Lilongwe << lih LAWNG way >> (pop. 989,318) is the capital of Malawi, in southeast Africa. The city lies on the Lilongwe River in the heart of Malawi’s agricultural area and is a marketing center for tobacco and other crops.
Lilongwe was settled in 1902. It became a city in 1966, when it was designated to replace Zomba as the Malawi capital. At that time, fewer than 20,000 people lived in Lilongwe. The city’s population climbed during the several years of an extensive government construction program that included factories, government buildings, and residential areas. Lilongwe officially became the capital in 1975.
