Introduction

Background

Malawi derives its name from the Chewa term for flames and is associated with the Maravi people, the originators of the Chewa language. The Maravi established themselves in the area now recognized as Malawi around the year 1400, during one of the later phases of Bantu migration throughout central and southern Africa. A formidable Maravi kingdom was founded circa 1500, reaching its peak around 1700, when it governed territories that now comprise southern and central Malawi, as well as parts of neighboring Mozambique and Zambia. The kingdom's decline was precipitated by disruptions caused by the growing global market in enslaved individuals. In the early 1800s, extensive conflict in southern Africa led to the displacement of various Ngoni ethnic groups, some of which migrated into Malawi, further weakening the Maravi. Members of the Yao ethnic group, who had been trading with Malawi from Mozambique for a considerable time, began to establish a significant presence in Malawi in the mid-1800s, introducing Islam, followed by the Lomwe ethnic group. The mid-1800s also saw an increase in British missionary and trading activities around Lake Nyasa, and in 1891, Britain proclaimed a protectorate known as British Central Africa over what is now Malawi. The territory was renamed Nyasaland by the British in 1907, and from 1953 to 1963, it was incorporated into the colonial Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland, which included present-day Zambia and Zimbabwe, before achieving independence as Malawi in 1964.

At the time of independence, Hastings Kamuzu BANDA served as prime minister and later became president when the nation transitioned to a republic in 1966. He established a one-party system under his Malawi Congress Party (MCP) and was designated president for life. Following thirty years of one-party governance, the country conducted multiparty presidential and parliamentary elections in 1994, based on a provisional constitution that took full effect the subsequent year. Bakili MULUZI, representing the United Democratic Front party, emerged as the first freely elected president of Malawi by defeating BANDA in the 1994 elections; he secured reelection in 1999. President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA was elected in 2004 and won a second term in 2009. His sudden death in 2012 led to Vice President Joyce BANDA assuming the presidency. MUTHARIKA's brother, Peter MUTHARIKA, triumphed over BANDA in the 2014 election. Peter MUTHARIKA was reelected in a contentious 2019 election that sparked nationwide protests. The courts mandated a new election, resulting in Lazarus CHAKWERA of the MCP being elected president in 2020. Major challenges facing Malawi include population growth, rising pressure on agricultural lands, corruption, and the HIV/AIDS epidemic.