1993 Edition
CIA World Factbook 1993 (Project Gutenberg)
Geography
Area
total area: 801,590 km2 land area: 784,090 km2 comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California
Climate
tropical to subtropical
Coastline
2,470 km
Environment
severe drought and floods occur in south; desertification
International disputes
none
Irrigated land
1,150 km2 (1989 est.)
Land boundaries
total 4,571 km, Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km, Swaziland 105 km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km
Land use
arable land: 4% permanent crops: 0% meadows and pastures: 56% forest and woodland: 20% other: 20%
Location
Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel between South Africa and Tanzania opposite the island of Madagascar
Map references
Africa, Standard Time Zones of the World
Maritime claims
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm territorial sea: 12 nm
Natural resources
coal, titanium
Terrain
mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west
People and Society
Birth rate
45.35 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate
16.71 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Ethnic divisions
indigenous tribal groups, Europeans about 10,000, Euro-Africans 35,000, Indians 15,000
Infant mortality rate
131.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Labor force
NA by occupation: 90% engaged in agriculture
Languages
Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects
Life expectancy at birth
total population: 48.03 years male: 46.22 years female: 49.9 years (1993 est.)
Literacy
age 15 and over can read and write (1990) total population: 33% male: 45% female: 21%
Nationality
noun: Mozambican(s) adjective: Mozambican
Net migration rate
31.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Population
16,341,777 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate
6.06% (1993 est.)
Religions
indigenous beliefs 60%, Christian 30%, Muslim 10%
Total fertility rate
6.31 children born/woman (1993 est.)
Government
Administrative divisions
10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia
Capital
Maputo
Chief of State
President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986)
Constitution
30 November 1990
Digraph
MZ
Diplomatic representation in US
chief of mission: Ambassador Hipolito PATRICIO chancery: Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: (202) 293-7146
Elections
draft electoral law provides for periodic, direct presidential and Assembly elections
Executive branch
president, prime minister, Cabinet
FAX
[258] (1) 49-01-14
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
Head of Government
Prime Minister Mario da Graca MACHUNGO (since 17 July 1986)
Independence
25 June 1975 (from Portugal)
Judicial branch
Supreme Court
Legal system
based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law
Legislative branch
unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica)
Member of
ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Names
conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique conventional short form: Mozambique local long form: Republica Popular de Mocambique local short form: Mocambique
National holiday
Independence Day, 25 June (1975)
Political parties and leaders
Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO, chairman; formerly a Marxist organization with close ties to the USSR; FRELIMO was the only legal party before 30 November 1990, when the new Constitution went into effect establishing a multiparty system note: the government plans multiparty elections as early as 1993; 14 parties, including the Liberal Democratic Party of Mozambique (PALMO), the Mozambique National Union (UNAMO), the Mozambique National Movement (MONAMO), and the Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO, Alfonso DHLAKAMA, president), have already emerged
Suffrage
18 years of age; universal
Type
republic
US diplomatic representation
chief of mission: Ambassador Townsend B. FRIEDMAN, Jr. embassy: Avenida Kenneth Kuanda, 193 Maputo mailing address: P. O. Box 783, Maputo telephone: [258] (1) 49-27-97, 49-01-67, 49-03-50
Economy
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
Budget
revenues $252 million; expenditures $607 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Currency
1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos
Economic aid
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
Electricity
2,270,000 kW capacity; 1,745 million kWh produced, 115 kWh per capita (1991)
Exchange rates
meticais (Mt) per US$1 - 2,74.15 (January 1993), 2,433.34 (1992), 1,434.47 (1991), 929.00 (1990), 800.00 (1989), 528.60 (1988)
Exports
$162 million (f.o.b., 1991 est.) commodities: shrimp 48%, cashews 21%, sugar 10%, copra 3%, citrus 3% partners: US, Western Europe, Germany, Japan
External debt
$5.4 billion (1991 est.)
Fiscal year
calendar year
Imports
$899 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.) commodities: food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum partners: US, Western Europe, USSR
Industrial production
growth rate 5% (1989 est.)
Industries
food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, nonmetallic mineral products (cement, glass, asbestos), tobacco
Inflation rate (consumer prices)
50% (1992 est.)
National product
GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.75 billion (1992 est.)
National product per capita
$115 (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate
0.3% (1992 est.)
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, nevertheless, is at about 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. The continuation of civil strife has dimmed chances of foreign investment, and growth was a mere 0.3% in 1992. Living standards, already abysmally low, fell further in 1991-92.
Unemployment rate
50% (1989 est.)
Communications
Airports
total: 194 usable: 131 with permanent-surface runways: 25 with runways over 3,659 m: 1 with runways 2,440-3,659 m: 4 with runways 1,220-2,439 m: 26
Highways
26,498 km total; 4,593 km paved; 829 km gravel, crushed stone, stabilized soil; 21,076 km unimproved earth
Inland waterways
about 3,750 km of navigable routes
Merchant marine
4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,686 GRT/9,742 DWT
Pipelines
crude oil (not operating) 306 km; petroleum products 289 km
Ports
Maputo, Beira, Nacala
Railroads
3,288 km total; 3,140 km 1.067-meter gauge; 148 km 0.762-meter narrow gauge; Malawi-Nacala, Malawi-Beira, and Zimbabwe-Maputo lines are subject to closure because of insurgency
Telecommunications
fair system of troposcatter, open-wire lines, and radio relay; broadcast stations - 29 AM, 4 FM, 1 TV; earth stations - 2 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 3 domestic Indian Ocean INTELSAT
Military and Security
Branches
Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Militia
Defense expenditures
exchange rate conversion - $118 million, 8% of GDP (1993 est.)
Manpower availability
males age 15-49 3,675,189; fit for military service 2,110,489 (1993 est.)