Mozambique (2005) | Niue (2003) | |
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Administrative divisions | 10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), 1 city (cidade)*; Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Cidade de Maputo*, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia | none; note - there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 14 villages at the second order |
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.) |
0-14 years: NA%
15-64 years: NA% 65 years and over: NA% (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers; beef, poultry | coconuts, passion fruit, honey, limes, taro, yams, cassava (tapioca), sweet potatoes; pigs, poultry, beef cattle |
Airports | 158 (2004 est.) | 1 (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 (2004 est.) |
total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2002) |
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.) |
- |
Area | total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km water: 17,500 sq km |
total: 260 sq km
land: 260 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly less than twice the size of California | 1.5 times the size of Washington, DC |
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 Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) 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 between FRELIMO and rebel Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) forces ended the fighting in 1992. In December 2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transition as Joaquim CHISSANO stepped down after 18 years in office. His newly elected successor, Armando Emilio GUEBUZA, has promised to continue the sound economic policies that have encouraged foreign investment. | Niue's remoteness, as well as cultural and linguistic differences between its Polynesian inhabitants and those of the rest of the Cook Islands, have caused it to be separately administered. The population of the island continues to drop (from a peak of 5,200 in 1966 to about 2,100 in 2002), with substantial emigration to New Zealand, 2,400 km to the southwest. |
Birth rate | 35.79 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $1.186 billion
expenditures: $1.398 billion, including capital expenditures of $479.4 million (2004 est.) |
revenues: $NA
expenditures: $NA, including capital expenditures of $NA |
Capital | Maputo | Alofi |
Climate | tropical to subtropical | tropical; modified by southeast trade winds |
Coastline | 2,470 km | 64 km |
Constitution | 30 November 1990 | 19 October 1974 (Niue Constitution Act) |
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: none
conventional short form: Niue former: Savage Island |
Currency | - | New Zealand dollar (NZD) |
Death rate | 20.99 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $966 million (2002 est.) | $418,000 (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | - | self-governing in free association with New Zealand since 1974; Niue fully responsible for internal affairs; New Zealand retains responsibility for external affairs and defense; however, these responsibilities confer no rights of control and are only exercised at the request of the Government of Niue |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Helen LA LIME
embassy: Avenida Kenneth Kuanda 193, Maputo mailing address: P. O. Box 783, Maputo telephone: [258] (1) 492797 FAX: [258] (1) 490448 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
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 |
none (self-governing territory in free association with New Zealand) |
Disputes - international | none | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $632.8 million (2001) | $2.6 million from New Zealand (2002) |
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 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 reduced to single digits during the late 1990s although it returned to double digits in 2000-03. 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. | The economy suffers from the typical Pacific island problems of geographic isolation, few resources, and a small population. Government expenditures regularly exceed revenues, and the shortfall is made up by critically needed grants from New Zealand that are used to pay wages to public employees. Niue has cut government expenditures by reducing the public service by almost half. The agricultural sector consists mainly of subsistence gardening, although some cash crops are grown for export. Industry consists primarily of small factories to process passion fruit, lime oil, honey, and coconut cream. The sale of postage stamps to foreign collectors is an important source of revenue. The island in recent years has suffered a serious loss of population because of migration of Niueans to New Zealand. Efforts to increase GDP include the promotion of tourism and a financial services industry, although Premier LAKATANI announced in February 2002 that Niue will shut down the offshore banking industry. Economic aid from New Zealand in 2002 was about $2.6 million. |
Electricity - consumption | 5.046 billion kWh (2002) | 2.79 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 7.1 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 3.907 billion kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 8.859 billion kWh (2002) | 3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Monte Binga 2,436 m |
lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: unnamed location near Mutalau settlement 68 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 | increasing attention to conservationist practices to counter loss of soil fertility from traditional slash and burn agriculture |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, 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
signed, but not ratified: Law of the Sea |
Ethnic groups | indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08% | Polynesian (with some 200 Europeans, Samoans, and Tongans) |
Exchange rates | meticais per US dollar - 22,581 (2004), 23,782 (2003), 23,678 (2002), 20,704 (2001), 15,227 (2000)
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 |
New Zealand dollars per US dollar - 2.162 (2002), 2.3776 (2001), 2.1863 (2000), 1.8886 (1999), 1.8629 (1998) |
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% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); the UK and New Zealand are represented by New Zealand High Commissioner John BRYAN (since NA May 2000)
head of government: Premier Young VIVIAN (since 1 May 2002) cabinet: Cabinet consists of the premier and three ministers elections: the monarch is hereditary; premier elected by the Legislative Assembly for a three-year term; election last held 1 May 2002 (next to be held NA May 2005) election results: Young VIVIAN elected premier; percent of Legislative Assembly vote - Young VIVIAN (NPP) 70%, Hunukitama HUNUKI (AI) 30% |
Exports | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | aluminum, prawns, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity | canned coconut cream, copra, honey, vanilla, passion fruit products, pawpaws, root crops, limes, footballs, stamps, handicrafts |
Exports - partners | Netherlands 60.9%, South Africa 12.9%, Malawi 3.3% (2004) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Cook Islands, Australia (2000) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 April - 31 March |
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 | yellow with the flag of the UK in the upper hoist-side quadrant; the flag of the UK bears five yellow five-pointed stars - a large one on a blue disk in the center and a smaller one on each arm of the bold red cross |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $7.6 million (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 21.1%
