Soon after gaining independence from Portugal in June 1975, the Republic of Mozambique entered a 16-year period of civil war, which ended with a political settlement in 1992. The country, which has also experienced periods of natural disaster, is currently working towards overcoming the legacy of its prolonged instability, and has achieved some degree of success in attracting foreign investment. However, concerns have been raised that little social benefit is being derived from the projects being pursued. Languages commonly spoken in Mozambique are Makua-Lomwe, Tsonga, Shona, and Swahili, with Portuguese as the official language.

Leader: President Armando Guebuza (re elected in 2009)
Capital city: Maputo

Economic profile

Monetary unit: Metical
GDP per capita: $1000 (2010) (CIA)
GDP composition by sector:
Agriculture: 28.8% (2010) (CIA)
Industry: 26% (2010) (CIA)
Services: 45.2% (2010) (CIA)
GDP growth rate: 7% (2010) (IMF)
Budget:
Government revenue, excluding grants: $2.346-billion (2010) (CIA)
Government expenditure: $2.898-billion (2010) (CIA)
Consumer price inflation: 13.5% (2010) (CIA)
Industries: Food, beverages, chemicals (fertiliser, soap, paints), aluminum, petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, and tobacco
Exports of goods and services: $2.517-billion (2010) (CIA)
Imports of goods and services: $3.527-billion (2010) (CIA)
Export commodities: Aluminum, prawns, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; and bulk electricity
Import commodities: Machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, chemicals, metal products, foodstuffs, and textiles
Trade balance: $-1.028-billion (2010) (CIA)
Reserves: $1.982-billion (2010) (CIA)
Total investment: 17.2% of GDP (2010) (IMF)
Market capitalisation of listed companies: Figures not available

Social profile

Population: 22,89-million (2011) (World Bank)
Population growth: 2.3% (2011) (World Bank)
Life expectancy at birth: 48.1 years (2011) (World Bank)
Adult literacy: 55% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment primary: 114% (2009) (World Bank)
School enrolment secondary: 56% (2007) (World Bank)
School enrolment tertiary: 1.5% (2005) (World Bank)
Unemployment: 21% (1997) (UNStats)
Number of people living with HIV/Aids: 1.4-million (2009) (Unicef)
 

Election profile

Pre-election report

Post-election report