Malawi destination information

All you need to know before visiting Malawi

Malawi summary

Malawi is a medium sized country with around 17M Malawian. Official language is English. Malawi uses metric system (kilograms, centimeters, °C). Time zone is UTC+02:00. Currency used in Malawi is Malawi Kwacha (MWK).

🎫 Border Rank #️⃣ 67
🗺️ Passport Rank #️⃣ 151

ATMs in Malawi are Rare. Internet speed in Malawi is on average 1.7 Mbps. In Malawi you drive on the left side. Most cars have manual transmission (stick).

🏙️ Lilongwe
🗣️ English Chichewa
👨‍👩‍👦‍👦 17M ☀️ ~22 °C 🌧 ~89 mm 👍 Least Developed 🚩 118k km2 (46k mi²)
🎫 Visa Exemption
🗺️ Passport Strength
📧 Malawian visa Online
🏥 Health regulation
🛃 Customs rules
🏛️ Embassies

General

Socket 🔌

Malawi uses 230V, 50Hz with socket and plug Type G.

Languages 🗣️

  • English
  • Chichewa

Money

Currency 💱

100 MWK = 0.13 USD

Malawi uses the Malawian kwacha (symbol: MK), code MWK.Banknotes come in denominations of 1000, 500, 200, 100, 50 and 20 kwachas. Kwacha is subdivided into 100 tambalas. Coins come in denominations of 10, 5 and 1 kwachas and 50, 20, 10, 2 and 1 tambalas.

ATM 🏧🏦

Rare

Automatic teller machines are rare in Malawi. Your best bet is to look for them in large cities and community places.You do not need a chip & PIN card to use an ATM — your standard magnetic card will work fine.

Tipping 💁🏽

Card 💳

Phone

Mobile Phone 📱

Malawi uses GSM mobile networks GSM 900 and GSM 1800.

Roaming 🌐

If you don't want to buy SIM card in Malawi upon arrival, make sure to check the roaming charges with your telecom provider before your departure so there are no surprises when you return home.

Emergency Calls 🚨

Universal :

112

Police :

112

Ambulance :

112

Fire department :

112

Calling ☎️

International

To call Malawi, dial +, then 265 (the country code for Malawi), then the area code (without the initial 0) and the local number.

Locally

For local calls within Malawi, start with the area code (with the initial 0). In the case above area code is 1 .


international: + 265 1 1234567
calling local: 01 1234567

Internet connection

Internet Speed 💯

Internet speed in Malawi is on average 1.7 Mbps.

Wifi 📡

WiFi coverage in Malawi is very low. It's quite hard to find one.

SIM Card #️⃣

You can buy a SIM card for about 6,834.62 MWK, which includes 1 GB of data plan. You can choose from 2 telecoms: Airtel or TNM.

Driving

Rules 🚗

In Malawi you drive on the left side. Most cars have manual transmission (stick).

Limits 🚦

Unless otherwise posted, the speed limits for cars and motorcycles are as follows: 100 km/h (62 mph) on motorways, 100 km/h (62 mph) on expressways, 50-60 km/h (31-37 mph) in all built-up areas and 80-100 km/h (49-62 mph) on undivided highways.

Weather

Temperature 🌡️

Rainfall ☔

Countries nearby Malawi


More on Malawi travel and visa information

All the informations you need to schedule your trip to Malawi.

🎫

Visa Exemption

Check who can come to Malawi without visa requirement.

🗺️

Passport Strength

Check countries nationals of Malawi can visit without visa.

📧

Malawian visa Online

Apply for visa to Malawi online.

🏥

Health regulation

Want to visit Malawi ? Check health regulation !

🛃

Customs rules

Want to visit Malawi ? Check customs regulation !

🏳️‍🌈

LGBT Destination info

Check if Malawi is LGBT friendly for travel.

🏛️

Malawian embassies

Check list of Malawi embassies around the globe !