Lilongwe, city, central Malawi, capital of the country and of its Central Region, on the Lilongwe River, near the borders with Mozambique and Zambia. It is a commercial center for a fertile tobacco- and groundnut-producing region and has some light industry. Founded in 1947, Lilongwe was selected to be the capital of Malawi in 1964, and construction of government buildings and facilities began here in 1968.

On January 1, 1975, Lilongwe was officially designated the capital of Malawi, and the transfer of all government departments from Zomba (the former capital) and Blantyre was undertaken in the late 1970s. Banda College of Agriculture is in Lilongwe. Population (1998) 440,471.