid=50|url-status=dead|archive-date=11 May 2011|title=Malawi releases the 2008 MDGs Report|publisher=United Nations Development Programme Malawi|date=23 December 2008|access-date=3 January 2009}}</ref> In January 2015, southern Malawi was hit by floods. These floods affected more than a million people across the country, including 336,000 who were displaced, according to [[UNICEF]]. Over 100 people were killed, and an estimated 64,000 hectares of cropland were washed away.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/02/devastation-disease-deadly-malawi-floods-150225070745817.html |title=Devastation and disease after deadly Malawi floods |publisher=Al Jazeera English |date=25 February 2015 |access-date=9 February 2016}}</ref>

===Agriculture and industry===
{{main|Agriculture in Malawi}}
[[File:Groundnut harvesting in Malawi.jpg|thumb|right|Harvesting [[Bambara groundnut|groundnuts]] at an agricultural research station in Malawi]]

The [[economy of Malawi]] is predominantly agricultural. Over 80% of the population is engaged in subsistence farming, even though agriculture only contributed to 27% of GDP in 2013. The [[services sector]] accounts for more than half of GDP (54%), compared to 11% for manufacturing and 8% for other industries, including natural uranium mining. Malawi invests more in agriculture (as a share of GDP) than any other African country: 28% of GDP.<ref name=":0">{{cite book |url= http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0023/002354/235406e.pdf |title= Southern Africa. In: UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |last1=Kraemer-Mbula |first1=Erika |last2=Scerri |first2=Mario |publisher= UNESCO |year=2015 |isbn= 978-92-3-100129-1 |location= Paris |pages= 535–555}}</ref><ref name=":1">{{cite book |url=https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000228807 <!--http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0022/002288/228807e.pdf-->|title=Mapping Research and Innovation in the Republic of Malawi|author1=Lemarchand, Guillermo A.|author2=Schneegans, Susan|publisher=UNESCO|year=2014|isbn=978-92-3-100032-4|location=Paris |access-date=22 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|url=https://s3.amazonaws.com/one.org/images/131008_ONE_Maputo_FINAL.pdf|title=The Maputo Commitments and the 2014 African Year of Agriculture|publisher=ONE.org|year=2013}}</ref>

Beginning in 2006, the country began mixing unleaded petrol with 10% [[ethanol]], produced in-country at two plants, to reduce dependence on imported fuel. In 2006, in response to low agricultural harvests, Malawi began a programme of [[fertilizer]] subsidies, the Fertiliser Input Subsidy Programme (FISP). It has been reported that this programme, championed by the country's president, is causing Malawi to become a net exporter of food to nearby countries.<ref>{{cite news |author=Dugger, Celia W. |date=2 December 2007 |title=Ending Famine, Simply by Ignoring the Experts |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2007/12/02/world/africa/02malawi.html |access-date=5 August 2008 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> The FISP ended with President Mutharika's death. In 2020, the programme was replaced with the Affordable Inputs Program (AIP), which extends the subsidy on maize seed and fertiliser to [[sorghum]] and rice seed.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Matita |first1=Mirriam |last2=Chirwa |first2=Ephraim W. |last3=Johnston |first3=Deborah |last4=Mazalale |first4=Jacob |last5=Smith |first5=Richard |last6=Walls |first6=Helen |date=March 2021 |title=Does household participation in food markets increase dietary diversity? Evidence from rural Malawi |journal=Global Food Security |volume=28 |pages=100486 |doi=10.1016/j.gfs.2020.100486 |issn=2211-9124|doi-access=free |bibcode=2021GlFS...2800486M }}</ref>

