Mozambique

Table of Contents

Introduction & Quick Facts
Land
- Relief
- Drainage
- Soils
- Climate
- Plant and animal life
People
- Ethnic groups
- Languages
- Religion
- Settlement patterns
- Demographic trends
Economy
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing
- Resources and power
- Manufacturing
- Finance
- Trade
- Services
- Labor and taxation
- Transportation and telecommunications
Government and society
- Constitutional framework
- Local government and justice
- Political process
- Security
- Health and welfare
- Housing
- Education
Cultural life
- Daily life and social customs
- The arts
- Cultural institutions
- Sports and recreation
- Media and publishing
History
- Precolonial period
  - Early settlement
  - The rise of the zimbabwe civilizations
  - Arrival of the Portuguese
  - Effects of the slave trade
- Colonial Mozambique
  - Consolidation of Portuguese control
  - Mozambique under the New State regime
- Independence
  - Mozambique as a one-party state
  - Peace in Mozambique
  - The 2014 elections
  - Relationship between the government and Renamo
  - Economic developments
  - The 2019 cyclones
  - The 2019 elections
  - Insurgency in the north
  - The 2024 elections

References & Edit History Facts & Stats

Images, Videos & Interactives

Island of Mozambique

Maputo, Mozambique

Physical features of Mozambique

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

Mozambique spitting cobra

For Students

Mozambique summary

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Mozambique: Facts & Stats

Written and fact-checked by The Information Architects of Encyclopaedia Britannica

News •

Mozambique’s Venâncio Mondlane to Leave Podemos Party • Feb. 5, 2025, 3:39 AM ET (Bloomberg)

TotalEnergies CEO Sees US Funding of Mozambique LNG in Weeks • Feb. 5, 2025, 3:39 AM ET (Bloomberg)

ERG Mulls Selling Mozambican Assets, Reviewing Congo Permits • Feb. 4, 2025, 1:18 AM ET (Bloomberg)

Mozambique urges refugees in Malawi to return home • Feb. 1, 2025, 1:18 AM ET (Voice of America English News)

Mozambique president discussed LNG, hydro projects with TotalEnergies' CEO • Jan. 28, 2025, 9:41 PM ET (Reuters)

Facts

Also Known As	Republic of Mozambique • República de Moçambique
Head Of State And Government	President: Daniel Chapo
Capital	Maputo
Population	(2025 est.) 34,091,000
Form Of Government	multiparty republic with a single legislative house (Assembly of the Republic [250])
Official Language	Portuguese
Official Religion	none
Official Name	República de Moçambique (Republic of Mozambique)
Total Area (Sq Km)	799,380
Total Area (Sq Mi)	308,641
Monetary Unit	(new) metical (MTn; plural meticais)¹
Population Rank	(2023) 47
Population Projection 2030	38,381,000
Density: Persons Per Sq Mi	(2025) 110.5
Density: Persons Per Sq Km	(2025) 42.6
Urban-Rural Population	Urban: (2023) 34.7% • Rural: (2023) 65.3%
Life Expectancy At Birth	Male: (2022) 52.9 years • Female: (2022) 58.7 years
Literacy: Percentage Of Population Age 15 And Over Literate	Male: (2021) 74% • Female: (2021) 54%
Gni (U.S.$ ’000,000)	(2023) 17,880
Gni Per Capita (U.S.$)	(2023) 530
¹The (new) metical (MTn) replaced the (old) metical (MT) on July 1, 2006, at a rate 1 MTn = MT 1,000.

Photos and Videos

Island of Mozambique

Maputo, Mozambique

Physical features of Mozambique

Great Limpopo Transfrontier Park

Mozambique spitting cobra

Maputo, Mozambique, port and railway complex

How rats help remove land mines in Mozambique

National anthem of Mozambique

See All Videos, Images, Audio and Interactives →

Topics

Samora Machel Luís Bernardo Honwana Marvin Harris Jorge Rebelo Joaquim Chissano Africa Southern Africa member states of the Commonwealth Commonwealth Renamo United States India United Kingdom China Canada Russia Germany Australia Japan France

Machel, Samora

Samora Machel

president of Mozambique

Luís Bernardo Honwana

Mozambican author

Marvin Harris

American anthropologist

Jorge Rebelo

Mozambican poet, lawyer, and journalist

P. W. Botha

state president of South Africa

A map of the continent of Africa, including its countries, boundaries, and capital cities. It also shows parts of Europe and Asia and surrounding bodies of water, including the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean.

Africa

continent

Namib desert

Southern Africa

region, Africa

Sofala, Mozambique

Sofala

Mozambique

Maputo

Maputo

national capital, Mozambique

Beira, Mozambique

Beira

Mozambique

Quelimane: cathedral

Quelimane

Mozambique

Tete

Mozambique

Sena

Mozambique

Moçambique

Moçambique

Mozambique

Inhambane

Mozambique

Quionga

Mozambique

Xai-Xai

Xai-Xai

Mozambique

Chimoio

Mozambique

Chinde

Mozambique

Island of Mozambique

Island of Mozambique

island, Mozambique

Quiz

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Geography Fun Facts

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Africa’s Physical Features

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The Country Quiz

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