Mozambique

This article is about the modern country since 1990. For the former country from 1975 to 1990, see People's Republic of Mozambique. For other uses, see Mozambique (disambiguation).

Republic of Mozambique
República de Moçambique (Portuguese)
Anthem: Pátria Amada (Portuguese)
"Beloved Homeland"
Capital
and largest city
Maputo
25°57′S 32°35′E / 25.950°S 32.583°E / -25.950; 32.583
Official languagesPortuguese
Recognised regional languagesMakhuwa, Sena, Tsonga, Lomwe, Changana,
Ethnic groups
(2017 Census)[1]
Religion
(2020)[2]
Demonym(s)Mozambican
GovernmentUnitary dominant-party semi-presidential republic under an authoritarian government[3][4][5]
• President
Filipe Nyusi
Adriano Maleiane
LegislatureAssembly of the Republic
Formation
25 June 1975
• Admitted to the United Nations
16 September 1975
1977–1992
21 December 2004
Area
• Total
801,590 km2 (309,500 sq mi) (35th)
• Water (%)
2.2
Population
• 2024 estimate
34,881,007[6] (45th)
• Density
28.7/km2 (74.3/sq mi)
GDP (PPP)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $53.710 billion[7] (121st)
• Per capita
Increase $1,584[7] (187th)
GDP (nominal)2023 estimate
• Total
Increase $21.936 billion[7] (128th)
• Per capita
Increase $647[7] (185th)
Gini (2019)Positive decrease 50.4[8]
high inequality
HDI (2022)Increase 0.461[9]
low (183rd)
CurrencyMetical (MZN)
Time zoneUTC+2 (CAT)
Date formatdd/mm/yyyy
Drives onleft
Calling code+258
ISO 3166 codeMZ
Internet TLD.mz
Website
www.portaldogoverno.gov.mz

Mozambique,[d] officially the Republic of Mozambique,[e] is a country located in southeast Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and Eswatini and South Africa to the south and southwest. The sovereign state is separated from the Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel to the east. The capital and largest city is Maputo.

Between the 7th and 11th centuries, a series of Swahili port towns developed on that area, which contributed to the development of a distinct Swahili culture and dialect. In the late medieval period, these towns were frequented by traders from Somalia, Ethiopia, Egypt, Arabia, Persia, and India.[10] The voyage of Vasco da Gama in 1498 marked the arrival of the Portuguese, who began a gradual process of colonisation and settlement in 1505. After over four centuries of Portuguese rule, Mozambique gained independence in 1975, becoming the People's Republic of Mozambique shortly thereafter. After only two years of independence, the country descended into an intense and protracted civil war lasting from 1977 to 1992. In 1994, Mozambique held its first multiparty elections and has since remained a relatively stable presidential republic, although it still faces a low-intensity insurgency distinctively in the farthermost regions from the southern capital and where Islam is dominant.

Mozambique is endowed with rich and extensive natural resources, notwithstanding the country's economy is based chiefly on fishery—substantially molluscs, crustaceans and echinoderms—and agriculture with a growing industry of food and beverages, chemical manufacturing, aluminium and oil. The tourism sector is expanding. South Africa remains Mozambique's main trading partner, preserving a close relationship with Portugal[11] with a perspective on other European markets. Since 2001, Mozambique's GDP growth has been thriving, but since 2014/15, both a significant decrease in household real consumption and a sharp rise in economic inequality have been observed.[12] The nation remains one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world,[13] ranking low in GDP per capita, human development, measures of inequality and average life expectancy.[14]

The country's population of around 34,777,605, as of 2024 estimates, which is a 2.96% population increase from 2023, is composed of overwhelmingly Bantu peoples. However, the only official language in Mozambique is Portuguese, which is spoken in urban areas as a first or second language by most, and generally as a lingua franca between younger Mozambicans with access to formal education. The most important local languages include Tsonga, Makhuwa, Sena, Chichewa, and Swahili. Glottolog lists 46 languages spoken in the country,[15] of which one is a signed language (Mozambican Sign Language/Língua de sinais de Moçambique). The largest religion in Mozambique is Christianity, with significant minorities following Islam and African traditional religions. Mozambique is a member of the United Nations, the African Union, the Commonwealth of Nations (a rare example of a Commonwealth country that is not a former British colony), the Organisation of Islamic Cooperation, the Community of Portuguese Language Countries, the Non-Aligned Movement, the Southern African Development Community, and is an observer at La Francophonie.

  1. ^ "Censo 2017 Brochura dos Resultados Definitivos do IV RGPH - Nacional". Archived from the original on 15 May 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
  2. ^ "National Profiles". Association of Religion Data Archives. Archived from the original on 1 March 2023. Retrieved 1 March 2023.
  3. ^ Neto, Octávio Amorim; Lobo, Marina Costa (2010). "Between Constitutional Diffusion and Local Politics: Semi-Presidentialism in Portuguese-Speaking Countries". SSRN 1644026.
  4. ^ Shugart, Matthew Søberg (September 2005). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive and Mixed Authority Patterns" (PDF). Graduate School of International Relations and Pacific Studies. United States: University of California San Diego. Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 August 2008. Retrieved 20 August 2016.
  5. ^ Shugart, Matthew Søberg (December 2005). "Semi-Presidential Systems: Dual Executive And Mixed Authority Patterns". French Politics. 3 (3): 323–351. doi:10.1057/palgrave.fp.8200087. S2CID 73642272. Of the contemporary cases, only four provide the assembly majority an unrestricted right to vote no confidence, and of these, only two allow the president unrestricted authority to appoint the prime minister. These two, Mozambique and Namibia, as well as the Weimar Republic, thus resemble most closely the structure of authority depicted in the right panel of Figure 3, whereby the dual accountability of the cabinet to both the president and the assembly is maximized.
  6. ^ "Mozambique Population (2024) - Worldometer". Archived from the original on 27 November 2023. Retrieved 30 September 2024.
  7. ^ a b c d "World Economic Outlook Database, October 2023 Edition. (Mozambique)". IMF.org. International Monetary Fund. 10 October 2023. Archived from the original on 2 November 2023. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  8. ^ "Gini Index". World Bank. Archived from the original on 8 December 2015. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
  9. ^ "Human Development Report 2023/2024" (PDF). United Nations Development Programme. 13 March 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 13 March 2024. Retrieved 13 March 2024.
  10. ^ Newitt, M.D.D. "A Short History of Mozambique." Oxford University Press, 2017
  11. ^ "African Development Bank and Portugal sign EUR 400 million guarantee agreement to underpin Lusophone Compact, © 2022 African Development Bank, Amba Mpoke-Bigg, Retrieved 06.09.2022". Archived from the original on 6 September 2022. Retrieved 6 September 2022.
  12. ^ Barletta, Giulia; Ibraimo, Maimuna; Salvucci, Vincenzo; Sarmento, Enilde Francisco; Tarp, Finn (2022). The evolution of inequality in Mozambique. WIDER Working Paper. Helsinki: United Nations University World Institute for Development Economics Research. doi:10.35188/unu-wider/2022/284-3. hdl:10419/273939. ISBN 978-92-9267-284-3. Archived from the original on 31 March 2024. Retrieved 31 March 2024.
  13. ^ Investing in rural people in Mozambique Archived 27 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine. ifad.org
  14. ^ Cite error: The named reference CIA was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  15. ^ "Glottolog 4.7 – Languages of Mozambique". glottolog.org. Archived from the original on 10 January 2023. Retrieved 10 January 2023.


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