Background:
Established in 1891, the British protectorate of Nyasaland became the independent nation of Malawi in 1964. After three decades of one-party rule under President Hastings Kamuzu BANDA the country held multiparty elections in 1994, under a provisional constitution which came into full effect the following year. Current President Bingu wa MUTHARIKA, elected in May 2004 after a failed attempt by the previous president to amend the constitution to permit another term, has struggled to assert his authority against his predecessor, who still leads their shared political party. MUTHARIKA's anti-corruption efforts have led to several high-level arrests and one prominent conviction. Increasing corruption, population growth, increasing pressure on agricultural lands, and the spread of HIV/AIDS pose major problems for the country. 
Capital City: Lilongwe
Climate: Sub-tropical; rainy season (November to May); dry season (May to November)
Area: 45,747 sq miles
Slightly smaller than Pennsylvania
Population: 13,013,926
Languages: Chichewa 57.2% (official), Chinyanja 12.8%, Chiyao 10.1%,
Chitumbuka 9.5%, Chisena 2.7%, Chilomwe 2.4%, Chitonga 1.7%, other 3.6%
Religion: Christian 79.9%, Muslim 12.8%, other 3%, none 4.3%
Source: CIA World Factbook
Background:
Settlement of freed slaves from the US in what is today Liberia began in 1822. By 1847, the Americo-Liberians were able to establish a republic. William TUBMAN, president from 1944-71, did much to promote foreign investment and to bridge the economic, social, and political gaps between the descendents of the original settlers and the inhabitants of the interior. In 1980, a military coup led by Samuel DOE ushered in a decade of authoritarian rule. In December 1989, Charles TAYLOR launched a rebellion against DOE's regime that led to a prolonged civil war in which DOE himself was killed. A period of relative peace in 1997 allowed for elections that brought TAYLOR to power, but major fighting resumed in 2000. An August 2003 peace agreement ended the war and prompted the resignation of former president Charles TAYLOR, who faces war crimes charges in The Hague related to his involvement in Sierra Leone's civil war. After two years of rule by a transitional government, democratic elections in late 2005 brought President Ellen JOHNSON SIRLEAF to power. The UN Mission in Liberia (UNMIL) maintains a strong presence throughout the country, but the security situation is still fragile and the process of rebuilding the social and economic structure of this war-torn country will take many years.
Capital City: Monrovia
Climate: Tropical; hot, humid; dry winters with hot days and cool to cold nights;
wet, cloudy summers with frequent heavy showers
Area: 111,370 sq km;
slightly larger than Tennessee
Population: 3,334,587
Languages: English 20% (official), some 20 ethnic group languages, of which a few can be written and are used in correspondence
Religion: Christian 40%, Muslim 20%, indigenous beliefs 40%
Source: CIA World Factbook
Background:
The colonial boundaries created by Britain to delimit Uganda grouped together a wide range of ethnic groups with different political systems and cultures. These differences prevented the establishment of a working political community after independence was achieved in 1962. The dictatorial regime of Idi AMIN (1971-79) was responsible for the deaths of some 300,000 opponents; guerrilla war and human rights abuses under Milton OBOTE (1980-85) claimed at least another 100,000 lives. The rule of Yoweri MUSEVENI since 1986 has brought relative stability and economic growth to Uganda. During the 1990s, the government promulgated non-party presidential and legislative elections.
Capital City: Kampala
Climate: Tropical; generally rainy with two dry seasons
(December to February, June to August);
semiarid in northeast
Area: 236,040 sq km
Population: 31,367,972
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2008 est.)
Languages: English (official national language, taught in grade schools, used in courts of law and by most newspapers and some radio broadcasts), Ganda or Luganda (most widely used of the Niger-Congo languages, preferred for native language publications in the capital and may be taught in school), other Niger-Congo languages, Nilo-Saharan languages, Swahili, Arabic
Religion: Roman Catholic 41.9%, Protestant 42%
(Anglican 35.9%, Pentecostal 4.6%, Seventh Day Adventist 1.5%),
Muslim 12.1%, other 3.1%, none 0.9%
