Montserrat (2006) | Mozambique (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 3 parishes; Saint Anthony, Saint Georges, Saint Peter | 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: 23.3% (male 1,125/female 1,079)
15-64 years: 65.7% (male 2,957/female 3,245) 65 years and over: 10.9% (male 532/female 501) (2006 est.) |
0-14 years: 42.1% (male 3,634,173; female 3,725,396)
15-64 years: 55.3% (male 4,712,891; female 4,945,123) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 189,778; female 271,905) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cabbages, carrots, cucumbers, tomatoes, onions, peppers; livestock products | cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers; beef, poultry |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 165 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
under 914 m: 2 (2006) |
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: 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: 102 sq km
land: 102 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km water: 17,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | about 0.6 times the size of Washington, DC | slightly less than twice the size of California |
Background | English and Irish colonists from St. Kitts first settled on Montserrat in 1632; the first African slaves arrived three decades later. The British and French fought for possesion of the island for most of the 18th century, but it finally was confirmed as a British possession in 1783. The island's sugar plantation economy was converted to small farm landholdings in the mid 19th century. Much of this island was devastated and two-thirds of the population fled abroad because of the eruption of the Soufriere Hills Volcano that began on 18 July 1995. Montserrat has endured volcanic activity since, with the last eruption occurring in July 2003. | 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. Political stability and sound economic policies have encouraged recent foreign investment. |
Birth rate | 17.59 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 38.2 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $31.4 million
expenditures: $31.6 million; including capital expenditures of $8.4 million (1997 est.) |
revenues: $393.1 million
expenditures: $1.025 billion, including capital expenditures of $479.4 million (2001 est.) |
Capital | name: Plymouth
geographic coordinates: 16 44 N, 62 14 W time difference: UTC-4 (1 hour ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Plymouth was abandoned in 1997 due to volcanic activity; interim government buildings have been built at Brades Estate, in the Carr's Bay/Little Bay vicinity at the northwest end of Montserrat |
Maputo |
Climate | tropical; little daily or seasonal temperature variation | tropical to subtropical |
Coastline | 40 km | 2,470 km |
Constitution | effective 19 December 1989 | 30 November 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Montserrat |
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 | - | metical (MZM) |
Death rate | 7.1 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 30.04 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $8.9 million (1997) | $966 million (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas territory of the UK | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 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 territory of the UK) | 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 | Country Policy Plan (2001) is a three-year program for spending $122.8 million in British budgetary assistance (2002 est.) | $632.8 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | Severe volcanic activity, which began in July 1995, has put a damper on this small, open economy. A catastrophic eruption in June 1997 closed the airports and seaports, causing further economic and social dislocation. Two-thirds of the 12,000 inhabitants fled the island. Some began to return in 1998, but lack of housing limited the number. The agriculture sector continued to be affected by the lack of suitable land for farming and the destruction of crops. Prospects for the economy depend largely on developments in relation to the volcanic activity and on public sector construction activity. The UK has launched a three-year $122.8 million aid program to help reconstruct the economy. Half of the island is expected to remain uninhabitable for another decade. | 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 1987, the government embarked on a series of macroeconomic reforms designed to stabilize the economy. These steps, combined with donor assistance and with political stability since the multi-party elections in 1994, have led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth rate. Inflation was brought to single digits during the late 1990s although it returned to double digits in 2000-02. 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 the opening of the MOZAL aluminum smelter, the country's largest foreign investment project to date has increased export earnings. Additional investment projects in titanium extraction and 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 | 1.86 million kWh (2003) | 1.39 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 5.8 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 500 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2 million kWh (2003) | 7.193 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 2.9%
hydro: 97.1% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: lava dome in English's Crater (in the Soufriere Hills volcanic complex) estimated at over 930 m (2006) |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m |
Environment - current issues | land erosion occurs on slopes that have been cleared for cultivation | 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 | black, white | indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08% |
Exchange rates | East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2005), 2.7 (2004), 2.7 (2003), 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001)
note: fixed rate since 1976 |
meticais per US dollar - 23,678 (2002), 20,703.6 (2001), 15,447.1 (2000), 13,028.6 (1999), 12,110.2 (1998)
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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor Deborah BARNES-JONES (since 10 May 2004)
head of government: Chief Minister Lowell LEWIS (since 2 June 2006) cabinet: Executive Council consists of the governor, the chief minister, three other ministers, the attorney general, and the finance secretary elections: the monarch is hereditary; governor appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party usually becomes chief minister |
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 | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | electronic components, plastic bags, apparel; hot peppers, limes, live plants; cattle | aluminum, prawns, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity |
Exports - partners | US, Antigua and Barbuda (2004) | Belgium 24.3%, South Africa 9.1%, Germany 6.2% (2002) |
Fiscal year | 1 April - 31 March | calendar year |
