Keep Up With Global Black News

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox.

BY Sandra Appiah, 12:00am March 03, 2011,

MOZAMBIQUE

by Sandra Appiah, 12:00am March 03, 2011,

Mozambique, on the east coast of southern Africa, is mainly a savanna plateau drained by the mighty Limpopo and Zambezi Rivers, with highlands to the north. It has a tropical climate that can produce heavy flooding along the rivers. In 2001 flooding along the Zambezi River valley forced 70,000 people to flee their homes, and the World Bank estimated that a total of 491,000 were displaced by floods throughout the country. Most people live along the coasts or in the river valleys.
Infusions of aid are essential to a country devastated by decades of war, drought, and floods. After nearly five centuries of Portuguese presence, Mozambique won independence in 1975. An exodus of skilled Portuguese workers followed, and the country became a one-party state allied to the Soviet bloc. Mozambique was drawn into a long struggle against white rule in Rhodesia and South Africa. In 1989 the government renounced Marxism, and a democratic constitution was written in 1990. Fighting between the government and right-wing guerrillas, which claimed a hundred thousand lives and displaced more than four million, ended in 1992. In 1994 multiparty elections ushered in a new government, which has focused on diversifying the country’s economy away from small-scale agriculture. Production of food and manufactured goods is steadily increasing, and a large-scale aluminum smelter started in 2000. Solid economic success bodes well for the future.
MOZAMBIQUE

Fast Facts
Population:
19,420,000
Capital:
Maputo; 1,221,000
Area:
799,380 square kilometers (308,642 square miles)
Language:
Portuguese, indigenous dialects
Religion:
Indigenous beliefs, Christian, Muslim
Currency:
Metical
Life Expectancy:
34
GDP per Capita:
U.S. $1,100
Literacy Percent:
48

ECONOMY
  • Industry: Food, beverages, chemicals, aluminum, petroleum products, textiles
  • Agriculture: Cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea; beef
  • Exports: Aluminum, prawns, cashews, cotton sugar
Source: The National Geographic

              CIA- The World Factbook 

Last Edited by: Updated: February 25, 2014

Conversations

Must Read

Connect with us

Join our Mailing List to Receive Updates

Face2face Africa | Afrobeatz+ | BlackStars

Keep Up With Global Black News and Events

Sign up to our newsletter to get the latest updates and events from the leading Afro-Diaspora publisher straight to your inbox, plus our curated weekly brief with top stories across our platforms.

No, Thank You