Mozambique (2002) | Nicaragua (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), 1 city*; Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Maputo City*, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur*, Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas |
Age structure | 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.) |
0-14 years: 37.7% (male 984,719; female 949,282)
15-64 years: 59.2% (male 1,510,352; female 1,527,991) 65 years and over: 3% (male 68,332; female 87,841) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers; beef, poultry | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products |
Airports | 166 (2001) | 176 (2002) |
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 (2002) |
total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (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) |
total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2002) |
Area | total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km water: 17,500 sq km |
total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of California | slightly smaller than the state of New York |
Background | 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. | The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. |
Birth rate | 36.41 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 26.29 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $393.1 million
expenditures: $1.025 billion, including capital expenditures of $479.4 million (2001 est.) |
revenues: $726 million
expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
Capital | Maputo | Managua |
Climate | tropical to subtropical | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands |
Coastline | 2,470 km | 910 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1990 | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 |
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 |
conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
Currency | metical (MZM) | gold cordoba (NIO) |
Death rate | 25.13 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 4.69 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $1 billion (2001 est.) | $5.8 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 266-6010, 266-2298, 266-6013 FAX: [505] 266-9074 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | 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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Salvador STADTHAGEN (since 5 December 2003)
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
Disputes - international | none | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank region; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica |
Economic aid - recipient | $632.8 million (2001) | Substantial foreign support |
Economy - overview | 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. | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is one of the most unequal on the globe. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stability over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Nicaragua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should move up moderately in 2003 because of increased private investment and exports. |
Electricity - consumption | 925.81 million kWh (2000) | 2.388 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 5.7 billion kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (2000) | 17 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 7.017 billion kWh (2000) | 2.549 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 4%
hydro: 96% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 83.9%
hydro: 7.7% nuclear: 0% other: 8.4% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
Ethnic groups | indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08% | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% |
Exchange rates | 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 |
gold cordobas per US dollar - 14.25 (2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.68 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998) |
Executive branch | 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% |
chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
Exports | $746 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | prawns 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity (2000) | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, bananas, beef, sugar, gold |
Exports - partners | South Africa 12.7%, Zimbabwe 12.2%, Spain 10.6%, Portugal 10.0% (2000) | US 59.4%, El Salvador 7.5%, Honduras 4.8% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | 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 | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $17.5 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $11.16 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 33%
industry: 25% services: 42% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 30%
industry: 26% services: 44% (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,200 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 9.2% (2001 est.) | 1.1% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 S, 35 00 E | 13 00 N, 85 00 W |
Geography - note | the Zambezi flows through the north-central and most fertile part of the country | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua |
Highways | total: 30,400 km
paved: 5,685 km unpaved: 24,715 km (1996) |
total: 19,032 km
paved: 2,094 km unpaved: 16,938 km (2000) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3%
highest 10%: 32% (1996-97) |
lowest 10%: 0.7%
highest 10%: 48.8% (1998) |
Illicit drugs | 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 | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing |
Imports | $1.254 billion c.i.f. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs, textiles (2000) | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods |
Imports - partners | South Africa 33.5%, Portugal 4.8%, US 4.2%, Australia 3.8% (2000) | US 23.7%, Costa Rica 10.3%, Venezuela 10.1%, Guatemala 7.8%, Mexico 6.7%, El Salvador 6%, South Korea 4.6% (2002) |
Independence | 25 June 1975 (from Portugal) | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.4% (2000) | 4.4% (2000 est.) |
Industries | food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood |
Infant mortality rate | 138.55 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 31.39 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 35.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 27.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 10% (2001 est.) | 3.7% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | 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 | BCIE, CACM, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 11 (2002) | 3 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,070 sq km (1998 est.) | 880 sq km (1998 est.) |
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 the creation of a separate Constitutional Court, one has never been established; in its absence the Supreme Court reviews constitutional cases |
Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) |
Labor force | 7.4 million (1997 est.) | 1.7 million (1999) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 81%, industry 6%, services 13% (1997 est.) | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) |
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 |
total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 km |
Land use | arable land: 3.98%
permanent crops: 0.29% other: 95.73% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 20.24%
permanent crops: 2.38% other: 77.38% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Portuguese (official), indigenous dialects | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts |
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 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 |
unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 35.46 years
male: 36.25 years female: 34.65 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 69.68 years
male: 67.68 years female: 71.79 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 42.3% male: 58.4% female: 27% (1998 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 67.5% male: 67.2% female: 67.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 NM |
Merchant marine | 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.) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Army, Naval Command, Air and Air Defense Forces, Special Forces, Militia | Army, Navy, Air Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $35.1 million (2000 est.) | $26 million (FY98) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1% (2000 est.) | 1.2% (FY98) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 4,711,318 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 1,347,033 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 2,720,583 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 825,906 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | - | 18 years of age (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | - | males: 59,903 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 June (1975) | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) |
Nationality | noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican |
noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
Natural hazards | severe droughts; devastating cyclones and floods occur in central and southern provinces | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes |
Natural resources | coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | -1.27 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 306 km; petroleum products 289 km
note: not operating |
oil 54 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | 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] | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | 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] | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups |
Population | 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.) |
5,128,517 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2001 est.) | 50% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.13% (2002 est.) | 2.03% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba, Quelimane | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 17, shortwave 11 (2001) | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 730,000 (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 3,131 km
narrow gauge: 2,988 km 1.067-m gauge; 143 km 0.762-m gauge (2001) |
total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge (2002) |
Religions | indigenous beliefs 50%, Christian 30%, Muslim 20% | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant |
Sex ratio | 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.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 16 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | 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) |
general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 90,000 (December 2001) | 140,000 (1996) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 100,000 (June 2001 est) | 7,911 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes |
Total fertility rate | 4.71 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 21% (1997 est.) | 24% plus considerable underemployment (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 3,750 km (navigable routes) | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) |