Country Facts - Mozambique

The People

Ethnic Composition

Indigenous tribal groups (Shangaan, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others)	99.66%
Euro-Africans	0.20%
Europeans	0.06%
Indians	0.08%

Religious Composition

Indigenous beliefs	50%
Christian	30%
Muslim	20%

Nationality

Mozambican(s)

Languages Spoken

Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects.

Education and Literacy

Mozambique's overall adult literacy is 42.3 percent. Among males it is 58.4 percent and females 27 percent.

Labor Force

Total: 7.4 million (1997)

By occupation:

Agriculture	81%
Industry	6%
Services	13%

Geography

Land Mass Total

309,495 sq mi (801,590 sq km)

Land

302,738 sq mi (784,090 sq km)

Water

6,756 sq mi (17,500 sq km)

Land Boundaries

Total: 2,840 mi (4,571 km)
Border countries: Malawi 974 mi (1,569 km), South Africa 305 mi (491 km), Swaziland 65 mi (105 km), Tanzania 469 mi (756 km), Zambia 260 mi (419 km), Zimbabwe 764 mi (1,231 km)

Coastline

1,534 mi (2,470 km)

Maritime claim

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm
Territorial sea: 12 nm

Climate/Weather

Tropical to subtropical.

Terrain

Mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west.

Elevation extremes

Lowest: Indian Ocean 0 ft (0 m)
Highest: Monte Binga 7,992 ft (2,436 m)

Natural Resources

Coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite

Land use

Arable land	4%
Permanent crops	0%
Other	96%

(1998)

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.

Geography Note

The Zambezi flows through the north-central and most fertile part of the country.

Demographics

Population

19,607,519 (July 2002)
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected; the 1997 Mozambican census reported a population of 16,099,246.

Age structure

0-14 years:	42.5%	male 4,162,413	female 4,176,295
15-64 years:	54.7%	male 5,313,511	female 5,407,052
65 years and over:	2.8%	male 227,761	female 320,487

(2002)

Growth Rate

1.13% (2002)

Life Expectancy

35.46 years (2002)
female: 34.65 years
male: 36.25 years

GDP Per Capita

Purchasing power parity
US$900 (2001)

Infant Mortality

138.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002)

Sex ratio

At birth:	1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years:	1 male(s)/female
15-64 years:	0.98 male(s)/female
65 years and over:	0.71 male(s)/female
Total population:	0.98 male(s)/female

(2002)

Net migration rate

0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002)

Economy & Trade

At independence in 1975, Mozambique was one of the world's poorest countries. Socialist mismanagement and a brutal civil war from 1977-92 exacerbated the situation. In 1988, the government embarked on a series of dramatic macroeconomic reforms designed to stabilize the economy and reduce government participation. These steps combined with the political stability that has prevailed since the 1994 multi-party elections have led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth rate fueled by foreign and domestic investments and donor assistance. Inflation was brought to single digits during the same period, although it has returned to double digits in 2000 and 2001 (16.8%). Foreign exchange rates have remained relatively stable. Fiscal reforms, including the introduction of a value-added tax and reform of the customs service, have improved the government's revenue collection abilities. In spite of these gains, Mozambique remains dependent upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and the majority of the population remains below the poverty line.
Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the country's workforce. A substantial trade imbalance persists, although it has diminished with the opening of the Mozal aluminum smelter, the country's largest foreign investment project. Additional investment projects in titanium extraction/processing and garment manufacturing should further close the import/export gap. Mozambique's once substantial foreign debt has been reduced through forgiveness and rescheduling under the IMF's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC initiatives, and is now at a manageable level. Corruption and AIDS continue to be major drags on the economy, as does the political turmoil in neighboring Zimbabwe.

Unemployment

21% (1997)

Inflation Rate

10% (2001)

Industries

Food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco.

Exports

US$746 million (f.o.b., 2001)

Imports

$1.254 billion (c.i.f., 2001)

Total Trade

Purchasing power parity
GDP US$17.5 billion (2001)

Top Export Partners

South Africa 12.7%, Zimbabwe 12.2%, Spain 10.6%, Portugal 10.0% (2000)

Top Import Partners

South Africa 33.5%, Portugal 4.8%, US 4.2%, Australia 3.8% (2000)

Top Exports

Prawns 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity (2000)

Top Imports

Machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs, textiles (2000)

Debt - external

US$1 billion (2001)

Economic aid

US$632.8 million (2001)

Fiscal Year:

Calendar year

Business Workweek

	Monday - Friday	Saturday - Sunday
Offices	7:30a.m. to 12:30p.m., and 2p.m. to 5:30p.m.	Closed
Retail	8a.m. to 6:30p.m.	Saturday 8a.m. to 6:30p.m.
Banks	7:30a.m. to 3:30p.m.	Closed
Government	Monday through Thursday 7:30a.m. to 12:30p.m., and again from 2p.m. to 5:30p.m. Friday offices close at 5p.m.	Closed

Holidays

Official Holidays

Holidays	2003	2004	2005
New Year's Day	January 1	January 1	January 1
Heroes' Day	February 3	February 3	February 3
Women's Day	April 7	April 7	April 7
Labor Day	May 1	May 1	May 1
Independence Day	June 25	June 25	June 25
Victory Day	September 7	September 7	September 7
Armed Forces Day	September 25	September 25	September 25
Maputo City Day (Maputo only)	November 10	November 10	November 10
Family Day	December 25	December 25	December 25

Country information used by permission of World Trade Press