*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 km2
 land area:
  784,090 km2
 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 km2 (1989 est.)
Environment:
  severe drought and floods occur in south; desertification

*Mozambique, People

Population:
  16,341,777 (July 1993 est.)
Population growth rate:
  6.06% (1993 est.)
Birth rate:
  45.35 births/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Death rate:
  16.71 deaths/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Net migration rate:
  31.95 migrant(s)/1,000 population (1993 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
  131.4 deaths/1,000 live births (1993 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
 total population:
  48.03 years
 male:
  46.22 years
 female:
  49.9 years (1993 est.)
Total fertility rate:
  6.31 children born/woman (1993 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)
 total population:
  33%
 male:
  45%
 female:
  21%
Labor force:
  NA
 by occupation:   90% engaged in agriculture

*Mozambique, Government

Names:
 conventional long form:
  Republic of Mozambique
 conventional short form:
  Mozambique
 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)
Constitution:
  30 November 1990
Legal system:
  based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law
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
Elections:
  draft electoral law provides for periodic, direct presidential and Assembly
  elections
Executive branch:
  president, prime minister, Cabinet
Legislative branch:
  unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica)
Judicial branch:
  Supreme Court
Leaders:
 Chief of State:   President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986)
 Head of Government:
  Prime Minister Mario da Graca MACHUNGO (since 17 July 1986)
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

*Mozambique, Government

Diplomatic representation in US:
 chief of mission:
  Ambassador Hipolito PATRICIO
 chancery:
  Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036
 telephone:
  (202) 293-7146
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
 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

*Mozambique, 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,
  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.
National product:
  GDP - exchange rate conversion - $1.75 billion (1992 est.)
National product real growth rate:
  0.3% (1992 est.)
National product per capita:
  $115 (1992 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
  50% (1992 est.)
Unemployment rate:
  50% (1989 est.)
Budget:
  revenues $252 million; expenditures $607 million, including capital
  expenditures of $NA (1992 est.)
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
Imports:
  $899 million (c.i.f., 1991 est.)
 commodities:
  food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum
 partners:
  US, Western Europe, USSR
External debt:
  $5.4 billion (1991 est.)
Industrial production:
  growth rate 5% (1989 est.)
Electricity:
  2,270,000 kW capacity; 1,745 million kWh produced, 115 kWh per capita (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:
  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

*Mozambique, Economy

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)
Fiscal year:
  calendar year

*Mozambique, 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:
  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
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:
  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
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

*Mozambique, Defense Forces

Branches:
  Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Militia
Manpower availability:
  males age 15-49 3,675,189; fit for military service 2,110,489 (1993 est.)
Defense expenditures:
  exchange rate conversion - $118 million, 8% of GDP (1993 est.)