The Central Region of

Malawi Malawi (; or aláwi Tumbuka: ''Malaŵi''), officially the Republic of Malawi, is a landlocked country in Southeastern Africa that was formerly known as Nyasaland. It is bordered by Zambia to the west, Tanzania to the north and northeast ...

, population 7,523,340 (2018), covers an area of 35,592 km². Its capital city is

Lilongwe Lilongwe (, , ) is the capital and most populated city of the African country of Malawi. It has a population of 989,318 as of the 2018 Census, up from a population of 674,448 in 2008. In 2020 that figure was 1,122,000. The city is located in th ...

, which is also the national capital. The region has an outlet on

Lake Malawi Lake Malawi, also known as Lake Nyasa in Tanzania and Lago Niassa in Mozambique, is an African Great Lake and the southernmost lake in the East African Rift system, located between Malawi, Mozambique and Tanzania. It is the fifth largest fre ...

and borders neighbouring countries

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

and

Mozambique Mozambique (), officially the Republic of Mozambique ( pt, Moçambique or , ; ny, Mozambiki; sw, Msumbiji; ts, Muzambhiki), is a country located in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi ...

. The

Chewa people The Chewa (or AChewa) are a Bantu ethnic group native to central and southern Africa and the largest ethnic group in Malawi. The Chewa are closely related to people in surrounding regions such as the Tumbuka and Nsenga. They are historically ...

make up the majority of the population today.

Geography

The Central region is bounded on the north by the Northern Region, on the east by

, on the southeast by Southern Region, on the southwest by

, and on east by

. Central Region straddles the western edge of the

East African Rift The East African Rift (EAR) or East African Rift System (EARS) is an active continental rift zone in East Africa. The EAR began developing around the onset of the Miocene, 22–25 million years ago. In the past it was considered to be part of a ...

. Lake Malawi occupies most of the rift valley, with a narrow plain running along its western shore. Much of the region lies on a plateau, known as the Central Region Plateau or Lilongwe Plain. The plateau covers 23,310 square km (9,000 square miles). A belt of hills and escarpments separates the plateau from the rift valley lowlands to the east. The Dwangwa, Bua, and

rivers drain the plateau, emptying eastwards into Lake Malawi. The southwestern boundary of the region is mountainous, including the northern end of the

Kirk Range The Kirk Range is a plateau in southwestern Malawi, extending in a north-south direction and skirting the southwestern shore of Lake Malawi and the western border of the Shire River valley. The range includes several peaks higher than 1800 meters i ...

and

Dedza Mountain Dedza Mountain is a mountain in central Malawi. It is located in Dedza District, just north of the town of Dedza. Dedza Mountain's peak reaches 2198 meters elevation. Dedza Mountain Forest Reserve was established in 1926, and covers an area o ...

(2,198 m).

Administration

Of the 27

districts A district is a type of administrative division that, in some countries, is managed by the local government. Across the world, areas known as "districts" vary greatly in size, spanning regions or counties, several municipalities, subdivisions o ...

in Malawi, 9 are located within the Central Region They are:

Dedza Dedza is the main township of Dedza District in the Central Region of Malawi. Description Dedza is located about 85 km south of Malawi's capital, Lilongwe, off the M1 road to Blantyre at a point where a trans-African highway from Johanne ...

, Dowa,

Kasungu Kasungu is a town in the Kasungu District of the Central Region of Malawi. The population of Kasungu was 58,653 according to the 2018 census. Kasungu is approximately north-west of the capital of Malawi, Lilongwe, and is east of Kasungu Nati ...

Mchinji Mchinji is a town and the capital of the Mchinji District in the Central Region of Malawi. Mchinji Boma, located from the Zambian border and from the national capital, Lilongwe, is the major hub of government and general business. It has a m ...

Nkhotakota Nkhotakota (Un-kho-tah-kho-tuh) (formerly Kota Kota) (name derived from the Chichewa for "Corner Corner") is a town and one of the districts in the Central Region, Malawi, Central Region of Malawi. It is on the shore of Lake Malawi (formerly Lak ...

Ntcheu Ntcheu is a town located in the Central Region of Malawi. It is the administrative capital of Ntcheu District Ntcheu is a district in the Central Region of Malawi. It borders with the country of Mozambique. The district headquarters is Ntcheu ...

Ntchisi Ntchisi is a town located in the Central Region, Malawi, Central Region of Malawi. It is the administrative capital of Ntchisi District. Demographics Healthcare Ntchisi is served by a District hospital located at the capital and several healt ...

, and Salima.

Population

Ethnic groups

At the time of the

2018 Census of Malawi The 2018 Malawi census was the sixth national census in Malawi, which took place on 3-23 September 2018. The population of Malawi was counted as 17,563,749 – an increase of 4,534,251 (34.8%) over the 2008 census. Preliminary results from the ...

, the distribution of the population of the Central Region by

ethnic group An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

was as follows:2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census Main Report
/ref> * 71.5%

Chewa Chewa may refer to: *the Chewa people *the Chewa language Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozamb ...

* 14.6% Ngoni * 4.9% Yao * 3.2% Tumbuka * 3.1% Lomwe * 0.9%

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

* 0.5% Sena * 0.4% Sukwa * 0.4%

Mang'anja The Mang'anja are a Bantu people of central and southern Africa, particularly around Chikwawa in the Shire River valley of southern Malawi. They speak a dialect of the Nyanja language, and are a branch of the Amaravi people. As of 1996 their popul ...

* 0.2%

Nyanja Chewa (also known as Nyanja, ) is a Bantu language spoken in much of Southern, Southeast and East Africa, namely the countries of Malawi , where it is an official language, and Mozambique and Zambia. The noun class prefix ''chi-'' is used for l ...

* 0.1% Nkhonde * 0.1%

Lambya The Lambya, also known as the Nkoya, are an ethnic and linguistic group based along the border of northwestern Malawi and in Mbeya Region, Tanzania. A minority also exists in Zambia. In 2001 the Lambya population was estimated to number 85,000, i ...

* 0.2% Others

References

Regions of Malawi {{malawi-geo-stub