Malawi is a landlocked country in southern part of Africa, with a population of around 19 million people living on an area about one-third the size of Japan. Lake Malawi, which covers more than 20% of the country, is well known for its rich variety of endemic species and has registered as a World Heritage Site. Malawi gained independence in 1964 and celebrated its 60th anniversary in 2024. Malawi has not experienced a civil war once since its independence in 1964, and is often referred to as "The Warm Heart of Africa" due to the peaceful nature of its people and peaceful history. It has hosted the largest number of Japan Overseas Cooperation Volunteers (JOCVs) which counted more than 1900, in the world since 1971. Kamuzu International Airport, the gateway to the country, was constructed in 1981 and was later expanded in 2019 with assistance from the Government of Japan. A cumulative total number of more than 3,000 Malawians have participated in trainings in Japan through the Knowledge Co-Creation Program (KCCP). Malawi and Japan's long history of development cooperation in a variety of areas of expertise and cultural exchange has led to a high level of trust and positive perception of Japan and Japanese Cooperation amongst the people of Malawi.
Malawi is one of the poorest countries in the world. About 75% of the adult population is engaged in agriculture as their major source of income. The majority are small-scale farmers who are extremely vulnerable to climate change and market price fluctuations, and it is essential for the country to break away from dependence on tobacco industry as a major export crop, and to improve agricultural productivity and add high values of agricultural products. The development and maintenance of social and economic infrastructure such as transport and traffic, electricity, and water supply is still lagging behind. The level of education and healthcare in the country is also low hence there are several challenges that need to be tackled. In response to these challenges and issues that the country is facing, JICA provides assistance through technical cooperation, the dispatch of JOCVs, and infrastructure development. JICA is trying to achieve them, based on the development policy with two (2) pillars of “Fostering of Industry and Economic Infrastructure Development"" and "Improve of basic social services", trough four (4) programs, namely "Agriculture and Industry Development", "Economic Infrastructure Development", "Strength of Health and Sanitation " and "Improve of Educational Quality".
As mentioned above the country is facing many challenges, but at the same time it is a country of potential vitality, where people are calm and gentle, and about half of the population is under twenty years old, and the population growth rate is 2.6%, so it is also a country with the potentials to develop greatly in the future. JICA will promote cooperation to help Malawi develop through human resource development, while further continuing the trust and relationships that have been built up so far by many people to the future.
Malawi Office
Chief Representative
TANAKA Yukinari
scroll