Airports [time series]

195 total, 137 usable; 27 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 26 with runways 1,220-2,439 m

Civil air [time series]

7 major transport aircraft

Roadways (Highways) [time series]

26,498 km total; 4,593 km paved; 829 km gravel, crushed stone, stabilized soil; 21,076 km unimproved earth

Waterways (Inland waterways) [time series]

about 3,750 km of navigable routes

Merchant marine [time series]

5 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,806 GRT/12,873 DWT

Pipelines [time series]

crude oil (not operating) 306 km; petroleum products 289 km

Ports [time series]

Maputo, Beira, Nacala

Railways (Railroads) [time series]

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

Telecommunication systems (Telecommunications) [time series]

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 forces (Branches) [time series]

Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Border Guards, Militia

Military expenditures (Defense expenditures) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $107 million, 6-7% of GDP (1989)

Manpower availability [time series]

males 15-49, 3,490,554; 2,004,913 fit for military service

Agricultural products (Agriculture) [time series]

accounts for 80% of the labor force, 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 [time series]

revenues $369 million; expenditures $860 million, including capital expenditures of $432 million (1989 est.)

Exchange rates (Currency) [time series]

metical (plural - meticais); 1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos

Economic aid [time series]

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 [time series]

2,270,000 kW capacity; 1,745 million kWh produced, 115 kWh per capita (1991)

Exchange rates [time series]

meticais (Mt) per US$1 - 2,358 (1 May 1992), 1,811.18 (1991), 929.00 (1990), 800.00 (1989), 528.60 (1988), 289.44 (1987)

Exports [time series]

$117 million (f.o.b., 1990 est.) commodities: shrimp 48%, cashews 21%, sugar 10%, copra 3%, citrus 3% partners: US, Western Europe, GDR, Japan

Debt - external (External debt) [time series]

$4.9 billion (1991 est.)

Fiscal year [time series]

calendar year

Real GDP (purchasing power parity) (GDP) [time series]

exchange rate conversion - $1.7 billion, per capita $120; real growth rate 1.0% (1991 est.)

Imports [time series]

$870 million (c.i.f., 1990 est.), including aid commodities: food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum partners: US, Western Europe, USSR

Industrial production growth rate (Industrial production) [time series]

growth rate 5% (1989 est.)

Industries [time series]

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

Inflation rate (consumer prices) [time series]

40.5% (1990 est.)

Economic overview (Overview) [time series]

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, has resulted in successive years of economic growth since 1985. 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 through 1991 has dimmed chances of foreign investment, and growth was a mere 1%. Living standards, already abysmally low, dropped by 3-4% in both 1990 and 1991.

Unemployment rate [time series]

50% (1989 est.)

Climate [time series]

tropical to subtropical

Coastline [time series]

2,470 km

Area - comparative (Comparative area) [time series]

slightly less than twice the size of California

Disputes - international (Disputes) [time series]

none

Environment - current issues (Environment) [time series]

severe drought and floods occur in south; desertification

Area (Land area) [time series]

784,090 km2

Land boundaries [time series]

4,571 km total; Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km, Swaziland 105 km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km

Land use [time series]

arable land 4%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 56%; forest and woodland 20%; other 20%; includes irrigated NEGL%

Maritime claims [time series]

Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm Territorial sea: 12 nm

Natural resources [time series]

coal, titanium

Terrain [time series]

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

Area (Total area) [time series]

801,590 km2

Administrative divisions [time series]

10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia

Capital [time series]

Maputo

Political parties (Communists) [time series]

about 200,000 FRELIMO members; note - FRELIMO no longer considers itself a Communist party

Constitution [time series]

30 November 1990

Diplomatic representation in the US (Diplomatic representation) [time series]

Ambassador Hipolito PATRICIO; Chancery at Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington, DC 20036; telephone (202) 293-7146 US: Ambassador Townsend B. FRIEDMAN, Jr.; Embassy at Avenida Kenneth Kuanda, 193 Maputo (mailing address is P. O. Box 783, Maputo); telephone [258] (1) 49-27-97, 49-01-67, 49-03-50; FAX [258] (1) 49-01-14

Executive branch (Elections) [time series]

draft electoral law provides for periodic, direct presidential and Assembly elections

Executive branch [time series]

president, prime minister, Cabinet

Flag [time series]

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

Independence [time series]

25 June 1975 (from Portugal)

Judicial branch [time series]

People's Courts at all levels

Executive branch (Leaders) [time series]

Chief of State: President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986) Head of Government: Prime Minister Mario da Graca MACHUNGO (since 17 July 1986)

Legal system [time series]

based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law

Legislative branch [time series]

unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica)

Country name (Long-form name) [time series]

Republic of Mozambique

International organization participation (Member of) [time series]

ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INMARSAT, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO

National holiday [time series]

Independence Day, 25 June (1975)

Political parties (Political parties and leaders) [time series]

Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) - formerly a Marxist organization with close ties to the USSR - 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), and the Mozambique National Movement (MONAMO) have already emerged

Suffrage [time series]

universal adult at age 18

Government type (Type) [time series]

republic

Birth rate [time series]

46 births/1,000 population (1992)

Death rate [time series]

17 deaths/1,000 population (1992)

Ethnic groups (Ethnic divisions) [time series]

majority from indigenous tribal groups; Europeans about 10,000, Euro-Africans 35,000, Indians 15,000

Infant mortality rate [time series]

134 deaths/1,000 live births (1992)

Labor force [time series]

NA, but 90% engaged in agriculture

Languages [time series]

Portuguese (official); many indigenous dialects

Life expectancy at birth [time series]

46 years male, 49 years female (1992)

Literacy [time series]

33% (male 45%, female 21%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.)

Nationality [time series]

noun - Mozambican(s); adjective - Mozambican

Net migration rate [time series]

12 migrants/1,000 population (1992)

Organized labor [time series]

225,000 workers belong to a single union, the Mozambique Workers' Organization (OTM)

Population [time series]

15,469,150 (July 1992), growth rate 4.1% (1992); note - 1.5 million Mozambican refugees; 900,000 in Malawi (1991 est.)

Religions [time series]

indigenous beliefs 60%, Christian 30%, Muslim 10%

Total fertility rate [time series]

6.4 children born/woman (1992)