Lion; national colors: black, red, green.
Title | "Mulungu dalitsa Malawi" (Oh God Bless Our Land of Malawi) |
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Lyric/music | Michael-Fredrick Paul SAUKA |
Date of Independence | 6 July 1964 (from the UK) |
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National holiday | Independence Day, 6 July (1964); note - also called Republic Day since 6 July 1966 |
Legal system | mixed legal system of English common law and customary law; judicial review of legislative acts in the Supreme Court of Appeal |
International law organization participation | accepts compulsory ICJ jurisdiction with reservations; accepts ICCt jurisdiction |
Constitution | |
History | Previous 1953 (pre-independence), 1964, 1966; latest drafted January to May 1994, approved 16 May 1994, entered into force 18 May 1995 |
Amendments | Proposed by the National Assembly; passage of amendments affecting constitutional articles, including the sovereignty and territory of the state, fundamental constitutional principles, human rights, voting rights, and the judiciary, requires majority approval in a referendum and majority approval by the Assembly; passage of other amendments requires at least two-thirds majority vote of the Assembly; amended several times, last in 2017 |
Citizenship | |
Citizenship by birth | no |
Citizenship by descent only | at least one parent must be a citizen of Malawi |
Dual citizenship recognized | no |
Residency requirement for naturalization | 7 years |
Executive Branch | |
Chief of state | President Lazarus CHAKWERA (since 28 June 2020) |
Head of government | President Lazarus CHAKWERA (since 28 June 2020) |
Cabinet | Cabinet named by the president |
Elections/appointments | president directly elected by simple majority popular vote for a 5-year term (eligible for a second term); election last held on 23 June 2020 (next to be held in 2025) note - the president is both chief of state and head of government |
Election results | 2020: Lazarus CHAKWERA elected president; Lazarus CHAKWERA (MCP) 59.3%, Peter Mutharika (DPP) 39.9%, other 0.8% 2014: Peter MUTHARIKA elected president; percent of vote - Peter MUTHARIKA (DPP) 36.4%, Lazarus CHAKWERA (MCP) 27.8%, Joyce BANDA (PP) 20.2%, Atupele MULUZI (UDF) 13.7%, other 1.9% |
Legislative branch | |
Description | Unicameral National Assembly (193 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms) |
Elections | Last held on 21 May 2019 (next to be held in May 2025) |
Election results | Percent of vote by party - DPP 26%, MCP 22.3%, UTM 9.9%, UDF 4.6%, PP 2.4%, ADF 0.5%, independent 33.4%; seats by party - DPP 62, MCP 56, UDF 10, UTM 4, PP 5, ADF 1, independent 55; composition - men 153, women 40, percentage women 20.7% |
Judicial branch | |
Highest court(s) | Supreme Court of Appeal (consists of the chief justice and at least 3 judges) |
Judge selection and term of office | Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the president and confirmed by the National Assembly; other judges appointed by the president upon the recommendation of the Judicial Service Commission, which regulates judicial officers; judges serve until age 65 |
Subordinate courts | High Court; magistrate courts; Industrial Relations Court; district and city traditional or local courts |
Diplomatic representation in the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador Esme Jynet CHOMBO (since 19 April 2022) |
Chancery | 2408 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20008 |
Telephone | [1] (202) 451- 0409 |
Email address and website | [email protected] Home | Malawi Embassy USA |
Diplomatic representation from the US | |
Chief of mission | Ambassador David YOUNG (since 5 May 2022) |
Embassy | 16 Jomo Kenyatta Road, Lilongwe 3 |
Mailing address | 2280 Lilongwe Place, Washington DC 20521-2280 |
Telephone | [265] (0) 177-3166 |
FAX | [265] (0) 177-0471 |
Email address and website | [email protected] https://mw.usembassy.gov/ |
National heritage | |
Total World Heritage Sites | 2 (1 cultural, 1 natural) |
Selected World Heritage Site locales | Lake Malawi National Park (n); Chongoni Rock-Art Area (c) |
Want to know more about Malawi? Check all different factbooks for Malawi below.