Liwonde, or Livonde, is a town located in Machinga District, in the Southern Region of Malawi.

Liwonde
market area
market area
Liwonde is located in Malawi
Liwonde
Liwonde
Location in Malawi
Coordinates: 15°04′S 35°14′E / 15.067°S 35.233°E / -15.067; 35.233
Country Malawi
RegionSouthern Region
DistrictMachinga District
Population
 (2018 Census[1])
 • Total36,421
Time zone+2
ClimateAw

Geography

edit

Located in Machinga District in the Southern Region of Malawi, Liwonde is located in the Shire River valley. Its main landmark is the road that connects Zomba to Lilongwe, making the town an important crossroads between Balaka, Machinga, Mangochi and Zomba.

Another important Liwonde landmark is the Liwonde National Park nature conservation area. The town thus serves as a dormitory, support center and access base for tourists and researchers traveling to Liwonde National Park. Trips to the interior of the park depart from Liwonde by sailing along the Shire River (year-round) or by car on the access roads.

Demographics

edit

The main ethnic groups in the town are the Chewas and the Yaos, with minorities of the Ngoni and Lomwe peoples. There is an important group of expatriates left over from the Mozambican civil war, as well as Asian immigrants.

Year Population[2][1]
1987 8,694
1998 15,701
2008 22,927
2018 36,421

Climate

edit

In the region of the town of Liwonde, the tropical savanna climate (Aw) prevails, with a hot thermal sensation throughout the day.

Vegetation

edit

The savannah that surrounds the town is characterized by the small amount of trees, especially the many bushes. Among the large trees, the baobab stands out.

Economy

edit
 
Looking west across a livond road which continues to the National Park

Liwonde's economy is basically agricultural, centered on the production of corn flour, tomatoes, onions, cabbage, bananas, pumpkins, cassava, sweet potatoes, Irish potatoes, sugar cane, rice and beans. There is also an important breeding of goats for meat consumption, as well as poultry breeding for egg consumption.

As a regional hub for neighboring towns, Liwonde is home to retail shopping centers such as PTC, McConnell's and Euro Superette, which supply the town with food, sundries and beverages.

Infrastructure

edit

In 2002, the town had a residential supply of water and electricity, but it was not available to the majority of the population. There was also landline and mobile telephony, with signal failures. Liwonde also had a hospital.

The town has a railway station on the Nacala railway, under concession of Central East African Railways. The town of Liwonde has one of the most important railway stations on the Nacala railway, linking Mwanza and Nkaya (west) to Nayuchi and Port of Nacala (east).[3]

References

edit
  1. ^ a b "2018 Population and Housing Census Main Report" (PDF). Malawi National Statistical Office. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
  2. ^ World Gazetteer: Malawi: largest cities and towns and statistics of their population Archived 27 September 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Nacala Corridor. Japan International Cooperation Agency. 2015.

15°04′S 35°14′E / 15.067°S 35.233°E / -15.067; 35.233