Despite government hopes to expand the country's economic base,
Malawi remains overwhelmingly dependent on agriculture, especially its
primary cash crop, tobacco. But international movements to discourage
cigarette
smoking can only hurt this industry further, and its viability as a
long-term vehicle of growth is unclear. In 1999 agriculture supplied 38
percent of GDP. Tourism, mining, and manufacturing have also been
prioritized, but infrastructure problems make development difficult.
Nevertheless, industry accounts for 19.2 percent of GDP (14 percent of
this in manufacturing), and services 42.8 percent.
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