Reunion (2006) | Mozambique (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons | 10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), 1 city (cidade)*; Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Cidade de Maputo*, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Agriculture - products | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn | cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers; beef, poultry |
Airports | 2 (2006) | 158 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (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 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | - | total: 136
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 14 914 to 1,523 m: 34 under 914 m: 87 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km water: 17,500 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Rhode Island | slightly less than twice the size of California |
Background | The Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. | 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. |
Birth rate | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 35.79 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
revenues: $1.186 billion
expenditures: $1.398 billion, including capital expenditures of $479.4 million (2004 est.) |
Capital | name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Maputo |
Climate | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) | tropical to subtropical |
Coastline | 207 km | 2,470 km |
Constitution | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) | 30 November 1990 |
Country name | conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
conventional long form: Republic of Mozambique
conventional short form: Mozambique local long form: Republica de Mocambique local short form: Mocambique former: Portuguese East Africa |
Death rate | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 20.99 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $NA | $966 million (2002 est.) |
Dependency status | overseas department of France | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (overseas department of France) | 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 |
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 subsidies from France (2001 est.) | $632.8 million (2001) |
Economy - overview | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. | 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. |
Electricity - consumption | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) | 5.046 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2003) | 7.1 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2003) | 3.907 billion kWh (2002) |
Electricity - production | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) | 8.859 billion kWh (2002) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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, 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 |
Ethnic groups | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian | indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08% |
Exchange rates | euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) | 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 |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
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% |
Exports | NA bbl/day | NA |
Exports - commodities | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% | aluminum, prawns, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity |
Exports - partners | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) | Netherlands 60.9%, South Africa 12.9%, Malawi 3.3% (2004) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
Flag description | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France | 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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
agriculture: 21.1%
industry: 32.1% services: 46.9% (2004 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2005 est.) | 8.2% (2004 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 21 06 S, 55 36 E | 18 15 S, 35 00 E |
Geography - note | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean | 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 | - | 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 bbl/day | NA |
Imports - commodities | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products | machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, chemicals, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles |
Imports - partners | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) | South Africa 41.4%, Netherlands 11%, Portugal 3.3% (2004) |
Independence | none (overseas department of France) | 25 June 1975 (from Portugal) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA% | 3.4% (2000) |
Industries | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction | food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), aluminum, petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco |
Infant mortality rate | total: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | NA% | 12.8% (2004 est.) |
International organization participation | InOC, UPU, WFTU | 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 |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 1,070 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Court of Appeals 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 a separate Constitutional Court, one has never been established; in its absence the Supreme Court reviews constitutional cases |
Labor force | 299,000 (2002) | 9.2 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
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: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
arable land: 5.1%
permanent crops: 0.3% other: 94.6% (2001) |
Languages | French (official), Creole widely used | 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) |
Legal system | French law | based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law |
Legislative branch | unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, 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 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 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 est.) |
total population: 40.32 years
male: 39.9 years female: 40.75 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 47.8% male: 63.5% female: 32.7% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar | South-eastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania |
Map references | World | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) | total: 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,125 GRT/7,024 DWT
by type: cargo 2 foreign-owned: 2 (Belgium 2) (2005) |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of France | - |
Military branches | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) | Mozambique Armed Defense Forces: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Logistics Command |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $117.3 million (2004) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 2.2% (2004) |
National holiday | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) | Independence Day, 25 June (1975) |
Nationality | noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican |
Natural hazards | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano | severe droughts; devastating cyclones and floods in central and southern provinces |
Natural resources | fish, arable land, hydropower | coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | - | gas 649 km; refined products 292 km (2004) |
Political parties and leaders | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP | 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] |
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 | 787,584 (July 2006 est.) | 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.) |
Population below poverty line | NA% | 70% (2001 est.) |
Population growth rate | 1.34% (2006 est.) | 1.48% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Beira, Maputo, Nacala |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) | 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 (2004) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) | Catholic 23.8%, Zionist Christian 17.5%, Muslim 17.8%, other 17.8%, none 23.1% (1997 census) |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 est.) |
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.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
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) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 300,000 (2001) | 83,700 (2002) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 579,200 (2004) | 428,900 (2003) |
Television broadcast stations | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) | 1 (2001) |
Terrain | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast | mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west |
Total fertility rate | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) | 4.7 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 31% (2002) | 21% (1997 est.) |
Waterways | - | 460 km (Zambezi River navigable to Tete and along Cahora Bassa Lake) (2004) |