Differential security of tenure on Malawi's customary land: Implications for investment

Land in Malawi is public, private or customary. The majority of the population is dependent on customary land for food and income generation. Persons who hold land under customary tenure enjoy differential security depending on their status in the village where the land is held. Members of core lineages have the right to lifetime use and occupation. Immigrants and uxorilocally married men do not enjoy much security, especially in the early years of settlement, and this has implications for the nature of investments that can be made on the land.