]! ^! 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. 
]" ^" South-eastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania ^# 18 15 S, 35 00 E ^$ Africa ^% `! 801,590 sq km `" 784,090 sq km `# 17,500 sq km ^& slightly less than twice the size of California ^' `! 4,571 km `U Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km, Swaziland 105 km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km ^( 2,470 km ^) `$ 12 nm `I 200 nm ^* tropical to subtropical ^+ mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west ^, `% Indian Ocean 0 m `& Monte Binga 2,436 m ^- coal, titanium, natural gas, hydropower, tantalum, graphite ^. `' 5.1% `( 0.3% `) 94.6% (2001) ^/ 1,070 sq km (1998 est.) ^0 severe droughts; devastating cyclones and floods in central and southern provinces ^1 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 _J `K Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection `L none of the selected agreements ^2 the Zambezi flows through the north-central and most fertile part of the country 
]# ^3 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.) ^4 `* 43.1% (male 4,206,654/female 4,157,898) `+ 54.1% (male 5,088,250/female 5,416,573) `, 2.8% (male 224,682/female 312,646) (2005 est.) ^5 `! 18.29 years `- 17.74 years `. 18.83 years (2005 est.) ^6 1.48% (2005 est.) ^7 35.79 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^8 20.99 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^9 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) ^: `/ 1.03 male(s)/female `0 1.01 male(s)/female `+ 0.94 male(s)/female `, 0.72 male(s)/female `1 0.96 male(s)/female (2005 est.) ^; `! 130.79 deaths/1,000 live births `- 135.91 deaths/1,000 live births `. 125.51 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) ^< `1 40.32 years `- 39.9 years `. 40.75 years (2005 est.) ^= 4.7 children born/woman (2005 est.) ^> 12.2% (2003 est.) ^? 1.3 million (2003 est.) ^@ 110,000 (2003 est.) __ degree of risk: very high food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and plague are high risks in some locations water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2004) ^A `2 Mozambican(s) `3 Mozambican ^B indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08% ^C Catholic 23.8%, Zionist Christian 17.5%, Muslim 17.8%, other 17.8%, none 23.1% (1997 census) ^D 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) ^E `M age 15 and over can read and write `1 47.8% `- 63.5% `. 32.7% (2003 est.) 
]$ ^F `4 Republic of Mozambique `5 Mozambique `V Republica de Mocambique `W Mocambique `X Portuguese East Africa ^H republic ^I Maputo ^J 10 provinces (provincias, singular - provincia), 1 city (cidade)*; Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Cidade de Maputo*, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia ^K 25 June 1975 (from Portugal) ^L Independence Day, 25 June (1975) ^M 30 November 1990 ^N based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law ^O 18 years of age; universal ^P `6 President Armando GUEBUZA (since 2 February 2005) `7 Prime Minister Luisa DIOGO (since 17 February 2004) `8 Cabinet `9 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 `: Armando GUEBUZA elected president; percent of vote - Armando GUEBUZA 63.7%, Afonso DHLAKAMA 31.7% ^Q 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) `9 last held 1-2 December 2004 (next to be held December 2009) `: percent of vote by party - Frelimo 62%, Renamo 29.7%; seats by party - Frelimo 160, Renamo 90 ^R 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 ^S 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] ^T 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] ^U 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 ^V `N Ambassador Armando PANGUENE `O 1990 M Street NW, Suite 570, Washington, DC 20036 `P [1] (202) 293-7146 `Q [1] (202) 835-0245 ^W `N Ambassador Helen LA LIME `Z Avenida Kenneth Kuanda 193, Maputo `[ P. O. Box 783, Maputo `P [258] (1) 492797 `Q [258] (1) 490448 ^X 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 
]% ^Y 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. ^Z $23.38 billion (2004 est.) ^[ 8.2% (2004 est.) ^\ purchasing power parity - $1,200 (2004 est.) ^] `; 21.1% `< 32.1% `= 46.9% (2004 est.) ^^ 9.2 million (2000 est.) ^_ agriculture 81%, industry 6%, services 13% (1997 est.) ^` 21% (1997 est.) ^a 70% (2001 est.) _! `> 2.5% `? 31.7% (1997) _d 39.6 (1996-97) _" 12.8% (2004 est.) _P 47% of GDP (2004 est.) _# `@ $1.186 billion `A $1.398 billion, including capital expenditures of $479.4 million (2004 est.) _$ cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers; beef, poultry _% food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), aluminum, petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco _& 3.4% (2000) _' 8.859 billion kWh (2002) _( 5.046 billion kWh (2002) _) 7.1 billion kWh (2002) _* 3.907 billion kWh (2002) _+ 0 bbl/day (2001 est.) _, 8,500 bbl/day (2001 est.) _- NA _. NA _R 0 bbl (1 January 2002) _S 60 million cu m (2001 est.) _T 60 million cu m (2001 est.) _U 0 cu m (2001 est.) _V 0 cu m (2001 est.) _W 63.71 billion cu m (1 January 2002) _X $-101.2 million (2004 est.) _/ $689.4 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _0 aluminum, prawns, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity _1 Netherlands 60.9%, South Africa 12.9%, Malawi 3.3% (2004) _2 $972.9 million f.o.b. (2004 est.) _3 machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, chemicals, metal products, foodstuffs, textiles _4 South Africa 41.4%, Netherlands 11%, Portugal 3.3% (2004) _Y $1.206 billion (2004 est.) _5 $966 million (2002 est.) _6 $632.8 million (2001) _7 metical (MZM) _8 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 _9 calendar year 
]& _: 83,700 (2002) _; 428,900 (2003) _< `B fair system but not available generally (telephone density is only 16 telephones for each 1,000 persons) `C the system consists of open-wire lines and trunk connection by microwave radio relay and tropospheric scatter `D country code - 258; satellite earth stations - 5 Intelsat (2 Atlantic Ocean and 3 Indian Ocean) _= AM 13, FM 17, shortwave 11 (2001) _> 1 (2001) _? .mz _@ 3,249 (2003) _A 50,000 (2002) 
]' _e `! 3,123 km `c 2,983 km 1.067-m gauge; 140 km 0.762-m gauge (2004) _B `! 30,400 km `E 5,685 km `F 24,715 km (1999 est.) _b 460 km (Zambezi River navigable to Tete and along Cahora Bassa Lake) (2004) _[ gas 649 km; refined products 292 km (2004) _C Beira, Maputo, Nacala _K `! 2 ships (1,000 GRT or over) 4,125 GRT/7,024 DWT by type: cargo 2 `S 2 (Belgium 2) (2005) _D 158 (2004 est.) _E `! 22 `] 1 `G 3 `^ 10 `_ 3 `T 5 (2004 est.) _L `! 136 `G 1 `^ 14 `_ 34 `T 87 (2004 est.) 
]( _F Mozambique Armed Defense Forces: Army, Navy, Air and Air Defense Forces, Logistics Command _] males age 18-49: 3,793,373 (2005 est.) Manpower fit for military service: males age 18-49: 1,751,223 (2005 est.) _N $117.3 million (2004) _O 2.2% (2004) 
]) _H none _I 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 