Which city became Malawi's capital in 1975, replacing Zomba?

Lilongwe became Malawi’s capital in 1975, replacing Zomba. The move shifted the country’s political centre to a growing city in Malawi’s central region.

Lilongwe began as a local settlement associated with the leader Njewa around 1902 and became an administrative centre in 1904. Its position at the junction of important roads helped it develop into an agricultural market town on the fertile Central Region Plateau. It was officially recognized as a town in 1947.

Malawi’s first president, Hastings Kamuzu Banda, selected Lilongwe in 1965 as an economic growth point for northern and central Malawi. The location was also more centrally placed than Zomba, which lies in the country’s southern region and had served as the colonial and early post-independence capital.

Capital development expanded during the 1970s and 1980s, including new government districts, industrial areas, rail links, and Lilongwe International Airport. The transfer of government functions was gradual: the last government offices moved from Zomba to Lilongwe in 2005. Blantyre remains a major commercial centre, but it is not Malawi’s capital.