Mozambique
Republic of MozambiqueRepublica Popular de Mocambique
republicIndependence 25 June 1975 (from Portugal)
Mozambique as the 1995 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 81 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.
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Geography
Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between | South Africa and Tanzania
13 fieldsEnvironment
- 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 - Endangered Species, Ozone Layer Protection; signed, but not ratified - Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea
People
15 fieldsPer 1,000 population(1995 est.)
Male · female(1995 est.)
Age structure
- 0-14 years:
- 45% (female 4,069,117; male 4,078,429)
- 15-64 years:
- 53% (female 4,882,292; male 4,630,193)
- 65 years and over:
- 2% (female 260,057; male 195,162) (July 1995 est.)
Net migration rate
NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (1995 est.)
note: by the end of 1994, an estimated 1.6 million Mozambican refugees, who fled to Malawi, Zimbabwa, and South Africa in earlier years from the civil war, had returned;
an estimated 100,000 refugees remain to be repatriated from those countries
Ethnic divisions
indigenous tribal groups, Europeans about 10,000, Euro-Africans 35,000, Indians 15,000
Government
Republic; President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986); Prime Minister Pascoal MOCUMBI (since December 1994)
21 fieldsNames
- conventional long form:
- Republic of Mozambique
- conventional short form:
- Mozambique
- local long form:
- Republica Popular de Mocambique
- local short form:
- Mocambique
Administrative divisions
10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia
Executive branch
- chief of state:
- President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986)
- head of government:
- Prime Minister Pascoal MOCUMBI (since December 1994)
- cabinet:
- Cabinet
Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica)
draft electoral law provides for periodic, direct presidential and Assembly elections
note: as called for in the 1992 peace accords, presidential and legislative elections took place during 27-29 October 1994; fourteen parties, including the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) participated;
Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO was elected president and his FRELIMO party gathered a slim majority in the 250 seat legislature
Political parties and leaders
- Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO, chairman;
- the ruling party since independence, FRELIMO was the only legal party before 30 November 1990 when the new Constitution went into effect establishing a multiparty system
Member of
ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, INMARSAT, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, NAM, OAU, OIC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
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
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
Flag
- 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
Economy
One of Africa's poorest countries, Mozambique has failed to | exploit the economic potential of its sizable agricultural, | hydropower, and transportation resources.
18 fieldsInstalled generating capacity, 2,360,000 kW
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 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 in 1994 was solid and can continue into the late 1990s given continued foreign help in meeting debt obligations.
Exports
$150 million (f.o.b., 1994 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
Industries
food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, nonmetallic mineral products (cement, glass, asbestos), tobacco
Agriculture
- accounts for 50% of GDP and about 90% of exports;
- cash crops - cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, shrimp;
- other crops - cassava, corn, rice, tropical fruits;
- not self-sufficient in food
Economic aid
- recipient:
- US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $350 million;
- Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-89), $4.4 billion;
- OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $37 million;
- Communist countries (1970-89), $890 million
Exchange rates
meticais (Mt) per US$1 - 5,220.63 (1st quarter 1994), 3,874.24 (1993), 2,550.40 (1992), 1,763.99 (1991), 1,053.09 (1990)
Transportation
8 fieldsAirports by runway lengthpaved left, unpaved right · 192 in all
Networkskm
Highways
- total:
- 26,498 km
- paved:
- 4,593 km
- unpaved:
- gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 829 km; unimproved earth 21,076 km
Communications
3 fieldsTelephone system
NA telephone density; fair system of troposcatter, open-wire lines, and radio relay
- local:
- NA
- intercity:
- microwave radio relay and tropospheric scatter
- international:
- 5 INTELSAT (2 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean) earth stations
Defense Forces
3 fieldsBranches
- Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Militia;
- note - by late 1994, the army and former RENAMO rebels had demobilized;
- under UN supervision and training, recruits from both the army and rebel forces joined an integrated force that is still forming
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 4,061,109; males fit for military service 2,331,793 (1995 est.)
Cite this entry
Central Intelligence Agency. “Mozambique.” The World Factbook 1995. Archived by The Factbook, thefactbook.org/mozambique/1995.