Malawi is one of the countries in the world with the highest incidence of poverty. 
In 1998, it was estimated that about 65.3 percent of the population lived below 
the poverty line. Most of the poor live in the rural areas where the agricultural 
sector is the principal source of livelihoods. Malawi has witnessed an increase in 
poverty against the background of the many pro-market macroeconomic policy 
reforms that have been implemented in the past two decades.