Mozambique Facts

by countryaah · Published June 3, 2019 · Updated April 26, 2020

Mozambique, State of Southeastern Africa; 802,000 km², 29.5 million residents (2019).Mozambique borders in the north to Tanzania, in the west to Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe and in the southwest and south to South Africa and Swaziland and to the east coast to the Indian Ocean. The capital is Maputo (1.1 million residents, 2017).

Country facts

Republic of Mozambique / Republic of Mozambique
Country abbreviation: MZ
Area: 802 000 km²
Population (2019): 29.5 million residents
Capital: Maputo
Main languages: Portuguese, makua
State: Republic
Head of State and Head of Government: Filipe Nyusi (President)
Per capita GDP (2018): US $ 490
GNI per capita (2018): US $ 440
Coin unit: 1 metical = 100 centavos
Currency code: MZN
Country number (telephony): 258
Internet domain name: mz
Time difference compared to Sweden: +1
National Day: June 25 (Independence Day, 1974)

Nature

Land use: forest (18%), agricultural land (4%), other (78%)
Highest mountain: Binga (2 436 m asl)
Longest river: Zambezi (2,660 km)

Population

Population density (2019): 37 residents per km²
Natural population growth (2019): 2.9%; birth number 38 ‰, death number 9 ‰
Age structure (2019): 0-14 years (45%), 15-64 (52%), 65- (3%)
Average life expectancy (2019): men 57 years, women 62 years
Infant mortality (2019): 55 per 1,000 live births
Population forecast 2050: 65 million residents
HDI (2017): 0.418 (place 180 of 189)
Urbanization rate (2019): 32%
Most populous cities (2017): Maputo (1.1 million residents), Matola (1 million), Nampula (663,800)

Business

Industry’s contribution to GDP (2017): agriculture (24%), industry (19%), service (57%)
Exports (2017): US $ 4,725 million
Main export products: aluminum, shrimp, cotton, sugar
Main exporting countries: India, Netherlands, South Africa
Imports (2017): US $ 5 223 million
Main import products: machine parts, vehicles, fuel
Main importing countries: South Africa, China, United Arab Emirates
Railway network (2014): 4,800 km

The Zambezi River with the Cabora Bassa Dam divides Mozambique into a low, southern part with a wavy surface and a plateau-like, higher part in the north and northwest. The former forms southern Africa’s largest coastal plain. Mozambique has tropical savannah climate.

Both the country’s president and its Assembly of Representatives are elected for five years by universal and direct elections. The country became independent in 1975.

Compared to neighboring countries, Mozambique has a varied economy. Trade and service contribute most to GDP, followed by agriculture. Economically, the country has undergone strong liberalization since joining the World Bank in 1984. Nearly a thousand companies have been privatized. The country is investing in expansion of transit trade from South Africa and on foreign investment, mainly in the mining and metal industry. Tourism, mainly from South Africa, has also increased.

Large floods in 1999 and 2000 created difficult social and economic problems and required emergency relief from the outside. Aid efforts from the outside world have led the country to recover, but in the 2010s, the country again had financial problems, mainly due to increased costs of rising world market prices for food. In exchange for support from the IMF, the government has on several occasions been forced to abolish food subsidies, which has led to hunger cravings in the capital.