Thee preliminary results of :lie i998 Malawi Population and
Housing Census (MPHC) indicate that the population of Malawi is 9.8
million. This _,figure is less than estimates prepared by most national and
international institutions including renowned population specialists
working an :lie population of Malawi. Nearly all-available population
projections estimated :liar ill!! population of Malawi in i993 would be
around I l million. The aforementioned discrepancy has .tome serious
consequences. Firs! :lie Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita may be
distorted in such a way as to suggest a general improvement in rite quality
of life contrary to the situation. Second, the results of the census may be
interpreted to indicate the success of me national population program
especially rite :rational family planning program. As a result of these
consequences there is need to evaluate me census results to verify whether
the reported figure is indeed correct or to provide a plausible explanation
for flue anomaly. Though not prescriptive, the paper offers plausible
explanation for :lie observed differences. In particular, me paper argues
that rite population figure obtained front the 1998 census, like most other
censuses in developing countries, were underreported.