The main agricultural products of Malawi include [[tobacco]], [[sugarcane]], [[Gossypium|cotton]], [[Camellia sinensis|tea]], [[Maize|corn]], potatoes, sorghum, cattle, and goats. The main industries are tobacco, tea, and sugar processing, [[sawmill]] products, cement, and [[Final good|consumer goods]]. The industrial production growth rate is estimated at 10% (2009). The country makes no significant use of natural gas. {{As of|2008}}, Malawi does not import or export any electricity but does import all its petroleum, with no production in the country.<ref name="CIA" /> In 2008, Malawi began testing cars that ran solely on ethanol, and the country is continuing to increase its use of ethanol.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.engineeringnews.co.za/article/malawis-ethanolfuel-tests-show-promise-2008-10-10|title=Malawi's ethanol-fuel tests show promise|newspaper=Engineering News|date=10 October 2008|last=Chimwala|first=Marcel|access-date=3 January 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Schoolchildren in Malawi.jpg|thumb|left|Children attending a [[farmer]] meeting in Nalifu village, [[Mulanje]]]]As of 2009, Malawi exports an estimated US$945 million in goods per year. Tobacco's world prices declined, and the international community increases pressure to limit tobacco production. Malawi's dependence on tobacco is growing, with the product jumping from 53% to 70% of export revenues between 2007 and 2008. The country also relies heavily on tea, tobacco, sugar, and coffee making up more than 90% of Malawi's export revenue.<ref name="CIA" /><ref name="Africa08" /> Due to a rise in costs and a decline in sales prices, Malawi is encouraging farmers away from tobacco towards more profitable crops, including spices such as [[paprika]]. The move away from tobacco is further fueled by likely [[World Health Organization|World Health Organisation]] moves against the particular type of tobacco that Malawi produces, [[Burley (tobacco)|burley leaf]]. It is seen to be more harmful to human health than other tobacco products. India [[hemp]] is another possible alternative, but arguments have been made that it will bring more crime to the country through its resemblance to varieties of [[Cannabis (drug)|cannabis]] used as a [[recreational drug]] and the difficulty in distinguishing between the two types.<ref>{{cite news |author=Tenthani, Raphael |date=24 April 2000 |title=Legal Hemp for Malawi? |url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/708649.stm |access-date=21 December 2011 |work=BBC News}}</ref> The cultivation of Malawian cannabis, known as [[Malawi Gold]], as a drug has increased significantly.<ref>{{cite news |date=17 December 1998 |title=Marijuana Cultivation Increases in Malawi |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/12/17/world/marijuana-cultivation-increases-in-malawi.html |access-date=21 December 2011 |newspaper=The New York Times}}</ref> Malawi is known for growing "the best and finest" cannabis in the world for [[recreational drug use]], according to a recent World Bank report, and cultivation and sales of the crop may contribute to corruption within the police force.<ref>{{cite web |author=Mpaka, Charles |date=11 December 2011 |title=Malawi's Chamba valued at K1. 4 billion |url=http://www.bnltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2877:malawis-chamba-valued-at-k1-4-billion&catid=42:national&Itemid=401 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120112130233/http://www.bnltimes.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=2877:malawis-chamba-valued-at-k1-4-billion&catid=42:national&Itemid=401 |archive-date=12 January 2012 |access-date=21 December 2011 |work=Sunday Times |publisher=Blantyre Newspapers, Ltd}}</ref>[[File:GDP in Southern African Development Community countries by economic sector, 2013 or closest year.svg|thumb|upright=1.5|GDP in Southern African Development Community countries by economic sector, 2013 or closest year<ref name="t2030">{{cite book |title= UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |date=2015}}</ref>]]
Other exported goods are cotton, peanuts, wood products, and [[Clothing|apparel]]. The main destination locations for the country's exports are South Africa, Germany, Egypt, Zimbabwe, the United States, Russia, and the Netherlands. Malawi currently imports an estimated US$1.625&nbsp;billion in goods per year, with the main commodities being food, petroleum products, consumer goods, and transportation equipment. The main countries that Malawi imports from are South Africa, India, Zambia, Tanzania, the US, and China.<ref name="CIA" />

In 2016, Malawi was hit by a drought, and in January 2017, the country reported an outbreak of [[African armyworm|armyworms]] around Zomba. The moth is capable of wiping out entire fields of corn, the staple grain of residents.<ref>{{cite news|title=Malawi hit by armyworm outbreak, threatens maize crop|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-grains-armyworms-idUSKBN14W0NT?feedType=RSS&feedName=environmentNews|access-date=12 January 2017|work=Reuters|date=12 January 2017}}</ref> On 14 January 2017, the agriculture minister [[George Chaponda]] reported that 2,000 hectares of crop had been destroyed, having spread to nine of twenty-eight districts.<ref>{{cite news|title=Malawi's armyworm outbreak destroys 2,000 hectares: minister|url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-malawi-grains-armyworm-idUSKBN14Y0DK?il=0|access-date=14 January 2017|work=Reuters|date=14 January 2017}}</ref>

===Infrastructure===
{{Main|Transport in Malawi|Rail transport in Malawi|Communications in Malawi}}
[[File:2010-10-21 12-42-27 Malawi - Bula.JPG|thumb|The M1 road between Blantyre and Lilongwe]]
{{As of|2012}}, Malawi has 31&nbsp;airports, seven with paved runways (two [[international airport]]s) and 24 with unpaved runways. {{As of|2008}}, the country has {{convert|797|km|mi}} of railways, all [[narrow-gauge]], and, as of 2003, {{convert|15451|mi|km|order=flip}} of [[roadway]]s in various conditions, {{convert|6956|km|mi}} paved and {{convert|8495|km|mi}} unpaved. Malawi also has {{convert|700|km|mi}} of [[waterway]]s on Lake Malawi and along the Shire River.<ref name="CIA" />

