Population
According to
Countryaah, Malawi is one of Africa's most densely populated
countries; In 2019, the population density was estimated at
153 residents per km2. However, the population
is unevenly distributed; more than half are in the southern
region, while just over 10 percent are in the north.
The proportion of urban population was 17 percent in
2019, which is also clearly below the average for the
region. The largest cities are the capital Lilongwe (1.2
million residents, 2018) and Blantyre (994,500).
For information on life expectancy and other demographic
statistics, see Country facts.
Malawi's population is dominated by matrilineal bantu
people, including chewa (7.2 million), yao (1.2 million),
nsenga (147,000), bguru or lomwe (250,000), nyanja(1.7
million) and tonga (214,000). They live on chopping mills
(millet, sorghum, corn, vegetables) and small livestock. In
some areas, big livestock management has also been
introduced, especially where patrilineal people have invaded
and where the tsetse fly allows. The matrilinear peoples are
among the most prominent matrix centers in the so-called
matrilinear belt across Central Africa. They count not only
kinship, inheritance and succession to guardianship and
political power along the maternal line. Usually, the
newlywed couple also choose to settle in the wife's village,
under the supervision of her uncle (uxorilocal residence).
Each village consists of 5-20 households belonging to a few
different matrices of different land lines. Within each line
of matrices, it is basically the oldest uncle who holds
power in the family, but some room is given for rival
leadership.
Against these heads of families, the village heads have a
limited influence, even though their position is in
principle guaranteed by a hierarchical political system,
with a sacred chieftain at the top. In addition, since many
married men try to establish their own family village as
soon as they can (neolocation), at a proper distance from
the wife's uncles and brothers, the social organization of
these peoples can be characterized as a constant process of
change with strong elements of rivalry, negotiation and new
establishment. In religious terms, contact with female
ancestors is emphasized along the maternal line, and a
female-oriented fertility symbol is central to the cult. The
young girls are inaugurated into adulthood through
initiation rites where the symbolization of woman's
fertility is prominent,
Language
The native languages, which amount to just over ten,
belong to the bantu languages (zones M, N, P and S). The
largest is (chi) chewa, also called (chi) nyanja (about 35%
of the population), which is also an inter-language and
official language together with English.
Religion
About four-fifths of Malawi's population is Christian.
The largest confession among these is the Catholic Church,
established in the country as early as 1561, with today
about one-third of the population as members. Protestantism
came to the area with the Scottish missionary and explorer
David Livingstone. Around 1860 he explored the area, and his
appeals for the fight against slave traders and for Africa's
Christian civilization became, after his death, a source of
inspiration for Scottish missionary societies, which
established Christian communities in northern and southern
Malawi.
The Protestants are almost as many as the Catholics. The
largest Protestant community is Central Africa's
Presbyterian Church, which began its operations in the
country in 1875. The success of Christianity in the country
is largely due to the patronage received by the British
colonial powers that had conquered Malawi in the 1880s and
1990s. About 5% of the population practices traditional
African religion. The country also has smaller groups of
Anglicans, Baptists, Evangelicals, Seventh-day Adventists,
Hindus, Baha'is, Rastafari and Jews. The Muslims, who make
up about a tenth of the population, are mainly Sunnis, who
came to the country in the 1860s.
The 1994 Constitution and other laws guarantee religious
freedom, which also works in practice. Religious groups must
be registered with the Ministry of Justice. By law, ether
media is not allowed to broadcast programs that may offend
believers. Public schools offer teaching Bible knowledge and
a course in ethics and religion which includes material on
Christianity, Islam, Hinduism and Bahai. Participation in
these courses is voluntary. In Malawi, Good Friday, Easter
Sunday, Id al-fitr and Christmas are national holidays.
The religious organizations play a major role in the
country's political, economic and social life. Organizations
such as the Public Affairs Committee, the Muslim Association
of Malawi and the Catholic Commission for Justice and Peace
work to strengthen human rights and to ensure that schooling
is not confessional. Another organization, the Christian
Health Association of Malawi, manages large parts of the
country's health care and the Malawi Network of Religious
Leaders Living with or Affected by HIV and AIDS (MANERELA +)
is working to increase access to health care and counteract
the stigma of HIV/AIDS sufferers.
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