Malawi Economy - 2004

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 accounted for nearly 40% of GDP and 88% of export revenues in 2001. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations. In late 2000, Malawi was approved for relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) program. In November 2002 the World Bank approved a $50 million drought recovery package, which is to be used for famine relief. The government faces strong challenges, e.g., to fully develop a market economy, to improve educational facilities, to face up to environmental problems, to deal with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS, and to satisfy foreign donors that fiscal discipline is being tightened. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for over 50% of exports.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $6.845 billion (2003 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
1.7% (2003 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 40%
industry: 20%
services: 40% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line:
55% (2003 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
27.4% (2001 est.)

Labor force:
4.5 million (2001 est.)

Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture 90% (2003 est.)

Unemployment rate:
NA% (2003 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $490 million
expenditures: $523 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (FY99/00 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate:
-0.8% (2002 est.)

Electricity - production:
769.2 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 3.3%
hydro: 96.7%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption:
715.3 million kWh (2001)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2001)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2001)

Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - consumption:
5,400 bbl/day (2001 est.)

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

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

Exports:
$455 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Exports - commodities:
tobacco 60%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel

Exports - partners:
South Africa 22%, US 14.7%, Germany 12.2%, Egypt 5.3%, Japan 5.1%, Netherlands 4.7%, Russia 4.1% (2002)

Imports:
$505 million f.o.b. (2003 est.)

Imports - commodities:
food, petroleum products, semimanufactures, consumer goods, transportation equipment

Imports - partners:
South Africa 45.1%, Zambia 12.3%, US 5.4%, India 4.1% (2002)

Debt - external:
$3 billion (2003)

Economic aid - recipient:
$540 million (1999)

Currency:
Malawian kwacha (MWK)

Currency code:
MWK

Exchange rates:
Malawian kwachas per US dollar - NA (2003), 76.69 (2002), 72.2 (2001), 59.54 (2000), 44.09 (1999)