Zomba, town, southern Malawi, in the Shire Highlands. Cement and processed food are manufactured in the town, and in the surrounding highlands, which contain limestone deposits, tobacco and cotton are produced. The University of Malawi (1964) and the National Archives of Malawi are here. To the north is the Zomba Plateau, a popular summer resort. Zomba, founded by European planters in the mid-1880s, became the capital of the British Nyasaland protectorate in 1891. The town was the capital of independent Malawi from 1964 to 1975, when it was succeeded by Lilongwe. Population (1998 estimate) 70,000.
