Martinique (2001) | Mozambique (2002) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France) | 10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), 1 city*; Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Maputo City*, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia |
Age structure | 0-14 years:
23.1% (male 49,016; female 47,653) 15-64 years: 66.77% (male 139,106; female 140,291) 65 years and over: 10.13% (male 18,893; female 23,495) (2001 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.5% (male 4,162,413; female 4,176,295)
15-64 years: 54.7% (male 5,313,511; female 5,407,052) 65 years and over: 2.8% (male 227,761; female 320,487) (2002 est.) |
Agriculture - products | pineapples, avocados, bananas, flowers, vegetables, sugarcane | cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers; beef, poultry |
Airports | 2 (2000 est.) | 166 (2001) |
Airports - with paved runways | total:
1 over 3,047 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
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 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total:
1 under 914 m: 1 (2000 est.) |
total: 143
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 16 914 to 1,523 m: 35 under 914 m: 91 (2002) |
Area | total:
1,100 sq km land: 1,060 sq km water: 40 sq km |
total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km water: 17,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly more than six times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of California |
Background | Colonized by France in 1635, the island has subsequently remained a French possession except for three brief periods of foreign occupation. | Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by whites, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil war hindered the country's development. The ruling party formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement with rebel forces ended the fighting in 1992. Heavy flooding in both 1999 and 2000 severely hurt the economy. |
Birth rate | 15.76 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 36.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Budget | revenues:
$900 million expenditures: $2.5 billion, including capital expenditures of $140 million (1996) |
revenues: $393.1 million
expenditures: $1.025 billion, including capital expenditures of $479.4 million (2001 est.) |
Capital | Fort-de-France | Maputo |
Climate | tropical; moderated by trade winds; rainy season (June to October); vulnerable to devastating cyclones (hurricanes) every eight years on average; average temperature 17.3 degrees C; humid | tropical to subtropical |
Coastline | 350 km | 2,470 km |
Constitution | 28 September 1958 (French Constitution) | 30 November 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form:
Department of Martinique conventional short form: Martinique local long form: Departement de la Martinique local short form: Martinique |
conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique
conventional short form: Mozambique local long form: Republica de Mocambique local short form: Mocambique former: Portuguese East Africa |
Currency | French franc (FRF); euro (EUR) | metical (MZM) |
Death rate | 6.39 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 25.13 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Debt - external | $180 million (1994) | $1 billion (2001 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Sharon P. WILKINSON
embassy: Avenida Kenneth Kuanda 193, Maputo mailing address: P. O. Box 783, Maputo telephone: [258] (1) 492797 FAX: [258] (1) 490448 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | none (overseas department of France) | chief of mission: Ambassador Armando PANGUENE
chancery: 1990 M Street NW, Suite 570, Washington, DC 20036 telephone: [1] (202) 293-7146 FAX: [1] (202) 835-0245 |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $NA; note - substantial annual aid from France | $632.8 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | The economy is based on sugarcane, bananas, tourism, and light industry. Agriculture accounts for about 6% of GDP and the small industrial sector for 11%. Sugar production has declined, with most of the sugarcane now used for the production of rum. Banana exports are increasing, going mostly to France. The bulk of meat, vegetable, and grain requirements must be imported, contributing to a chronic trade deficit that requires large annual transfers of aid from France. Tourism has become more important than agricultural exports as a source of foreign exchange. The majority of the work force is employed in the service sector and in administration. | At independence in 1975, Mozambique was one of the world's poorest countries. Socialist mismanagement and a brutal civil war from 1977-92 exacerbated the situation. In 1988, the government embarked on a series of dramatic macroeconomic reforms designed to stabilize the economy and reduce government participation. These steps combined with the political stability that has prevailed since the 1994 multi-party elections have led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth rate fueled by foreign and domestic investments and donor assistance. Inflation was brought to single digits during the same period, although it has returned to double digits in 2000 and 2001. Foreign exchange rates have remained relatively stable. Fiscal reforms, including the introduction of a value-added tax and reform of the customs service, have improved the government's revenue collection abilities. In spite of these gains, Mozambique remains dependent upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and the majority of the population remains below the poverty line. Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the country's workforce. A substantial trade imbalance persists, although it has diminished with the opening of the MOZAL aluminum smelter, the country's largest foreign investment project. Additional investment projects in titanium extraction/processing and garment manufacturing should further close the import/export gap. Mozambique's once substantial foreign debt has been reduced through forgiveness and rescheduling under the IMF's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC initiatives, and is now at a manageable level. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.023 billion kWh (1999) | 925.81 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (1999) | 5.7 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (1999) | 100 million kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production | 1.1 billion kWh (1999) | 7.017 billion kWh (2000) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel:
100% hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
fossil fuel: 4%
hydro: 96% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point:
Caribbean Sea 0 m highest point: Montagne Pelee 1,397 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | a long civil war and recurrent drought in the hinterlands have resulted in increased migration of the population to urban and coastal areas with adverse environmental consequences; desertification; pollution of surface and coastal waters; elephant poaching for ivory is a problem |
Environment - international agreements | - | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | African and African-white-Indian mixture 90%, white 5%, East Indian, Chinese less than 5% | indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 1.0659 (January 2001), 1.0854 (2000), 0.9386 (1999); French francs per US dollar - 5.8995 (1998), 5.8367 (1997), 5.1155 (1996) | meticais per US dollar - 23,314.2 (January 2002), 20,703.6 (2001), 15,447.1 (2000), 13,028.6 (1999), 12,110.2 (1998), 11,772.6 (1997)
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; meticais is the plural form of metical |
Executive branch | chief of state:
President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995); Prefect Jean-Francois CORDET (since NA) head of government: President of the General Council Claude LISE (since 22 March 1992); President of the Regional Council Alfred MARIE-JEANNE (since NA March 1998) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a seven-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
chief of state: President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986); note - before being popularly elected, CHISSANO was elected president by Frelimo's Central Committee on 4 November 1986 (reelected by the Committee 30 July 1989)
head of government: Prime Minister Pascoal MOCUMBI (since 17 December 1994) cabinet: Cabinet elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 3-5 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004); prime minister appointed by the president election results: Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO reelected president; percent of vote - Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO 52.29%, Afonso DHLAKAMA 47.71% |
Exports | $250 million (f.o.b., 1997) | $746 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
Exports - commodities | refined petroleum products, bananas, rum, pineapples | prawns 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity (2000) |
Exports - partners | France 45%, Guadeloupe 28% (1997) | South Africa 12.7%, Zimbabwe 12.2%, Spain 10.6%, Portugal 10.0% (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | a light blue background is divided into four quadrants by a white cross; in the center of each rectangle is a white snake; the flag of France is used for official occasions | 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 |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $4.39 billion (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $17.5 billion (2001 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture:
6% industry: 11% services: 83% (1997 est.) |
agriculture: 33%
industry: 25% services: 42% (2000 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $11,000 (1997 est.) | purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA% | 9.2% (2001 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 14 40 N, 61 00 W | 18 15 S, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | - | the Zambezi flows through the north-central and most fertile part of the country |
Highways | total:
2,105 km (2000) paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total: 30,400 km
paved: 5,685 km unpaved: 24,715 km (1996) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%:
NA% highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 32% (1996-97) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine and marijuana bound for the US and Europe | Southern African transit point for South Asian hashish, South Asian heroin, and South American cocaine probably destined for the European and South African markets; producer of cannabis (for local consumption) and methaqualone (for export to South Africa); corruption and poor regulatory capability makes the banking system vulnerable to money laundering, but the lack of a well-developed financial infrastructure limits the country's utility as a money-laundering center |
Imports | $2 billion (c.i.f., 1997) | $1.254 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) |
Imports - commodities | petroleum products, crude oil, foodstuffs, construction materials, vehicles, clothing and other consumer goods | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs, textiles (2000) |
Imports - partners | France 62%, Venezuela 6%, Germany 4%, Italy 4%, US 3% (1997) | South Africa 33.5%, Portugal 4.8%, US 4.2%, Australia 3.8% (2000) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 25 June 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.4% (2000) |
Industries | construction, rum, cement, oil refining, sugar, tourism | food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | 7.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) | 138.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 3.9% (1990) | 10% (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | FZ, WCL, WFTU | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, IHO, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO (correspondent), ITU, MONUC, NAM, OAU, OIC, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNTAET, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 2 (2000) | 11 (2002) |
Irrigated land | 40 sq km (1993 est.) | 1,070 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeal or Cour d'Appel | 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 the creation of a separate Constitutional Court, one has never been established; in its absence the Supreme Court reviews constitutional cases |
Labor force | 170,000 (1997) | 7.4 million (1997 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 10%, industry 17%, services 73% (1997) | agriculture 81%, industry 6%, services 13% (1997 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 km | 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 |
Land use | arable land:
8% permanent crops: 8% permanent pastures: 17% forests and woodland: 44% other: 23% (1993 est.) |
arable land: 3.98%
permanent crops: 0.29% other: 95.73% (1998 est.) |
Languages | French, Creole patois | Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects |
