Lilongwe

About Lilongwe

Lilongwe (UK:, US:,) is the capital and largest city 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 the central region of Malawi, in the district of the same name, near the borders with Mozambique and Zambia, and it is an important economic and transportation hub for central Malawi. It is named after the Lilongwe River.

Lilongwe was first set up as a boma by the local leader Njewa around 1902, and later became an administrative centre in 1904. In the 1920s, its location at the junction of several major roadways increased its importance as an agricultural market centre for the fertile Central Region Plateau.

As a trading post, Lilongwe was officially recognized as a town in 1947. After gaining independence, it increasingly developed into an important trading centre in Malawi's central region.

In 1965, Malawi's first president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, selected it as an economic growth point for northern and central Malawi.

Lilongwe became the capital of Malawi in 1975, replacing the previous capital, Zomba. The last government offices were relocated to Lilongwe...

Overview adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA. Photography via Wikimedia Commons.