Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. According to the latest World Bank figures, it has a life expectancy of 38.8 years (and dropping quickly) and nearly 20 percent of children die before their fifth birthday. AIDS is the main cause of death for those between 20 and 40 - the disease causing around a quarter of the deaths in that age group. Around 25 per cent of men and 55 per cent of women are illiterate (this is includes cities rural areas have higher illiteracy). .
It is a small (118,000 sq kilometers) country with a population of 10.3 million. It is landlocked but Lake Malawi, which makes up a fifth of its area, runs along much of its eastern border. It is bordered by Tanzania to the northeast, Zambia to the northwest and Mozambique to the southwest and southeast. The main languages are English and Chichewa. Around 55 per cent of the population are Protestant with 20 per cent Roman Catholic and 20 per cent Muslim. (Most still adhere to a secondary traditional religion as well.) .
Formerly Nyasaland, Malawi came into being in 1964 when it gained its independence from the UK. It was governed by its life president, Dr Hastings Banda, from independence until 1994 when Bakili Muluzi and the United Democratic Front took over after the country's first democratic general election. This followed a referendum in 1993 that voted in favor of a multi-party democracy after the UK and other donors withdrew all but humanitarian aid as a result of human rights concerns. Mr. Muluzi was returned to power in the elections in May 1999. .
Malawi has few exploitable resources apart from land, which is at a serious risk of degradation as a result of population pressure and poor farming methods. Agriculture remains the backbone of the economy, employing 85 percent of the working population. However, about 90 percent of these workers are engaged in subsistence farming (fully 95% of the entire population receive some of their income from agriculture).