{{As of|2022}}, there were 10.23&nbsp;million mobile phone connections in Malawi. There were 4.03 million Internet users in 2022.<ref name=":2" /> Also, {{as of|2022|lc=y}}, there was one government-run radio station (Malawi Broadcasting Corporation) and approximately a dozen more owned by private enterprises. Radio, television and postal services in Malawi are regulated by the [[Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority]] (MACRA).<ref>{{cite web|title=Welcome to Malawi Communications Regulatory Authority (MACRA)|url=http://www.macra.org.mw/|website=www.macra.org.mw|publisher=MACRA|access-date=24 March 2017|archive-date=18 February 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170218213634/http://www.macra.org.mw/|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Act No. 41 of 1998|url=http://www.macra.org.mw/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Communications-Act-19981.pdf|publisher=[[Malawi Government Gazette]]|date=30 December 1998|access-date=24 March 2017|archive-date=25 March 2017|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170325030415/http://www.macra.org.mw/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/Communications-Act-19981.pdf|url-status=dead}}</ref> The country boasts 20 television stations by 2016 on the country's digital network MDBNL.<ref name="CIA" /> In the past, Malawi's telecommunications system has been named as some of the poorest in Africa, but conditions are improving, with 130,000 land line telephones being connected between 2000 and 2007. Telephones are much more accessible in urban areas, with less than a quarter of land lines being in rural areas.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.uneca.org/aisi/NICI/country_profiles/malawi/malab.htm |title=Malawi |work=NICI in Africa |publisher=Economic Commission for Africa |access-date=6 November 2008 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090410063206/http://www.uneca.org/aisi/nici/country_profiles/malawi/malab.htm |archive-date=10 April 2009 }}</ref>

=== Science and technology ===
{{Main|Science and technology in Malawi}}

=== Research trends ===
[[File:Scientific publication trends in SADC countries, 2005-2014.svg|thumb|Scientific publication trends in the most productive SADC countries, 2005–2014<ref name=t2030/>]]
Malawi devoted 1.06% of GDP to research and development in 2010, according to a survey by the Department of Science and Technology, one of the highest ratios in Africa. This corresponds to $7.8 per researcher (in current purchasing parity dollars).<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In 2014, Malawian scientists had the third-largest output in Southern Africa, in terms of articles cataloged in international journals. They published 322 articles in [[Thomson Reuters]]' Web of Science that year, almost triple the number in 2005 (116). Only South Africa (9,309) and Tanzania (770) published more in Southern Africa. Malawian scientists publish more in mainstream journals – relative to GDP – than any other country of similar population size, with just 19 publications per million inhabitants cataloged in international journals in 2014. The average for sub-Saharan Africa is 20 publications per million inhabitants.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> Malawi was ranked 107th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2021, up from 118th in 2019.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Global Innovation Index 2021  |url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2021/|work=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]]|publisher=[[United Nations]]|access-date=2022-03-05 |language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=Global Innovation Index 2019|url=https://www.wipo.int/global_innovation_index/en/2019/index.html|access-date=2021-09-02|website=www.wipo.int|language=en}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title=RTD – Item|url=https://ec.europa.eu/newsroom/rtd/items/691898|access-date=2021-09-02|website=ec.europa.eu}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|date=2013-10-28|title=Global Innovation Index|url=https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|access-date=2021-09-02|website=INSEAD Knowledge|language=en|archive-date=2 September 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210902101622/https://knowledge.insead.edu/entrepreneurship-innovation/global-innovation-index-2930|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== Policy framework ===
Malawi's first science and technology policy dates from 1991 and was revised in 2002. The ''National Science and Technology Policy'' of 2002 envisaged the establishment of a National Commission for Science and Technology to advise the government and other stakeholders on science and technology-led development. Although the Science and Technology Act of 2003 made provision for the creation of this commission, it only became operational in 2011, with a secretariat resulting from the merger of the Department of Science and Technology and the National Research Council. The Science and Technology Act of 2003 also established a Science and Technology Fund to finance research and studies through government grants and loans but, {{as of|2014|lc=y}}, this was not yet operational. The Secretariat of the National Commission for Science and Technology has reviewed the ''Strategic Plan for Science, Technology, and Innovation'' (2011–2015) but, as of early 2015, the revised policy had not yet met with Cabinet approval.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In 2012, most foreign investments flowed to infrastructure (62%) and the energy sector (33%). The government has introduced a series of fiscal incentives, including tax breaks, to attract more foreign investors. In 2013, the Malawi Investment and Trade Centre put together an investment portfolio spanning 20 companies.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In 2013, the government adopted a ''National Export Strategy'' to diversify the country's exports. Production facilities are to be established for a wide range of products within the three selected clusters: oilseed products, sugar cane products, and manufacturing.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /><gallery widths="200" heights="200">
File:Life sciences and geosciences dominate, Cumulative totals by field, 2008–2014.svg|alt=Scientific research output in terms of publications in Southern Africa, cumulative totals by field, 2008–2014.|Scientific research output in terms of publications in Southern Africa, cumulative totals by field, 2008–2014<ref>{{Cite book|title= UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |date=2015|chapter= Figure 20.6}}</ref>
File:Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year.svg|Researchers (HC) in Southern Africa per million inhabitants, 2013 or closest year
File:Seychelles and South Africa have the most publications per million inhabitants.svg|alt=Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014.|Scientific publications per million inhabitants in SADC countries in 2014<ref name=t2030/><ref name="Web">{{Cite book |title= Thomson Reuters' Web of Science, Science Citation Index Expanded}}</ref>
File:Gross domestic expenditure on Research and Development GDP ratio in Southern Africa, 2012 or closest year.svg|Domestic expenditure on research in Southern Africa as a percentage of GDP, 2012 or closest year<ref>{{Cite book |title= UNESCO Science Report: towards 2030 |date=2015 |chapter= Figure 20.3}}</ref>
</gallery>