Republic of Malawi

Malawi, its capital Lilongwe, amid neighboring states in eastern Africa

World Factbook: as of November 2014: "Landlocked Malawi ranks among the world's most densely populated and least developed countries. The economy is predominately agricultural with about 80% of the population living in rural areas. Agriculture, which has benefited from fertilizer subsidies since 2006, accounts for one-third of GDP and 90% of export revenues. The performance of the tobacco sector is key to short-term growth as tobacco accounts for more than half of exports. The economy depends on substantial inflows of economic assistance from the IMF, the World Bank, and individual donor nations... Since 2009, however, Malawi has experienced some setbacks, including a general shortage of foreign exchange, which has damaged its ability to pay for imports, and fuel shortages that hinder transportation and productivity. Investment has fallen continuously for several years and in 2013 amounted to just 13% of GDP. The government has failed to address barriers to investment such as unreliable power, water shortages, poor telecommunications infrastructure, and the high costs of services. Donors, who provided an average of 36% of government revenue in the past five years, suspended general budget support for Malawi in 2011 due to a negative IMF review and governance issues."

Economic growth rate
2011: 4.6%
2010: 6.5%
2009: 9%

Labor force in agriculture
2003: 90%

Export commodities
tobacco 53%, tea, sugar, cotton, coffee, peanuts, wood products, apparel

Export partners
2009: India 10.4%, Germany 9.7%, South Africa 7.5%, Russia 7.4%, Zimbabwe 7.4%, Canada 6.4%, US 6.3%, Netherlands 4.7%

Export/import ratio
2011: exports $0.922 billion, imports $1.694 billion

Income Distribution – GINI index
Ranks 39th among 140 countries (lower rank number is less equal). Less equal than Britain, which ranks 94th, and the US, which ranks 45th.

Health expenditures
2009: 4.8% of GDP