Economic 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, and although it returned to double digits in 2000-06, in 2007 inflation had slowed to 8%, while gdp growth reached 7.5%. 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 work force. 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. at the end of 2007, and after years of negotiations, the government took over portugal's majority share of the cahora bassa hydroelectricity (hcb) company, a dam that was not transferred to mozambique at independence because of the ensuing civil war and unpaid debts. more power is needed for additional investment projects in titanium extraction and processing and garment manufacturing that could 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. in july 2007 the millennium challenge corporation (mcc) signed a compact with mozambique; the mozambican government moved rapidly to ratify the compact and propose a plan for funding.
Environmental 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
Government Type
Republic
Population
21,284,700
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, higher death rates, lower population 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 2008 est.)
Location
Southeastern africa, bordering the mozambique channel, between south africa and tanzania
Area
Total: 801,590 sq km
land: 784,090 sq km
water: 17,500 sq km
Slightly less than twice the size of california
Country Aliases
Conventional long form: republic of mozambique
conventional short form: mozambique
local long form: republica de mocambique
local short form: mocambique
former: portuguese east africa
Capital
Name: maputo
geographic coordinates: 25 57 s, 32 35 e
time difference: utc+2 (7 hours ahead of washington, dc during standard time)
Military Service
18-30 years of age for compulsory military service; 2-year service obligation (2006)
International Disputes
None
Sources: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