Flag description | blue, with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant and the Montserratian coat of arms centered in the outer half of the flag; the coat of arms features a woman standing beside a yellow harp with her arm around a black cross | 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 - $19.52 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 5.4%
industry: 13.6% services: 81% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 22%
industry: 23% services: 55% (2001 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -1% (2002 est.) | 7.7% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 16 45 N, 62 12 W | 18 15 S, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | the island is entirely volcanic in origin and comprised of three major volcanic centers of differing ages | the Zambezi flows through the north-central and most fertile part of the country |
Highways | - | total: 30,400 km
paved: 5,685 km unpaved: 24,715 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1997) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for South American narcotics destined 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 | NA bbl/day | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transportation equipment, foodstuffs, manufactured goods, fuels, lubricants, and related materials | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, chemicals, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | US, UK, Trinidad and Tobago, Japan, Canada (2004) | South Africa 27.5%, France 8.9%, US 7%, Australia 6.9%, Japan 6%, Malaysia 4% (2002) |
Independence | none (overseas territory of the UK) | 25 June 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.4% (2000) |
Industries | tourism, rum, textiles, electronic appliances | food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), aluminum, petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.19 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 5.97 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
total: 199 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 216.85 deaths/1,000 live births female: 180.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.6% (2002 est.) | 15.2% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | Caricom, CDB, ICFTU, Interpol (subbureau), OECS, UPU | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), 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, UNMISET, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 11 (2002) |
Irrigated land | NA | 1,070 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court (based in Saint Lucia, one judge of the Supreme Court is a resident of the islands and presides over the High Court) | 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 | 4,521
note: lowered by flight of people from volcanic activity (2000 est.) |
9.2 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | 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: 20%
permanent crops: 0% other: 80% (2005) |
arable land: 3.98%
permanent crops: 0.29% other: 95.73% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English | Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects |
Legal system | English common law and statutory law | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral Legislative Council (11 seats, 9 popularly elected; members serve five-year terms)
note: expanded in 2001 from 7 to 9 elected members with attorney general and financial secretary sitting as ex-officio members elections: last held 31 May 2006 (next to be held by 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - MCAP 36.1%, NPLM 29.4%, MDP 24.4%, independents 10.1%; seats by party - MCAP 4, NPLM 3, MDP 1, independents 1 note: in 2001, the Elections Commission instituted a single constituency/voter-at-large system whereby all eligible voters cast ballots for all nine seats of the Legislative Council |
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: 78.85 years
male: 76.67 years female: 81.14 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 31.3 years
male: 30.98 years female: 31.63 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over has ever attended school
total population: 97% male: 97% female: 97% (1970 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 47.8% male: 63.5% female: 32.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Caribbean, island in the Caribbean Sea, southeast of Puerto Rico | South-eastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | total: 3 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 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 the UK | - |
Military branches | no regular military forces; Royal Montserrat Police Force (2005) | 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: 4,142,449 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,373,444 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Birthday of Queen ELIZABETH II, second Saturday in June (1926) | Independence Day, 25 June (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Montserratian(s)
adjective: Montserratian |
noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican |
Natural hazards | severe hurricanes (June to November); volcanic eruptions (Soufriere Hills volcano has erupted continuously since 1995) | severe droughts; devastating cyclones and floods occur in central and southern provinces |
Natural resources | NEGL | coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 189 km; refined products 292 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Montserrat Democratic Party or MDP [Lowell LEWIS]; Movement for Change and Prosperity or MCAP [Roselyn CASSELL-SEALY]; New People's Liberation Movement or NPLM [John A. OSBORNE] | 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 | NA | 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 | 9,439
note: an estimated 8,000 refugees left the island following the resumption of volcanic activity in July 1995; some have returned (July 2006 est.) |
17,479,266
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.05% (2006 est.) | 0.82% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba, Quelimane |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 2, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 13, FM 17, shortwave 11 (2001) |
Railways | - | total: 3,123 km
narrow gauge: 2,983 km 1.067-m gauge; 140 km 0.762-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | Anglican, Methodist, Roman Catholic, Pentecostal, Seventh-Day Adventist, other Christian denominations | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.91 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.06 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: modern and fully digitalized
domestic: NA international: country code - 1-664 |
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: satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | NA | 90,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 70 (1994) | 287,000 (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | volcanic island, mostly mountainous, with small coastal lowland | mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 1.77 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.87 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 6% (1998 est.) | 21% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | - | 3,750 km (navigable routes) |