Lilongwe
Capital and largest city of Malawi.
Last updated
Where it is

Coordinates: 13°59′10″S 33°46′05″E (-13.9860, 33.7680) · Open in OpenStreetMap
Coordinates and connected clubs: the infobox of Wikipedia: Lilongwe (CC BY-SA 4.0). Map: drawn by Codexery from OpenStreetMap tiles.
Malawi's largest city and capital, Lilongwe, derives its name from the Lilongwe River.[1] According to the 2018 Census, the city's population stood at 989,318.[1] Situated in Malawi's central region, Lilongwe lies close to the borders of both Mozambique and Zambia.[1]
Geography and history
Lilongwe stands at an altitude of 1,050m in the shallow valley of the Lilongwe River.[2] Lilongwe became an administrative centre in 1904.[3] Around 1902, the local leader Njewa established a boma that later became Lilongwe.[3] Because it sat at the intersection of several important roads, Lilongwe grew into a key agricultural market hub during the 1920s.[3]
Hastings Kamuzu Banda, Malawi's first president, chose Lilongwe as an economic growth point in 1965.[4] The year 1975 saw Lilongwe replace Zomba as Malawi's capital.[5] It was not until 2005 that the final government offices moved to Lilongwe.[5]
What the cited sources add
The Expert Africa account describes Lilongwe as consisting of two contrasting parts: the smart, modern Capital City and the streets and markets of the Old Town.[2] The new town, to the north, was planned and built mainly in the late 60s and 70s.[2] The Old Town is described as almost indistinguishable from other small African towns.[2] The Expert Africa source notes that Lilongwe holds little of interest for most travellers but is quite central to the country.[2]
References
- Wikipedia, "Lilongwe" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lilongwe national capital, Malawi", Encyclopædia Britannica; "Lilongwe national capital, Malawi", Encyclopedia Britannica; "Lilongwe, Malawi Population (2020) - Population Stat", populationstat.com; "Malawi: Lilongwe Urban Profile", www.zaragoza.es (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- "Lilongwe Malawi Expert Africa", www.expertafrica.com. facts only, no text reused. expertafrica.com
- Wikipedia, "Lilongwe" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: Kalinga, "Historical Dictionary of Malawi", Scarecrow Press, 2012; Britannica, Lilongwe , britannica.com, USA, accessed on 30 June 2019 (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lilongwe" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lilongwe national capital, Malawi", Encyclopedia Britannica (original not read by us) en.wikipedia.org
- Wikipedia, "Lilongwe" (CC BY-SA 4.0), which cites: "Lilongwe Malawi Expert Africa", www.expertafrica.com; "Malawi Reports: Urban Profiles of Blantyre, Lilongwe, Mzuzu and Zomba", UrbanAfrica.Net (we also read that source) en.wikipedia.org
Each numbered sentence above was checked against the source it cites before publication. Sentences citing Wikipedia adapt text from the English Wikipedia article Lilongwe (contributors), used under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is available under the same licence. Other sources were used for facts only; no text or images are copied from them.
Also in the Codexery
More in Capital Cities Of Africa
Sources
Compiled from Wikipedia and the sources listed below. Text from Wikipedia is available under CC BY-SA 4.0; this entry is adapted from it.
- Wikipedia: Lilongwe (CC BY-SA 4.0).
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