Mozambique

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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 references: Africa

Area:
total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km
water: 17,500 sq km

Area—comparative: 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

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
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 sq km (1993 est.)

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

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

Environment—international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

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Population: 19,124,335 (July 1999 est.)
note: the 1997 Mozambican census reported a population of 16,542,800; other estimates range as low as 16.9 million

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 4,236,545; female 4,325,586)
15-64 years: 53% (male 4,941,048; female 5,181,282)
65 years and over: 2% (male 182,857; female 257,017) (1999 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.54% (1999 est.)

Birth rate: 42.75 births/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Death rate: 17.31 deaths/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1999 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.98 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (1999 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 117.56 deaths/1,000 live births (1999 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 45.89 years
male: 44.73 years
female: 47.09 years (1999 est.)

Total fertility rate: 5.88 children born/woman (1999 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%

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

Languages: Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.1%
male: 57.7%
female: 23.3% (1995 est.)

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Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique
conventional short form: Mozambique
local long form: Republica de Mocambique
local short form: Mocambique

Data code: MZ

Government type: 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); note—before being popularly elected, CHISSANO was elected president by Frelimo's Central Committee 4 November 1986 (reelected by the Committee 30 July 1989)
head 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 October 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

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 (Frente de Liberatacao de Mocambique) or Frelimo [Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO, chairman]; Mozambique National Resistance (Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana) or Renamo [Afonso DHLAKAMA, president]; Democratic Union or DU [Antonio PALANGE, general secretary]; note—the DU may have broken up into the three parties that composed it—Liberal and Democratic Party of Mozambique, National Democratic Party, and National Party of Mozambique

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO (pending member), 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
chancery: Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
telephone: [1] (202) 293-7146
FAX: [1] (202) 835-0245

Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Bryan Dean CURRAN
embassy: Avenida Kenneth Kuanda 193, Maputo
mailing address: P. O. Box 783, Maputo
telephone: [258] (1) 492797
FAX: [258] (1) 490114

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

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Economy—overview: Before the peace accord of October 1992, Mozambique's economy was devastated by a protracted civil war and socialist mismanagement. In 1994, it ranked as one of the poorest countries in the world. Since then, Mozambique has undertaken a series of economic reforms. Almost all aspects of the economy have been liberalized to some extent. More than 900 state enterprises have been privatized. Pending are tax and much needed commercial code reform, as well as greater private sector involvement in the transportation, telecommunications, and energy sectors. Since 1996, inflation has been low and foreign exchange rates stable. Albeit from a small base, Mozambique achieved one of the highest growth rates in the world in 1997-98. Still, the country depends on foreign assistance to balance the budget and to pay for a trade imbalance in which imports outnumber exports by three to one. The medium-term outlook for the country looks bright, as trade and transportation links to South Africa and the rest of the region are expected to improve and sizable foreign investments materialize. Among these investments are metal production (aluminum, steel), natural gas, power generation, agriculture (cotton, sugar), fishing, timber, and transportation services. Additional exports in these areas should bring in needed foreign exchange.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$16.8 billion (1998 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 11% (1998 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$900 (1998 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 35%
industry: 13%
services: 52% (1996 est.)

Population below poverty line: NA%

Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA%

Inflation rate (consumer prices): -1.3% (1998 est.)

Labor force: NA

Labor force—by occupation: agriculture 80%, industry 9.5%, services 5.5%, wage earners working abroad 5% (1993 est)

Unemployment rate: NA

Budget:
revenues: $402 million
expenditures: $799 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1997 est.)

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

Industrial production growth rate: 39% (1997)

Electricity—production: 426 million kWh (1997)

Electricity—production by source: NA%

Electricity—consumption: 1.11 billion kWh (1997)

Electricity—exports: 0 kWh (1996)

Electricity—imports: 685.6 million kWh (1997)

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

Exports: $295 million (f.o.b., 1998 est.)

Exports—commodities: shrimp 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, copra, citrus (1997)

Exports—partners: Spain 17%, South Africa 16%, Portugal 12%, US 10%, Japan, Malawi, India, Zimbabwe (1996 est.)

Imports: $965 million (c.i.f., 1998 est.)

Imports—commodities: food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum (1997)

Imports—partners: South Africa 55%, Zimbabwe 7%, Saudi Arabia 5%, Portugal 4%, US, Japan, India (1996 est.)

Debt—external: $5.7 billion (December 1997)

Economic aid—recipient: $1.115 billion (1995)

Currency: 1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: meticais (Mt) per US$1—12,394.0 (January 1999), 11,874.6 (1998), 11.543.6 (1997), 11,293.8 (1996), 9,024.3 (1995), 6,038.6 (1994)

Fiscal year: calendar year

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Telephones: 70,000 (1998 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 (1997)

Televisions: 44,000 (1992 est.)

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

Highways:
total: 30,400 km
paved: 5,685 km
unpaved: 24,715 km (1996 est.)

Waterways: about 3,750 km of navigable routes

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

Ports and harbors: Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba, Quelimane

Merchant marine:
total: 3 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,125 GRT/7,024 DWT (1998 est.)

Airports: 174 (1998 est.)

Airports—with paved runways:
total: 22
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 4
under 914 m: 4 (1998 est.)

Airports—with unpaved runways:
total: 152
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 16
914 to 1,523 m: 39
under 914 m: 96 (1998 est.)

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Military branches: Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Militia

Military manpower—availability:
males age 15-49: 4,385,483 (1999 est.)

Military manpower—fit for military service:
males age 15-49: 2,526,447 (1999 est.)

Military expenditures—dollar figure: $72 million (FY97)

Military expenditures—percent of GDP: 4.7% (1997)

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Disputes—international: none

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