Legal system | French legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council or Conseil General (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Assembly or Conseil Regional (41 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held NA March 2000 (next to be held NA 2006); Regional Assembly - last held on 15 March 1998 (next to be held by March 2004) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NA; note - the PPM won a plurality; Regional Assembly - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR-UDF 14, MIM 13, PPM 7, left parties 4, PMS 3 note: Martinique elects 2 seats to the French Senate; elections last held NA September 1998 (next to be held September 2001); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - PPM 2; Martinique also elects 4 seats to the French National Assembly; elections last held 1 June 1997 (next to be held NA 2002); results - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - RPR 2, PS 1, independent 1 |
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 3-5 December 1999 (next to be held NA 2004) election results: percent of vote by party - Frelimo 48.54%, Renamo-UE 38.81%; seats by party - Frelimo 133, Renamo-UE 117 note: Renamo-UE ran as a multiparty coalition; none of the other opposition parties received the 5% required to win parliamentary seats; in September 2000, Renamo-UE member Raul DOMINGOS was expelled from the party, he continues to hold his parliamentary seat as an independent |
Life expectancy at birth | total population:
78.41 years male: 79.11 years female: 77.69 years (2001 est.) |
total population: 35.46 years
male: 36.25 years female: 34.65 years (2002 est.) |
Literacy | definition:
age 15 and over can read and write total population: 93% male: 92% female: 93% (1982 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.3% male: 58.4% female: 27% (1998 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, north of Trinidad and Tobago | Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone:
200 NM territorial sea: 12 NM |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | none (2000 est.) | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 4,125 GRT/7,024 DWT
ships by type: cargo 3 note: includes some foreign-owned ships registered here as a flag of convenience: Belgium 2 (2002 est.) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | French forces (Army, Navy, Air Force), Gendarmerie | Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Special Forces, Militia |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $35.1 million (2000 est.) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 1% (2000 est.) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 4,711,318 (2002 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,720,583 (2002 est.) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 25 June (1975) |
Nationality | noun:
Martiniquais (singular and plural) adjective: Martiniquais |
noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican |
Natural hazards | hurricanes, flooding, and volcanic activity (an average of one major natural disaster every five years) | severe droughts; devastating cyclones and floods occur in central and southern provinces |
Natural resources | coastal scenery and beaches, cultivable land | coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite |
Net migration rate | -0.08 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) |
Pipelines | - | crude oil 306 km; petroleum products 289 km
note: not operating |
Political parties and leaders | Martinique Independence Movement or MIM [Alfred MARIE-JEANNE]; Martinique Progressive Party or PPM [Camille DARSIERES]; Martinique Socialist Party or PMS [Ernest WAN-AJOUHU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Michel CHARLONE]; Union for French Democracy or UDF (replaced by Martinique Forces of Progress) [Jean MAREN] | Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (Frente de Liberatacao de Mocambique) or Frelimo [Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO, president]; Mozambique National Resistance-Electoral Union (Resistencia Nacional Mocambicana-Uniao Eleitoral) or Renamo-UE [Afonso DHLAKAMA, president] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Association for the Protection of Martinique's Heritage (ecologist) [Garcin MALSA]; Caribbean Revolutionary Alliance or ARC; Central Union for Martinique Workers or CSTM [Marc PULVAR]; Frantz Fanon Circle; League of Workers and Peasants; Proletarian Action Group or GAP; Socialist Revolution Group or GRS [Philippe PIERRE-CHARLES] | Institute for Peace and Democracy (Instituto para Paz e Democracia) or IPADE [Raul DOMINGOS, president]; Etica [Abdul CARIMO Issa, chairman]; Movement for Peace and Citizenship (Movimento para Paz e Cidadania); Mozambican League of Human Rights (Liga Mocambicana dos Direitos Humanos) or LDH [Alice MABOTE, president]; Human Rights and Development (Direitos Humanos e Desenvolvimento) or DHD [Artemisia FRANCO, secretary general] |
Population | 418,454 (July 2001 est.) | 19,607,519
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 2002 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.93% (2001 est.) | 1.13% (2002 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Fort-de-France, La Trinite | Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba, Quelimane |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 0, FM 14, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 13, FM 17, shortwave 11 (2001) |
Radios | 82,000 (1997) | 730,000 (1997) |
Railways | 0 km | total: 3,131 km
narrow gauge: 2,988 km 1.067-m gauge; 143 km 0.762-m gauge (2001) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 95%, Hindu and pagan African 5% | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth:
1.02 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.8 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.71 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment:
domestic facilities are adequate domestic: NA international: microwave radio relay to Guadeloupe, Dominica, and Saint Lucia; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
general assessment: fair system but not available generally (telephone density is only 3.5 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: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 170,000 (1997) | 90,000 (December 2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 15,000 (1997) | 100,000 (June 2001 est) |
Television broadcast stations | 11 (plus nine repeaters) (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mountainous with indented coastline; dormant volcano | mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.8 children born/woman (2001 est.) | 4.71 children born/woman (2002 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 27.2% (1998) | 21% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | none | 3,750 km (navigable routes) |