Country name

conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique
conventional short form: Mozambique
local short form: Mocambique
former: Portuguese East Africa
local long form: Republica de Mocambique

Government type

republic

Capital

Maputo

Administrative divisions

10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), 1 city (cidade)*; Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Cidade de Maputo*, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia

National holiday

Independence Day, 25 June (1975)

Suffrage

18 years of age; universal

Location

South-eastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania

Geographic coordinates

18 15 S, 35 00 E

Map references

Africa

Area

total: 801,590 sq km
water: 17,500 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km

Area - comparative

slightly less than twice the size of California

Land boundaries

total: 4,571 km
border countries: 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 - as described in UNCLOS 1982 (see Notes and Definitions)

territorial sea: 12 NM
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM

Climate

tropical to subtropical

Terrain

mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west

Elevation extremes

lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m

Natural resources

coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite

Land use

arable land: 3.98%
permanent crops: 0.29%
other: 95.73% (1998 est.)

GDP

purchasing power parity - $23.38 billion (2004 est.)

GDP - real growth rate

8.2% (2004 est.)

GDP - per capita

purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.)

GDP - composition by sector

agriculture: 21.1%
industry: 32.1%
services: 46.9% (2004 est.)

Labor force - by occupation

agriculture 81%
industry 6%
services 13% (1997 est.)

Industries

food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), aluminum, petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco

Agriculture - products

cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers; beef, poultry

Exports

$689.4 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Exports - commodities

aluminum, prawns, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity

Exports - partners

BBelgium 32%, Italy 13.9%, Spain 12.6%, Germany 9.8%, Zimbabwe 4.7% (2004)

Imports

$972.9 million f.o.b. (2004 est.)

Imports - commodities

machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, chemicals, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles

Imports - partners

South Africa 35.7%, Australia 10.9%, US 3.7% (2004)

Currency

metical (MZM)

Currency code

MZM

Exchange rates

meticais per US dollar - 22,581 (2004), 23,782 (2003), 23,678 (2002), 20,704 (2001), 15,227 (2000)
Note: effective October 2000, the exchange rate is determined as the weighted average of buying and selling exchange rates of all transactions of commercial banks and stock exchanges with the public.

Fiscal year

calendar year