Malawi

Known widely as The Warm Heart
of Africa

Population: 12 million

Children aged 5 to 9 make up almost 16 % of the country’s
population.

88 % of Malawians live in rural areas.

81 % of Malawi’s active population is involved in subsistence farming.

Life expectancy at birth is 41
years

48 % of children aged 6–59 months are stunted.

The infant mortality rate is 79.02 deaths per 1,000 live births
(UK mortality rate is 4.56 deaths per 1,000 live births)

National HIV/AIDS prevalence rate is 14.4 %

 42% of Malawians earn less than $1 a day.

22 % of all children are underweight for their age.

80,000 children below the age of 15 are HIV
infected

The maternal mortality rate is 1,800 per 100,000 live births.

15 % of girls from 15 to 19 are HIV
positive

170,000 people, including children need ARV treatment in Malawi

A Malawian woman will have an average of six children.

900,000 men and women are living with HIV/AIDS in Malawi, 58% of
whom are women

Malawi’s human development index ranks 165th out of 177countries.

96.6 % of girls and 96.9 % of boys are enrolled in primary
school but only 8.5% of children aged 14–17 are enrolled in secondary school.

Close to 60 % of the population in Malawi can read and write.

Urban literacy is much higher than rural
literacy.

Children from female-headed households and those living in rural areas are more likely to abandon
school.

Two thirds of Malawian households have access to safe
water

 2.2 % of Malawians have a water tap at home.

2.8 % of Malawians have a flush toilet.

57.4 % of people use a traditional pit toilet

One million children in Malawi are orphans; 500,000 have lost one or both parents to AIDS.

An estimated 8,000 children or more live on the streets in
Malawi’s major cities.

There are more than 300 children detained in juvenile wings of 
prisons across the country.

1.4 million children, aged 5 to 17, in Malawi are involved in harmful child labour; more than half work in 
agriculture.

Malawi is both a source and destination for women and children trafficked for sexual
exploitation.

Seven out of ten children working in the sex trade came from single parent homes.