Profile of Malawi

CAPITAL: Lilongwe

CURRENCY: Kwacha (MWK)

CLIMATE: Variations in altitude in Malawi lead to wide differences in climate. The vast water surface of Lake Niassa has a cooling effect, but because of the low elevation, the margins of the lake have long hot seasons and high humidity, with a mean annual temperature of 24°C. Precipitation is heaviest along the northern coast of Lake Malawi, where the average is more than 163 cm per year; about 70% of the country averages about 75–100 cm annually. In general, the seasons may be divided into the cool (May to mid-August); the hot (mid-August to November); the rainy (November to April), with rains continuing longer in the northern and eastern mountains; and the post-rainy (April to May), with temperatures falling in May. Lilongwe, in central Malawi, at an elevation of 1,041 m, has a moderately warm climate with adequate rainfall. The average daily minimum and maximum temperatures in November, the hottest month, are 17°C and 29°C, respectively; those in July, the coolest month, are 7°C and 23°C.

AIRPORTS: Kamuzu International Airport, Chileka International Airport.

LANGUAGE: English (official) and Chichewa.

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