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Some Malawi facts:
• Population: 10 million (90% rural)
• Capital: Lilongwe
• The Bantu ethinicities: Chichewa, Yao, Tumbuka
• National language: Chichewa
• Nicknamed “the warm heart of Africa”
• Religious breakdown: Protestantism: 55%
Roman Catholicism: 20%
Islam: 20%
Indigenous religions: 5%
Economics:
• Dependent on agriculture
• Main exports: tobacco, tea, sugar
• Maize is staple food
• 90% of population engages in subsistence farming
• Per-capita income of $170 a year
Malawi Today
• Currently suffering from a food shortage crisis due to poor rainfall, lack
of efficient fertilizer, AIDS epidemic
• Average life expectancy of only 38 years
• 65% of the population lives in poverty.
• ˝ of children suffer from stunted growth
• Only 32% of the rural population of Malawi has access to water within a
kilometer’s walk, and 68% of the rural population lacks access to safe water.
• Two to four hours a day can be spent (mainly by women) fetching water in
some areas which means dramatically reduced household productivity, poor
nutrition, and decreased school attendance amongst children.
• Most of Malawi’s water sources are seasonal rivers and streams which are
unreliable. During dry seasons, women will dig large and often dangerous holes
into stream beds to reach the water table
World Water Facts
• One in six people in the world lacks access to safe drinking water
• Two million people each year (mostly children) die from waterborne disease
• Eighty countries, home to 40% of the earth’s population are encountering
serious water shortages
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