Mozambique stretches for 1,535 mi (2,470 km) along Africa's southeast coast. It is nearly twice the size of California. Tanzania is to the north; Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to the west; and South Africa and Swaziland to the south. The country is generally a low-lying plateau broken up by 25 sizable rivers that flow into the Indian Ocean. The largest is the Zambezi, which provides access to central Africa.
Country lead by President: Armando Guebuza (2005)
Prime Minister: Luisa Diogo (2004)
Population
19,686,505 (growth rate: 1.4%); birth rate: 35.2/1000; infant mortality rate: 129.2/1000; life expectancy: 39.8; density per sq mi: 65
Land Area
302,737 sq mi (784,089 sq km); total area: 309,496 sq mi (801,590 sq km)
Monetary unit
Metical Language
Portuguese 9% (official; second language of 27%), Emakhuwa 26%, Xichangana 11%, Elomwe 8%, Cisena 7%, Echuwabo 6%, other Mozambican languages 32% (1997)
Ethnicity indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%
Religion Mozambique 24%, Islam 18%, Zionist Christian 18%, none 23% (1997)
Transportation Railways: total: 3,123 km (2002). Highways: total: 30,400 km; paved: 5,685 km; unpaved: 24,715 km (1999 est.). Waterways: about 3,750 km of navigable routes. Ports and harbors: Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba, Quelimane. Airports: 165 (2002).
