Mozambique: background information

History

Mozambique won independence from Portuguese rule in 1975.

Credit: WaterAid / Jon Spaull

Mozambique gained independence from almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony in 1975. Large-scale emigration by ex-patriots, economic dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged brutal civil war hindered the country's development in the following two decades.

The ruling party set up a republic in 1990 allowing for multiparty elections and a free market economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement with rebel forces ended the fighting in 1992. President Joaquím Alberto Chissano has been head of state since 1986 with prime minister Pascoal Manuel Mocumbi head of government since 1994.

Portuguese is the official language, although many local African languages, such as Tsonga, Sena Nyanja, Makonde and Macua, are also spoken. The population follow Christian, Muslim and Hindu religions with a significant number also practising traditional beliefs.

Geography and economy

Subsistance agriculture employes the majority of Mozambique's workforce.

Credit: WaterAid / Jeremy Matthews

Mozambique has neighbours of Tanzania to the north, Zambia and Malawi to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west, and South Africa and Swaziland to the southwest. To the east is the Indian Ocean with a coastline of nearly 2500km; beaches bordered by lagoons, coral reefs and strings of islands. Inland from the coastline, a vast low savannah plateau rises towards mountains.

The western and northern highlands are patched with forest. The Zambezi is the largest and most important of the 25 main rivers which flow through Mozambique into the Indian Ocean.

The major concentrations of population (comprising many different ethnic groups) are along the coast and in the fertile and relatively productive river valleys, notably in Zambezia and Gaza provinces.

Political stability prevailing since the 1994 multi-party elections has led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth rate fuelled by foreign and domestic investments and donor assistance. 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. The economy was severely damaged by heavy flooding in the south of the country in both 1999 and 2000.