| GEOGRAPHY |
| Country name: |
conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique
conventional short form: Mozambique
local long form: Republica de Mocambique
local short form: Mocambique
former: Portuguese East Africa |
| Capital: |
Maputo |
| Location: |
South-eastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania |
| Geographic
Coordinates: |
18 15 S, 35 00 E |
| Area: |
total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km
water: 17,500 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: |
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 |
| Elavation
Extremes: |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m |
| Natural
Resources: |
coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite |
| GOVERNEMENT |
| Governement
Type: |
republic |
| Administratives
Divisions: |
10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), 1 city (cidade)*; Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Cidade de 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 Armando GUEBUZA (since 2 February 2005)
head of government: Prime Minister Luisa DIOGO (since 17 February 2004)
cabinet: Cabinet
elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 1-2 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009); prime minister appointed by the president
election results: Armando GUEBUZA elected president; percent of vote - Armando GUEBUZA 63.7%, Afonso DHLAKAMA 31.7% |
| Legislative
Branch: |
unicameral Assembly of the Republic or Assembleia da Republica (250 seats; members are directly elected by popular vote on a secret ballot to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 1-2 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009)
election results: percent of vote by party - Frelimo 62%, Renamo 29.7%; seats by party - Frelimo 160, Renamo 90 |
| Judicial
Branch: |
Supreme Court (the court of final appeal; some of its professional judges are appointed by the president and some are elected by the Assembly); other courts include an Administrative Court, customs courts, maritime courts, courts marshal, labor courts
note: although the constitution provides for a separate Constitutional Court, one has never been established; in its absence the Supreme Court reviews constitutional cases |
| Political
parties and Leaders: |
Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frente de Liberatacao de Mocambique) or FRELIMO [Armando Emilio GUEBUZA, president]; Mozambique National Resistance-Electoral Union (Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana-Uniao Eleitoral) or RENAMO-UE [Afonso DHLAKAMA, president] |
| PEOPLE |
| Population: |
19,406,703
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected; the 1997 Mozambican census reported a population of 16,099,246 (July 2005 est.) |
| Age structure: |
0-14 years: 43.1% (male 4,206,654/female 4,157,898)
15-64 years: 54.1% (male 5,088,250/female 5,416,573)
65 years and over: 2.8% (male 224,682/female 312,646) (2005 est.) |
| Median age: |
total: 18.29 years
male: 17.74 years
female: 18.83 years (2005 est.) |
| Nationality: |
noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican |
| Ethnic groups: |
indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08% |
| Religions: |
indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
| Languages: |
Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, numerous other indigenous languages, Portuguese (official; spoken by 27% of population as a second language) |
| COMUNICATIONS |
| Telephones - main
lines in use: |
83,700 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile
cellular: |
428,900 (2003) |
| Telephone system: |
general assessment: fair system but not available generally (telephone density is only 16 telephones for each 1,000 persons)
domestic: the system consists of open-wire lines and trunk connection by microwave radio relay and tropospheric scatter
international: country code - 258; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean) |
| Radio broadcast
stations: |
AM 13, FM 17, shortwave 11 (2001) |
| Television broadcast
stations: |
1 (2001) |
| Internet country
code: |
.mz |
| Internet hosts: |
3,249 (2003) |
| Internet users: |
50,000 (2002) |
| TRANSPORT |
| Railways: |
total: 3,123 km
narrow gauge: 2,983 km 1.067-m gauge; 140 km 0.762-m gauge (2003) |
| Highways: |
total: 30,400 km
paved: 5,685 km
unpaved: 24,715 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: |
460 km (Zambezi River navigable to Tete and along Cahora Bassa Lake) (2004) |
| Pipelines: |
gas 649 km; refined products 292 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: |
Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba, Quelimane |
| Merchant marine: |
total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,125 GRT/7,024 DWT
by type: cargo 2
foreign-owned: 2 (Belgium 2) (2005) |
| Airports: |
158 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
paved runways: |
total: 22
over 3,047 m: 1
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3
1,524 to 2,437 m: 10
914 to 1,523 m: 3
under 914 m: 5 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with
unpaved runways: |
total: 136
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 14
914 to 1,523 m: 34
under 914 m: 87 (2004 est.) |
| Heliports: |
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