The region has an outlet on Lake Malawi and borders neighbouring countries Zambia and Mozambique.

Lake Malawi occupies most of the rift valley, with a narrow plain running along its western shore.

[1] The Dwangwa, Bua, and Lilongwe rivers drain the plateau, emptying eastwards into Lake Malawi.

They are: Dedza, Dowa, Kasungu, Lilongwe, Mchinji, Nkhotakota, Ntcheu, Ntchisi, and Salima.

At the time of the 2018 Census of Malawi, the distribution of the population of the Central Region by ethnic group was as follows:[3]