Reviews in brief: The national atlas of Malawi

Summary

The National Atlas of Malawi, published in 1984, is an outstanding outcome of a project begun in 1972 with British financial support. It provides a practical reference to the country's economic and social development since independence in 1964. The atlas is organized into three sections: locational and relief maps, historical maps, and a substantial thematic section of forty pages covering the natural environment, land resources, agriculture, industry, and social statistics. Notable features include replaceable loose-leaf pages, a gazetteer of over 4,500 place names, and a transparent population dot overlay. With internationally standard symbology and data after 1980, this atlas serves academic institutions, libraries, government decision-makers, and schools, emphasizing projects critical to Malawi's future, such as Rural Growth Centres and Rural Piped Water.