Mozambique




                                 Geography


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
Area:
total area:
     801,590 sq km
land area:
     784,090 sq km
comparative area:
     slightly less than twice the size of California
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
Coastline:
     2,470 km
Maritime claims:
exclusive economic zone:
     200 nm
territorial sea:
     12 nm
International disputes:
     none
Climate:
     tropical to subtropical
Terrain:
     mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in
     northwest, mountains in west
Natural resources:
     coal, titanium
Land use:
arable land:
     4%
permanent crops:
     0%
meadows and pastures:
     56%
forest and woodland:
     20%
other:
     20%
Irrigated land:
     1,150 sq km (1989 est.)
Environment:
current issues:
     civil strife in the hinterlands has resulted in increased migration to
     urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences;
     desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters
natural hazards:
     severe drought and floods occur in central and southern provinces




international agreements:
     party to - Endangered Species; signed, but not ratified -
     Biodiversity, Climate Change, Law of the Sea


                                  People


Population:
     17,346,280 (July 1994 est.)
Population growth rate:
     5.87% (1994 est.)
Birth rate:
     44.97 births/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Death rate:
     16.33 deaths/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Net migration rate:
     30.1 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1994 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
     128.7 deaths/1,000 live births (1994 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population:
     48.49 years
male:
     46.63 years
female:
     50.41 years (1994 est.)
Total fertility rate:
     6.25 children born/woman (1994 est.)
Nationality:
noun:
     Mozambican(s)
adjective:
     Mozambican
Ethnic divisions:
     indigenous tribal groups, Europeans about 10,000, Euro-Africans
     35,000, Indians 15,000
Religions:
     indigenous beliefs 60%, Christian 30%, Muslim 10%
Languages:
     Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects
Literacy:
     age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)
total population:
     33%
male:
     45%
female:
     21%
Labor force:
     NA
by occupation:
     90% engaged in agriculture


                                Government




Names:
conventional long form:
     Republic of Mozambique
conventional short form:
local long form:
     Republica Popular de Mocambique
local short form:
     Mocambique
Digraph:
     MZ
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)
head of government:
     Prime Minister Mario da Graca MACHUNGO (since 17 July 1986)
cabinet:
     Cabinet
Legislative branch:
     unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica); draft
     electoral law provides for periodic, direct presidential and Assembly
     elections
Judicial branch:
     Supreme Court
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:
     under the terms of the 1992 peace accords multiparty elections are
     scheduled for October 1994; 11 parties, including the Mozambique
     National Resistance (RENAMO), Alfonso DHLAKAMA, president, are
     registered to participate




Member of:
     ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, GATT, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
     ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM,
     OAU, OIC, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, 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:
     (202) 293-7146
FAX:
     (202) 835-0245
US diplomatic representation:
chief of mission:
     Ambassador Dennis JETT
embassy:
     Avenida Kenneth Kuanda, 193 Maputo
mailing address:
     P. O. Box 783, Maputo
telephone:
     [258] (1) 49-27-97
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


                                  Economy


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.
National product:
     GDP - purchasing power equivalent - $9.8 billion (1993 est.)
National product real growth rate:
     4.1% (1993 est.)
National product per capita:
     $600 (1993 est.)




Inflation rate (consumer prices):
     40% (1993 est.)
Unemployment rate:
     50% (1989 est.)
Budget:
revenues:
     $252 million
expenditures:
     $607 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
Exports:
     $164.4 million (f.o.b., 1993 est.)
commodities:
     shrimp 48%, cashews 21%, sugar 10%, copra 3%, citrus 3%
partners:
     US, Western Europe, Germany, Japan
Imports:
     $1.03 billion (c.i.f., 1993 est.)
commodities:
     food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum
partners:
     US, Western Europe, USSR
External debt:
     $5 billion (1992 est.)
Industrial production:
     growth rate 5% (1989 est.)
Electricity:
capacity:
     2,270,000 kW
production:
     1.745 billion kWh
consumption per capita:
     115 kWh (1991)
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
Currency:
     1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos
Exchange rates:
     meticais (Mt) per US$1 - 4,941.3 (October 1993), 2,550.40 (1992),
     1,763.99 (1991), 1,053.09 (1990), 844.34 (1989)
Fiscal year:
     calendar year




                              Communications


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
Highways:
total:
     26,498 km
paved:
     4,593 km
unpaved:
     gravel, crushed stone, stabilized earth 829 km; unimproved earth
     21,076 km
Inland waterways:
     about 3,750 km of navigable routes
Pipelines:
     crude oil (not operating) 306 km; petroleum products 289 km
Ports:
     Maputo, Beira, Nacala
Merchant marine:
     4 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 5,686 GRT/9,742 DWT
Airports:
total:
     194
usable:
     134
with permanent-surface runways:
     24
with runways over 3,659 m:
     0
with runways 2,440-3,659 m:
     5
with runways 1,220-2,439 m:
     28
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


                              Defense Forces


Branches:
     Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Militia
note:
     as of early 1994, Mozambique was demobilizing and reorganizing its
     defence forces
Manpower availability:
     males age 15-49 3,890,532; fit for military service 2,233,824
Defense expenditures:
     exchange rate conversion - $118 million, 8% of GDP (1993)