MOZAMBIQUE GEOGRAPHY Total area: 801,590 km2; land area: 784,090 km2 Comparative area: slightly less than twice the size of California Land boundaries: 4,571 km total; Malawi 1,569 km, South Africa 491 km, Swaziland 105 km, Tanzania 756 km, Zambia 419 km, Zimbabwe 1,231 km Coastline: 2,470 km Maritime claims: Exclusive economic zone: 200 nm; Territorial sea: 12 nm Climate: tropical to subtropical Terrain: mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west Natural resources: coal, titanium Land use: arable land 4%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 56%; forest and woodland 20%; other 20%; includes irrigated NEGL% Environment: severe drought and floods occur in south; desertification PEOPLE Population: 15,113,282 (July 1991), growth rate 4.6% (1991); note--900,000 Mozambican refugees in Malawi (1990 est.) Birth rate: 46 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 17 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: 17 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 134 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 46 years male, 49 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 6.4 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Mozambican(s); adjective--Mozambican Ethnic divisions: majority from indigenous tribal groups; Europeans about 10,000, Euro-Africans 35,000, Indians 15,000 Religion: indigenous beliefs 60%, Christian 30%, Muslim 10% Language: Portuguese (official); many indigenous dialects Literacy: 33% (male 45%, female 21%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) Labor force: NA, but 90% engaged in agriculture Organized labor: 225,000 workers belong to a single union, the Mozambique Workers' Organization (OTM) GOVERNMENT Long-form name: Republic of Mozambique Type: republic Capital: Maputo Administrative divisions: 10 provinces (provincias, singular--provincia); Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, Zambezia Independence: 25 June 1975 (from Portugal) Constitution: 30 November 1990 Legal system: based on Portuguese civil law system and customary law National holiday: Independence Day, 25 June (1975) Executive branch: president, prime minister, Cabinet Legislative branch: unicameral Assembly of the Republic (Assembleia da Republica) Judicial branch: People's Courts at all levels Leaders: Chief of State--President Joaquim Alberto CHISSANO (since 6 November 1986); Head of Government--Prime Minister Mario da Graca MACHUNGO (since 17 July 1986) Political parties and leaders: Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO)--formerly a Marxist organization with close ties to the USSR--was the only legal party before 30 November 1990 when the new Constitution went into effect establishing a multiparty system; note--the government has announced that multiparty elections will be held in 1991; parties such as the Liberal Democratic Party of Mozambique (PALMO), the Mozambique National Union (UNAMO), and the Mozambique National Movement (MONAMO) have already emerged Suffrage: universal adult at age 18 Elections: electoral law--to be ratified in 1991--will provide for periodic, direct presidential and Assembly elections Communists: about 200,000 FRELIMO members; note--FRELIMO no longer considers itself a Communist party Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, IMO, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WMO Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Hipolito PATRICIO; Chancery at Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 293-7146; US--Ambassador Townsend B. FRIEDMAN, Jr.; Embassy at Avenida Kenneth Kuanda, 193 Maputo (mailing address is P. O. Box 783, Maputo); telephone 258 (1) 49-27-97, 49-01-67, 49-03-50 Flag: 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 ECONOMY Overview: One of Africa's poorest countries, with a per capita GDP of little more than $100, Mozambique has failed to exploit the economic potential of its sizable agricultural, hydropower, and transportation resources. Indeed, national output, consumption, and investment declined throughout the first half of the 1980s because of internal disorders, lack of government administrative control, and a growing foreign debt. A sharp increase in foreign aid, attracted by an economic reform policy, has resulted in successive years of economic growth since 1985. Agricultural output, nevertheless, is at about only 75% of its 1981 level, and grain has to be imported. Industry operates at only 20-40% of capacity. The economy depends heavily on foreign assistance to keep afloat. GDP: $1.6 billion, per capita $110; real growth rate 5.0% (1989 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 22.9% (1990 est.) Unemployment rate: 50% (1989 est.) Budget: revenues $186 million; expenditures $239 million, including capital expenditures of $208 million (1988 est.) Exports: $90 million (f.o.b., 1989 est.); commodities--shrimp 48%, cashews 21%, sugar 10%, copra 3%, citrus 3%; partners--US, Western Europe, GDR, Japan Imports: $764 million (c.i.f., 1989 est.), including aid; commodities--food, clothing, farm equipment, petroleum; partners--US, Western Europe, USSR External debt: $5.1 billion (1990 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 5% (1989 est.) Electricity: 2,265,000 kW capacity; 1,740 million kWh produced, 120 kWh per capita (1989) Industries: food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, nonmetallic mineral products (cement, glass, asbestos), tobacco Agriculture: accounts for 90% of the labor force, 50% of GDP, and about 90% of exports; cash crops--cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, shrimp; other crops--cassava, corn, rice, tropical fruits; not self-sufficient in food Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY70-89), $350 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $3.8 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $37 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $890 million Currency: metical (plural--meticais); 1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos Exchange rates: meticais (Mt) per US$1--1,700 (November 1990), 800.00 (1989), 528.60 (1988), 289.44 (1987), 40.43 (1986), 43.18 (1985) Fiscal year: calendar year COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 3,288 km total; 3,140 km 1.067-meter gauge; 148 km 0.762-meter narrow gauge; Malawi-Nacala, Malawi-Beira, and Zimbabwe-Maputo lines are subject to closure because of insurgency Highways: 26,498 km total; 4,593 km paved; 829 km gravel, crushed stone, stabilized soil; 21,076 km unimproved earth Inland waterways: about 3,750 km of navigable routes Pipelines: 306 km crude oil (not operating); 289 km refined products Ports: Maputo, Beira, Nacala Merchant marine: 5 cargo ships (1,000 GRT or over) totaling 7,806 GRT/12,873 DWT Civil air: 5 major transport aircraft Airports: 197 total, 145 usable; 27 with permanent-surface runways; 1 with runways over 3,659 m; 5 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 27 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: fair system of troposcatter, open-wire lines, and radio relay; 57,400 telephones; stations--15 AM, 3 FM, 1 TV; earth stations--1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT and 3 domestic DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Mozambique Armed Forces (including Army, Naval Command, Air Defense Forces, Border Guards), Militia Manpower availability: males 15-49, 3,407,234; 1,957,123 fit for military service Defense expenditures: $NA, 8.4% of GDP (1987)