List of Famous people born in Malawi

Cate Natalie Campbell, is a Malawian-born Australian competitive swimmer, and a current multiple world record holder, who won two bronze medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics, a gold medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics and a gold and a silver medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She is the current world record holder in the Long Course 4 x 100 m Freestyle Relay with Team Australia and the short course 100 m freestyle.

William Kamkwamba is a Malawian inventor and author. He gained fame in his country in 2001 when he built a wind turbine to power multiple electrical appliances in his family's house in Wimbe, 32 km (20 mi) east of Kasungu, using blue gum trees, bicycle parts, and materials collected in a local scrapyard. Since then, he has built a solar-powered water pump that supplies the first drinking water in his village and two other wind turbines, the tallest standing at 12 meters (39 ft), and is planning two more, including one in Lilongwe, the political capital of Malawi.

Bronte Campbell is a Malawian-born Australian competitive swimmer, an Olympic gold-medal winner and world champion. Her older sister, Cate, is also a competitive swimmer, and once held world records in both the short and long course 100 metre individual freestyle events. Bronte and Cate are the first Australian siblings on the same Olympic swimming team since the 1972 Olympics and the first Australian sisters ever to compete within the same swimming event at the Olympics. Bronte Campbell won three gold medals at the 2015 World Championships, including the 50 and 100 metre freestyle events.

Lazarus McCarthy Chakwera is a Malawian theologian and politician who has served as President of Malawi since June 2020. In addition to the Presidency, he also gave himself a cabinet portfolio as Minister of Defence. He has been leader of the Malawi Congress Party since 2013, and was previously Leader of the Opposition in the National Assembly following highly controversial elections held on 21 May 2019 which were overturned by the Constitutional Court. He was President of the Malawi Assemblies of God from 1989 to 14 May 2013.

Arthur Peter Mutharika is a Malawian politician and lawyer who was President of Malawi from May 2014 to June 2020. Mutharika has worked in the field of international justice, specialising in international economic law, international law and comparative constitutional law. He informally served as an adviser to his older brother, President Bingu wa Mutharika, on issues of foreign and domestic policy from the onset of his election campaign until the President's death on 5 April 2012.

Miguel Isaac Chilemba Zuze is a Malawian professional boxer who held the IBO super-middleweight title from 2010 to 2011, and challenged for the WBA (Undisputed), IBF, and WBO light-heavyweight titles in 2016.

Joyce Hilda Banda is a Malawian politician who was the President of Malawi from 7 April 2012 to 31 May 2014. She is the founder and leader of the People's Party, created in 2011.

Elson Bakili Muluzi is a Malawian politician who was the first freely elected President of Malawi from 1994 to 2004. He was also chairman of the United Democratic Front (UDF) until 2009. He succeeded Hastings Kamuzu Banda as Malawi's president. He also served in Banda's cabinet as Minister without Portfolio, before retiring in 1980.

Harriet Lucy Frost, Lady Frost, is a British diplomat, with expertise on African affairs.

Michelle Paver is a British novelist and children's writer, known for the fantasy series Chronicles of Ancient Darkness, set in pre-agricultural Stone Age Europe. For the concluding book Ghost Hunter (2009) she won the Guardian Children's Fiction Prize, a book award judged by a panel of British children's writers.

Bingu wa Mutharika was a Malawian politician and economist who was President of Malawi from May 2004 until his death in April 2012. He was also President of the Democratic Progressive Party, which he founded in February 2005; it obtained a majority in Malawi's parliament in the 2009 general election. During his two terms in office, he was noted for being the Chairperson of the African Union in 2010–2011, as well as for several domestic controversies. In 2009, he purchased a private presidential jet for $13.26 million. This was followed almost immediately by a nationwide fuel shortage which was officially blamed on logistical problems, but was more likely due to the hard currency shortage caused by the freezing of aid by the international community He died in office from a cardiac arrest on 5 April 2012, at age 78.

Desmond Dudwa Phiri, commonly known as D. D. Phiri, was a Malawian author, economist, historian, and playwright. He was born in Mzimba, Malawi, and was the Principal and proprietor of the Aggrey Memorial School in Blantyre. He published 17 books in the fields of history, sociology and economics and was recognized by the Pan-African Writers' Association (PAWA) as one of the top 23 authors in Africa in 2011. He was a regular columnist in The Nation newspaper. He died on 24 March 2019 at Mwaiwathu Private Hospital in Blantyre

Jack Mapanje is a Malawian writer and poet. He was the head of English at the Chancellor College, the main campus of the University of Malawi before being imprisoned in 1987 for his collection Of Chameleons and Gods, which indirectly criticized the administration of President Hastings Banda. He was released in 1991 and emigrated to the UK, where he worked as a teacher.

Qabaniso Malewezi, also known as Q, is a Malawian musician and poet. A former producer for the hip-hop band Real Elements, he has since authored several collections of poems including the audio collection People. In 2015 he received an honorary doctorate from Mzuzu University.

John Keith Patrick Allen was a British actor.

John Maduka is a retired Malawian footballer. He used to play for Bloemfontein Celtic until his retirement in 2009

Mike Tebulo is a Malawian long-distance runner.

Hastings Kamuzu Banda was the Prime Minister and later President of Malawi from 1964–1994. In 1966, the country became a republic and he became president. His rule has been characterized as a "highly repressive autocracy."

Steve Bernard Miles Chimombo was a Malawian writer, poet, editor and teacher. He was born in Zomba.