industry: 32.1% services: 46.9% (2004 est.) |
agriculture: NA%
industry: NA% services: 55% |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) | purchasing power parity - $3,600 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 8.2% (2004 est.) | -0.3% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 18 15 S, 35 00 E | 19 02 S, 169 52 W |
Geography - note | the Zambezi flows through the north-central and most fertile part of the country | one of world's largest coral islands |
Highways | total: 30,400 km
paved: 5,685 km unpaved: 24,715 km (1999 est.) |
total: 234 km
paved: 86 km unpaved: 148 km (2001) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1997) |
lowest 10%: NA%
highest 10%: NA% |
Illicit drugs | Southern African transit point for South Asian hashish and 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 | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, chemicals, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles | food, live animals, manufactured goods, machinery, fuels, lubricants, chemicals, drugs |
Imports - partners | South Africa 41.4%, Netherlands 11%, Portugal 3.3% (2004) | NZ mainly, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Australia, US (2000) |
Independence | 25 June 1975 (from Portugal) | on 19 October 1974, Niue became a self-governing parliamentary government in free association with New Zealand |
Industrial production growth rate | 3.4% (2000) | NA% |
Industries | food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), aluminum, petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco | tourism, handicrafts, food processing |
Infant mortality rate | total: 130.79 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 135.91 deaths/1,000 live births female: 125.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
total: NA%
male: NA% female: NA% |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 12.8% (2004 est.) | 1% (1995) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, C, 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, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, ONUB, OPCW, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UNMISET, UPU, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTO | ACP, ESCAP (associate), FAO, Sparteca, SPC, SPF, UNESCO, WHO, WMO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 1 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,070 sq km (1998 est.) | NA sq km |
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 |
Supreme Court of New Zealand; High Court of Niue |
Labor force | 9.2 million (2000 est.) | NA |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture 81%, industry 6%, services 13% (1997 est.) | most work on family plantations; paid work exists only in government service, small industry, and the Niue Development Board |
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 |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 5.1%
permanent crops: 0.3% other: 94.6% (2001) |
arable land: 19.23%
permanent crops: 7.69% other: 73.08% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Emakhuwa 26.1%, Xichangana 11.3%, Portuguese 8.8% (official; spoken by 27% of population as a second language), Elomwe 7.6%, Cisena 6.8%, Echuwabo 5.8%, other Mozambican languages 32%, other foreign languages 0.3%, unspecified 1.3% (1997 census) | Niuean, a Polynesian language closely related to Tongan and Samoan; English |
Legal system | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law | English common law
note: Niue is self-governing, with the power to make its own laws |
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 |
unicameral Legislative Assembly (20 seats; members elected by popular vote to serve three-year terms; six elected from a common roll and 14 are village representatives)
elections: last held 21 March 2002 (next to be held in March 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NPP 9, independents 11; note - all 20 seats were reelected |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 40.32 years
male: 39.9 years female: 40.75 years (2005 est.) |
total population: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 47.8% male: 63.5% female: 32.7% (2003 est.) |
definition: NA
total population: 95% male: NA% female: NA% |
Location | South-eastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania | Oceania, island in the South Pacific Ocean, east of Tonga |
Map references | Africa | Oceania |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
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) |
none (2002 est.) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of New Zealand |
Military branches | Mozambique Armed Defense Forces: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Logistics Command | no regular indigenous military forces; Police Force |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $117.3 million (2004) | - |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.2% (2004) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 25 June (1975) | Waitangi Day (Treaty of Waitangi established British sovereignty over New Zealand), 6 February (1840) |
Nationality | noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican |
noun: Niuean(s)
adjective: Niuean |
Natural hazards | severe droughts; devastating cyclones and floods in central and southern provinces | typhoons |
Natural resources | coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite | fish, arable land |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) | NA migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | gas 649 km; refined products 292 km (2004) | - |
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] | Niue People's Action Party or NPP [Young VIVIAN]; Alliance of Independents or AI [leader NA] |
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] | NA |
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.) |
2,145 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 70% (2001 est.) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 1.48% (2005 est.) | 0.01% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Beira, Maputo, Nacala | none; offshore anchorage only |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 13, FM 17, shortwave 11 (2001) | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 3,123 km
narrow gauge: 2,983 km 1.067-m gauge; 140 km 0.762-m gauge (2004) |
0 km |
Religions | Catholic 23.8%, Zionist Christian 17.5%, Muslim 17.8%, other 17.8%, none 23.1% (1997 census) | Ekalesia Niue (Niuean Church - a Protestant church closely related to the London Missionary Society) 75%, Latter-Day Saints 10%, other 15% (mostly Roman Catholic, Jehovah's Witnesses, Seventh-Day Adventist) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.94 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
NA (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
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) |
domestic: single-line telephone system connects all villages on island
international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 83,700 (2002) | 376 (1991) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 428,900 (2003) | 0 (1991) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (2001) | 1 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west | steep limestone cliffs along coast, central plateau |
Total fertility rate | 4.7 children born/woman (2005 est.) | NA children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 21% (1997 est.) | NA% |
Waterways | 460 km (Zambezi River navigable to Tete and along Cahora Bassa Lake) (2004) | none |