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MOZAMBIQUE
OFFICIAL NAME
Republic of Mozambique
CAPITAL CITY
Maputo, population 1,100,000
Geography
Location:
Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania
Geographic coordinates:
18 15 S, 35 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total area:
801,590 sq km
land area:
784,090 sq km
comparative area:
slightly less than twice the size of California
Land boundaries:
total:
4,571 km
border countries:
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
International disputes:
none
Climate:
tropical to subtropical
Terrain:
mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west
lowest point:
Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point:
Monte Binga 2,436 m
Natural resources:
coal, titanium, natural gas
Land use:
arable land:
4%
permanent crops:
0%
meadows and pastures:
56%
forest and woodland:
20%
other:
20%
Irrigated land:
1,150 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
civil strife and recurrent drought in the hinterlands have resulted in increased migration to urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences; desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters
natural hazards:
severe droughts and floods occur in central and southern provinces; devastating cyclones
international agreements:
party to - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Desertification, Law of the Sea
People
Population:
17,877,927 (July 1996 est.)
Age structure:
0-14 years:
46% (male 4,141,915; female 4,115,191)
15-64 years:
51% (male 4,324,102; female 4,868,518)
65 years and over:
3% (male 184,606; female 243,595) (July 1996 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.65% (1996 est.)
Birth rate:
45.51 births/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Death rate:
18.97 deaths/1,000 population (1996 est.)
Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1996 est.)
note:
by the end of 1994, an estimated 1.6 million Mozambican refugees, who fled to Malawi, Zimbabwe, and South Africa in earlier years from the civil war, had returned; an estimated 100,000 refugees remain to be repatriated from those countries
Sex ratio:
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.89 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.76 male(s)/female
all ages:
0.94 male(s)/female (1996 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
125.6 deaths/1,000 live births (1996 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
44.34 years
male:
43.21 years
female:
45.5 years (1996 est.)
Total fertility rate:
6.23 children born/woman (1996 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
Mozambican(s)
adjective:
Mozambican
Ethnic divisions:
indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%
Religions:
indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20%
Languages:
Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects
Literacy:
age 15 and over can read and write (1995 est.)
total population:
40.1%
male:
57.7%
female:
23.3%
Government
Name of country:
conventional long form:
Republic of Mozambique
conventional short form:
Mozambique
local long form:
Republica Popular de Mocambique
local short form:
Mocambique
Data code:
MZ
Type of government:
republic
Capital:
Maputo
Administrative divisions:
10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia
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
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state:
President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986) was elected for a five-year term by popular vote
head of government:
Prime Minister Pascoal MOCUMBI (since December 1994) was appointed by the president
cabinet:
Cabinet
Legislative branch:
unicameral
Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica):
the members are elected by direct, universal, adult suffrage on a secret ballot for a term of five years; election last held 27-29 October 1994 (next to be held NA October 1999); results - percent vote by party NA, seats (250 total) FRELIMO won a slim majority
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:
Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO, chairman; Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO), Afonso DHLAKAMA, president; Democratic Union (DU), Antonio PALANGE, General Secretary
International organization participation:
ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Inmarset, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO, WTrO
Diplomatic representation in US:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Hipolito Pereira Zozimo PATRICIO
chancery:
Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone:
[1] (202) 293-7146
FAX:
[1] (202) 835-0245
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
Ambassador Dennis Coleman JETT
embassy:
Avenida Kenneth Kuanda 193, Maputo
mailing address:
P. O. Box 783, Maputo
telephone:
[258] (1) 492797
FAX:
[258] (1) 490114
Economy
Economic overview:
One of Africa's poorest countries, Mozambique has failed to exploit the economic potential of its sizable agricultural, hydropower, and transportation resources. Indeed, national output, consumption, and investment declined throughout the first half of the 1980s because of internal disorders, lack of government administrative control, and a growing foreign debt. A sharp increase in foreign aid, attracted by an economic reform policy, resulted in successive years of economic growth in the late 1980s, but aid has declined steadily since 1989. Agricultural output is at only 75% of its 1981 level, and grain has to be imported. Industry operates at only 20%-40% of capacity. The economy depends heavily on foreign assistance to keep afloat. Peace accords between civil warring factions, signed in October 1992, improved chances of foreign investment, aided IMF-supported economic reforms, and supported continued economic recovery. Elections held in 1994 diverted government attention from the economy, resulting in slippage and delays in the economic reform program. Nonetheless, growth continued in 1994-95, and the economy should move forward in the late 1990s, given continued foreign help in meeting debt obligations. One key event in 1995 was the conclusion of negotiations with Enron of Houston, Texas, for a $700 million project to exploit the Pande natural gas fields.
GDP:
purchasing power parity - $12.2 billion (1995 est.)
GDP real growth rate:
-2.5% (1995 est.)
GDP per capita:
$700 (1995 est.)
GDP composition by sector:
agriculture:
33%
industry:
12%
services:
55% (1993 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
50% (1994 est.)
Labor force:
NA
by occupation:
90% engaged in agriculture
Unemployment rate:
50% (1989 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
$252 million
expenditures:
$607 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Industries:
food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate:
5.8% (1993 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
2,360,000 kW
production:
1.7 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
58 kWh (1993)
Agriculture:
cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, rice, tropical fruits; beef, poultry
Exports:
$170 million (f.o.b., 1995 est.)
commodities:
shrimp 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, copra, citrus
partners:
Spain, South Africa, US, Portugal, Japan
Imports:
$1.14 billion (c.i.f., 1994 est.)
commodities:
food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum
partners:
South Africa, UK, France, Japan, Portugal
External debt:
$5 billion (1992 est.)
Economic aid:
recipient:
ODA, $NA
Currency:
1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
meticais (Mt) per US$1 - 10,908.0 (December 1995), 9,024.3 (1995), 6,038.6 (1994), 3,874.2 (1993), 2,516.5 (1992), 1,434.5 (1991)
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Transportation
Railways:
total:
3,131 km
narrow gauge:
2,988 km 1.067-m gauge; 143 km 0.762-m gauge (1994)
Highways:
total:
27,287 km
paved:
4,693 km
unpaved:
22,594 km (1991 est.)
note:
highway traffic impeded by land mines not removed at end of civil war
Waterways:
about 3,750 km of navigable routes
Pipelines:
crude oil (not operating) 306 km; petroleum products 289 km
Ports:
Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba
Merchant marine:
total:
4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,694 GRT/9,724 DWT (1995 est.)
Airports:
total:
131
with paved runways over 3 047 m:
1
with paved runways 2 438 to 3 047 m:
4
with paved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m:
10
with paved runways 914 to 1 523 m:
5
with paved runways under 914 m:
67
with unpaved runways 1 524 to 2 437 m:
12
with unpaved runways 914 to 1 523 m:
32 (1995 est.)
Communications
Telephones:
59,000 (1983 est.)
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)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 29, FM 4, shortwave 0
Radios:
700,000 (1992 est.)
Television broadcast stations:
1
Televisions:
44,000 (1992 est.)
Defense
Branches:
Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Militia
Manpower availability:
males age 15-49:
3,767,855
males fit for military service:
2,162,388 (1996 est.)
Defense expenditures:
exchange rate conversion - $84 million, 5.3% of GDP (1994)
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