Map of Mozambique | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
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Background: Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by whites economic dependence on South Africa a severe drought and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development. The ruling party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989 and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement with rebel forces ended the fighting in 1992.


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Location: Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania

Geographic coordinates: 18 15 S, 35 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 801,590 km²
Land: 784,090 km²
Water: 17,500 km²
Comparative: slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries
Total: 4,571 km
Border countries: (6) Malawi 1,569 km; , South Africa 491 km; , Swaziland 105 km; , Tanzania 756 km; , Zambia 419 km; , Zimbabwe 1,231 km

Coastline: 2,470 km

Maritime claims
Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate: tropical to subtropical

Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
Extremes highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m

Natural resources: coal, titanium, natural gas

Land use
Arable land: 4%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 56%
Forests and woodland: 18%
Other: 22% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,180 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: severe droughts and floods occur in central and southern provinces; devastating cyclones

Geography


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Population: 18,641,469 (July 1998 est.)
Growth rate: 2.57% (1998 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Mozambican(s)
Adjective: Mozambican

Ethnic groups: indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%

Languages: Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects

Religions: indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 45% (male 4,129,779; female 4,232,091)
15-64 years: 53% (male 4,807,742; female 5,043,299)
65 years and over: 2% (male 177,895; female 250,663) (July 1998 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 2.57% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 43.52 births/1000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 17.81 deaths/1000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1000 population (1998 est.)

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: a long civil war and recurrent drought in the hinterlands have resulted in increased migration of the population to urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences; desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 120.26 deaths/1000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 45.37 years
Male: 44.22 years
Female: 46.55 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write
Total population: 40.1%
Male: 57.7%
Female: 23.3% (1995 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


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Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique
Conventional short form: Mozambique
Local long form: Republica Popular de Mocambique
Local short form: Mocambique

Government type: republic

Capital: Maputo

Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provincias, singular_provincia; Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia

Dependent areas

Independence: 25 June 1975 (from Portugal)

National holiday: Independence Day, 25 June (1975)

Constitution: 30 November 1990

Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986); note_before being popularly elected, CHISSANO was elected president by FRELIMO's Central Committee 4 November 1986 (reelected by the Committee 30 July 1989): ead of
Government: Prime Minister Pascoal MOCUMBI (since NA December 1994)
Cabinet: Cabinet
Elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 27 October 1994 (next to be held NA 1999); prime minister appointed by the president
Election results: Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO elected president; percent of vote_Joaquim CHISSANO 53.3%, Afonso DHLAKAMA 33.3%

Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (250 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on a secret ballot to serve five-year terms)
Elections: last held 27-29 October 1994 (next to be held NA October 1999)
Election results: percent of vote by party_Frelimo 44.33%, Renamo 33.78%, DU 5.15%, other 16.74%; seats by party_Frelimo 129, Renamo 112, DU 9
Note: the presidential and legislative elections took place as called for in the 1992 peace accords; Renamo participated in the elections

Judicial branch: Supreme Court, judges appointed by the president and judges elected by the Assembly

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarsat, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Marcos Geraldo NAMASHULUA
In the us chancery: Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20,036
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 293-7,146
In the us fax: [1] (202) 835-0245
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Bryan Dean CURRAN
From the us embassy: Avenida Kenneth Kuanda 193, Maputo
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 783, Maputo
From the us telephone: [258] (1) 492,797
From the us fax: [258] (1) 490,114

Flag description: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), black, and yellow with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; the black band is edged in white; centered in the triangle is a yellow five-pointed star bearing a crossed rifle and hoe in black superimposed on an open white book

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


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Economy overview: Before the peace accord of October 1992, Mozambique had been devastated by civil war and was one of the poorest countries on the globe. Prospects subsequently improved, and with its solid economic performance in 1996-97, Mozambique has begun to exploit its sizable agricultural, hydropower, and transportation resources. Foreign assistance programs help supply the foreign exchange required to support the budget and pay for imports of goods and services. The restoration of electrical transmission lines to South Africa and the completion of a new transmission line to Zimbabwe (permitting the giant Cahora Bassa hydropower plant to export large amounts of electricity), proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline to South Africa, and reform of transportation services will greatly improve foreign exchange receipts. The Mozambique and South African Governments are developing the Maputo corridor, linking the port of Maputo with Witbank, South Africa. In the past few years, more than 700 state enterprises have been privatized, including the country's largest commercial bank and a number of sizable manufacturing firms. Other pending reform measures are the reform of tax collection and the facilitation of private enterprise in the transportation, energy, and telecommunications sectors.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 8% (1997 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 35%
Industry: 13%
Services: 52% (1996 est.)

Agriculture products: cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, rice, tropical fruits; beef, poultry

Industries: food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Labor force: NA
By occupation: 80% engaged in agriculture
Note: in 1993, 47% of the wage earners were employed in industry, 28% in transportation and communication; traditionally, a large number of Mozambicans work abroad

Unemployment rate: NA

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $324 million
Expenditures: $600 million, including capital expenditures of $310 million (1996 est.)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: calendar year

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports: total value:$226 million (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
Commodoties: shrimp 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, copra, citrus
Partners: Spain, South Africa, Japan, Portugal, US

Imports: total value:$802 million (c.i.f., 1996 est.)
Commodoties: food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum
Partners: South Africa 38%, US, Japan, Portugal, France

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $5.7 billion (December 1997)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: meticais (Mt) per US$1_11,635.0 (January 1998), 11.543.6 (1997), 11,293.8 (1996), 9,024.3 (1995), 6,038.6 (1994), 3,874.2 (1993)


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Electricity access

Electricity production: 465 million kWh (1995)

Electricity consumption
Per capita: 73 kWh (1995)

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


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Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system: fair system of tropospheric scatter, open-wire lines, and microwave radio relay
Domestic: microwave radio relay and tropospheric scatter
International: satellite earth stations_5 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean)

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


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Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $84 million (1994)
Percent of gdp: 5.3% (1994)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 174 (1997 est.)
With paved runways total: 22
With paved runways over 3047 m: 1
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 10
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 4
With paved runways under 914 m: 4 (1997 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 152
With unpaved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 1
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 16
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 38
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 97 (1997 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Total: 22
Over 3047 m: 1
2438 to 3047 m: 3
15-24 to 2437 m: 10
914 to 1523 m: 4
Under 914 m: 4 (1997 est.)

Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 152
2438 to 3047 m: 1
15-24 to 2437 m: 16
914 to 1523 m: 38
Under 914 m: 97 (1997 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: crude oil (not operating) 306 km; petroleum products 289 km

Railways
Total: 3,131 km
Narrow gauge: 2,988 km 1.067-m gauge; 143 km 0.762-m gauge (1994)

Roadways

Waterways: about 3,750 km of navigable routes

Merchant marine: total:4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,694 GRT/9,724 DWT (1997 est.)

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international: none

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: Southern African transit hub for South American cocaine probably destined for the European and US markets; producer of hashish and methaqualone