Southern Region, Malawi

The Southern Region of Malawi is an area of Malawi. It covers an area of 31,753 km². Its capital city is Blantyre. In 2018, its population was 7,750,629.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

Geography

Domestically, the Southern Region borders the Central Region and Lake Malawi to the north.<ref name=":2">Template:Cite OpenStreetMap</ref> Internationally, it borders the country of Mozambique to the east, west, and south.<ref name=":2" />

Of the 28 districts in Malawi, 13 are located within the Southern Region: Balaka, Blantyre, Chikwawa, Chiradzulu, Machinga, Mangochi, Mulanje, Mwanza, Neno, Nsanje, Phalombe, Thyolo, and Zomba.<ref name=":3">Template:Cite web</ref>

The region is home to several parks: Majete Wildlife Reserve, Lengwe National Park, and Liwonde National Park (the last of these on the Shire River).<ref name=":3" /> It is also home to the Zomba Plateau as well as Mount Mulanje (the highest point in the country).<ref name=":4">Template:Cite report</ref>

During July, the region sometimes experiences a damp fog, locally known as chiperoni.<ref name=":4" />

Demographics

File:Children of Chikwawa by VOA.jpg

A crowd of children in 2024

The Southern Region is home to about half of all Malawians.<ref name=":0">Template:Cite journal</ref> Of these, about 90% of them live in rural areas.<ref name=":0" />

As of 2003, the Southern Region has a slightly higher rate of poverty (68.1%) than the Central Region (62.8%) and the Northern Region (62.5%).<ref name=":1">Template:Cite report</ref> This is due to migration into the region, as well as the region's relatively small cropland are per capita.<ref name=":1" />

Ethnic groups

At the time of the 2018 Census of Malawi, the distribution of the population of the Southern Region by ethnic group was as follows:<ref>2018 Malawi Population and Housing Census Main Report</ref>

• 39.3% Lomwe
• 24.9% Yao
• 8.3% Ngoni
• 8.2% Sena
• 6.8% Mang'anja
• 6.6% Chewa
• 3.8% Nyanja
• 0.9% Tumbuka
• 0.4% Tonga
• 0.1% Nkhonde
• 0.0% Lambya
• 0.0% Sukwa
• 0.7% Others

Society

File:Ntaja, Machinga, Malawi.jpg

The village of Ntaja, in Machinga District, as seen in 2017

Economy

Cattle are quite important to the Southern Region as well as to Malawi as a whole.<ref name=":0" /> As of 1969, they made up about one third of the country's national slaughter,<ref name=":0" /> and the region had a population of about 78,998 cows.<ref name=":0" />

Healthcare and disease

Kwashiorkor exists in the Southern Region at a prevalence of about 1.8% as of 1995.<ref name=":5">Template:Cite journal</ref> It is most common among babies aged between 1 and 1.5 years old, and often co-occurs with dysentery.<ref name=":5" /> Lymphatic filariasis and antigenaemia are also quite common, especially in the east.<ref>Template:Cite journal</ref>

Violence against nurses is quite common in the region, with about 70% of nurses reporting workplace violence as of 2016.<ref name=":6">Template:Cite journal</ref> Most abuse occurs in the form of verbal abuse and threatening behavior, with physical assault and sexual assault being less common.<ref name=":6" /> Patients make up the largest segment of perpetrators.<ref name=":6" />

External links

• Visit Malawi page