Description

Malawi is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by Zambia to the northwest, Tanzania to the north and Mozambique to the east, south, and west. The Great Rift Valley runs through the country from north to south. On either side of the Rift Valley, high plateaus occupy the land generally between 900 and 1,200 meters above sea level. Lake Malawi, located in the Rift Valley, is the third largest lake in Africa and the 10th largest in the world. This lake is sometimes referred to as the Calendar lake because it is 365 miles long and 52 miles wide. Malawi has a subtropical climate with a rainy season from November through April and very hot and humid temperatures from October to April.
 
The President of Malawi is both chief of state and head of government and chosen through universal direct suffrage every five years. A vice president is elected with the president and the president has the choice of appointing a second vice president who must be of a different political party. The cabinet is presidentially appointed and may include members from within or outside of the legislature. The National Assembly has 193 seats, elected to a five year term and the Senate has 80 seats. The judiciary is independent and is made up of magisterial lower courts, a High Court, and a Supreme Court of Appeal. Malawi is divided into three regions which are divided into twenty-seven districts. Local government is carried out in these twenty-seven districts and is administered by regional administrators and district commissioners appointed by the central government.
 
The official language of Malawi is English, while Chichewa is the national language. Maize is Malawi\'s traditional food but has been scarce in recent times and the country has repeatedly been affected by famines since 2002. These famines have been due to poor distribution of fertilizers, droughts, government corruption, and widespread AIDS epidemic. The government estimates that 14.2% of the population is HIV-positive and that 90,000 deaths in 2003 were due to AIDS. Currently, 700,000 children became orphans due to the fact that their parents died of AIDS. The life expectancy for HIV-positive people in this country is 41.75 for men and 41.2 for women.

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