Country Comments

When it comes to achieving long term sustainability for its country Malawi has some significant hurdles to overcome. Malawi is one of the world's least-developed countries, with an economy based on subsistence agriculture and over 90 percent of its population rural. Even with such minimal consumption Malawi has 30% more citizens than its renewable resources can manage to support. The country is adding over a half million more citizens a year due to its high total fertility rate of four children per woman down from six children at the turn of the century.

With increasing population pressure, the country lost almost 35 percent of its primary forest cover between 2000 and 2005 due to fuelwood collection and subsistence and commercial agriculture. (1)

Landholdings have become smaller and smaller to accommodate the increasing population. Smaller farms combined with soil erosion have degraded agricultural land and decreased Malawi’s arable land.

Use of contraception has increased in the country, nevertheless large family sizes remain the norm, secondary education is almost non existent and gender disparities remain significant with few opportunities for education and meaningful employment.

(1) https://rainforests.mongabay.com/20malawi.htm