Malawi Economy - 2005

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 performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for over 50% of exports. 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. The government faces strong challenges, including developing a market economy, improving educational facilities, facing up to environmental problems, dealing with the rapidly growing problem of HIV/AIDS, and satisfying foreign donors that fiscal discipline is being tightened. In 2005, the anticorruption campaign championed by President MUTHARIKA may help encourage investment and economic growth.

GDP:
purchasing power parity - $7.41 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate:
4% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $600 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 54.8%
industry: 19.2%
services: 26% (2004 est.)

Labor force:
4.5 million (2001 est.)

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

Unemployment rate:
NA (2003 est.)

Population below poverty line:
55% (2004 est.)

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices):
12% (2004 est.)

Investment (gross fixed):
10.7% of GDP (2004 est.)

Budget:
revenues: $536 million
expenditures: $635.6 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2004 est.)

Public debt:
228.3% of GDP (2004 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate:
1.4% (2004 est.)

Electricity - production:
1.088 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - consumption:
1.012 billion kWh (2002)

Electricity - exports:
0 kWh (2002)

Electricity - imports:
0 kWh (2002)

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

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

Oil - exports:
NA

Oil - imports:
NA

Current account balance:
$-55.5 million (2004 est.)

Exports:
$503.4 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Exports - partners:
South Africa 13.8%, US 12.3%, Germany 11.8%, Egypt 8.2%, UK 6.8% (2004)

Imports:
$521.1 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

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

Imports - partners:
South Africa 43.5%, India 6.8%, Tanzania 4.1% (2004)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$160.5 million (2004 est.)

Debt - external:
$3.129 billion (2004 est.)

Economic aid - recipient:
$540 million (1999)

Currency (code):
Malawian kwacha (MWK)

Exchange rates:
Malawian kwachas per US dollar - 108.894 (2004), 97.433 (2003), 76.687 (2002), 72.197 (2001), 59.544 (2000)