Malawi is a small, young, and poor country. The nation has about 18 million people, almost 70 percent of whom are under age 24. No surprise, there aren’t a lot of cultural exports. I came across a UK indie band called Lake Malawi, but it’s not the same thing. For this stop in my ongoing exploration of Africa, I watched a documentary series produced by the Roger Federer Foundation called Growing Up In Malawi.
The series documents the work done by the Foundation to develop child care centers. The goal is to help children learn more at younger ages, train parents and child care workers in current best practices for early childhood education, and create community centers that can lead to stronger societies.
Malawi has per-capita GDP of $1,100, a 10.4% rate of HIV/AIDS infection, and very little to its economy beyond agriculture.
Given the state of Malawi’s population, the outlook for strong growth is dim. If the younger people can mature, stay healthy, and develop new ideas, there could be growth. But otherwise? Probably not.
