Flag of Mozambique
Mozambican War of Independence
(1964–1974)
Portuguese troops during the Portuguese Colonial War, some loading FN FAL and G3.
As communist and anti-colonial ideologies spread out across Africa, many clandestine political movements were
established in support of Mozambican independence. These movements claimed that
since policies and development plans were primarily designed by the ruling
authorities for the benefit of Mozambique's
Portuguese population, little attention was paid to Mozambique's tribal integration and
the development of its native communities.
According to the official guerrilla statements, this
affected a majority of the indigenous population who suffered both
state-sponsored discrimination and enormous social pressure. Many felt they had
received too little opportunity or resources to upgrade their skills and improve
their economic and social situation to a degree comparable to that of the
Europeans. Statistically, Mozambique's
Portuguese whites were indeed wealthier and more skilled than the black
indigenous majority. As a response to the guerrilla movement, the Portuguese
government from the 1960s and principally the early 1970s initiated gradual
changes with new socioeconomic developments and egalitarian policies.
The Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO)
initiated a guerrilla campaign against Portuguese rule in September 1964. This
conflict—along with the two others already initiated in the other Portuguese
colonies of Angola
and Portuguese Guinea—became part of the so-called Portuguese Colonial War
(1961–1974). From a military standpoint, the Portuguese regular army maintained
control of the population centres while the guerrilla forces sought to
undermine their influence in rural and tribal areas in the north and west. As
part of their response to FRELIMO, the Portuguese government began to pay more
attention to creating favourable conditions for social development and economic
growth.
Independence
(1975)
FRELIMO took control of the territory after ten years of
sporadic warfare, as well as Portugal's
own return to democracy after the fall of the authoritarian Estado Novo regime
in the Carnation Revolution of April 1974 and the failed coup of 25 November
1975. Within a year, most of the 250,000 Portuguese in Mozambique had left—some
expelled by the government of the nearly independent territory, some fleeing in
fear—and Mozambique became independent from Portugal on 25 June 1975. A law had
been passed on the initiative of the relatively unknown Armando Guebuza of the
FRELIMO party, ordering the Portuguese to leave the country in 24 hours with
only 20 kilograms (44 pounds) of luggage. Unable to salvage any of their
assets, most of them returned to Portugal penniless.
Mozambican Civil War (1977–1992)
A land mine victim in Mozambique
The new government under president Samora Machel established
a one-party state based on Marxist principles. It received diplomatic and some
military support from Cuba
and the Soviet Union and proceeded to crack
down on opposition. Starting shortly after the independence, the country was
plagued from 1977 to 1992 by a long and violent civil war between the
opposition forces of anti-communist Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO)
rebel militias and the FRELIMO regime. This conflict characterised the first
decades of Mozambican independence, combined with sabotage from the
neighbouring states of Rhodesia
and South Africa,
ineffective policies, failed central planning, and the resulting economic
collapse. This period was also marked by the exodus of Portuguese nationals and
Mozambicans of Portuguese heritage, a collapsed infrastructure, lack of
investment in productive assets, and government nationalisation of privately
owned industries, as well as widespread famine.
During most of the civil war, the FRELIMO-formed central
government was unable to exercise effective control outside of urban areas,
many of which were cut off from the capital. RENAMO-controlled areas included
up to 50% of the rural areas in several provinces, and it is reported that
health services of any kind were isolated from assistance for years in those
areas. The problem worsened when the government cut back spending on health
care. The war was marked by mass human rights violations from both sides of the
conflict, with RENAMO contributing to the chaos through the use of terror and
indiscriminate targeting of civilians. The central government executed tens of
thousands of people while trying to extend its control throughout the country
and sent many people to "re-education camps" where thousands died.
During the war, RENAMO proposed a peace agreement based on
the secession of RENAMO-controlled northern and western territories as the
independent Republic
of Rombesia, but FRELIMO
refused, insisting on the undivided sovereignty of the entire country. An
estimated one million Mozambicans perished during the civil war, 1.7 million
took refuge in neighbouring states, and several million more were internally
displaced. The FRELIMO regime also gave shelter and support to South African
(African National Congress) and Zimbabwean (Zimbabwe African National Union)
rebel movements, while the governments of Rhodesia and later South Africa (at
that time still apartheid) backed RENAMO in the civil war. The civil war
took about 600 000 lives, by 1990, the number increased to over a million
people.
On 19 October 1986, Samora Machel was on his way back from
an international meeting in Zambia
in the presidential Tupolev Tu-134 aircraft when the plane crashed in the Lebombo Mountains near Mbuzini. There were ten
survivors, but President Machel and thirty-three others died, including
ministers and officials of the Mozambique
government. The United Nations' Soviet delegation issued a minority report
contending that their expertise and experience had been undermined by the South
Africans. Representatives of the Soviet Union advanced the theory that the
plane had been intentionally diverted by a false navigational beacon signal,
using a technology provided by military intelligence operatives of the South
African government.
Machel's successor Joaquim Chissano implemented sweeping
changes in the country, starting reforms such as changing from Marxism to
capitalism and began peace talks with RENAMO. The new constitution enacted in
1990 provided for a multi-party political system, market-based economy, and
free elections. The civil war ended in October 1992 with the Rome General Peace
Accords, first brokered by the Christian Council of Mozambique (Council of Protestant
Churches) and then taken over by Community of Sant'Egidio. Peace returned to Mozambique,
under the supervision of the ONUMOZ peacekeeping force of the United Nations.
Democratic era (1993–present)
A US helicopter flying over the flooded Limpopo River during the 2000 Mozambique flood.
Mozambique
held elections in 1994, which were accepted by most political parties as free
and fair although still contested by many nationals and observers alike.
FRELIMO won, under Joaquim Chissano, while RENAMO, led by Afonso Dhlakama, ran
as the official opposition.
In 1995, Mozambique
joined the Commonwealth of Nations, becoming, at the time, the only member nation
that had never been part of the British Empire.
By mid-1995, over 1.7 million refugees who had sought asylum
in neighbouring countries had returned to Mozambique,
part of the largest repatriation witnessed in sub-Saharan Africa.
An additional four million internally displaced persons had returned to their
homes.
In December 1999, Mozambique held elections for a
second time since the civil war, which were again won by FRELIMO. RENAMO
accused FRELIMO of fraud, and threatened to return to civil war, but backed
down after taking the matter to the Supreme Court and losing.
In early 2000, a cyclone caused widespread flooding in the
country, killing hundreds and devastating the already precarious infrastructure.
There were widespread suspicions that foreign aid resources had been diverted
by powerful leaders of FRELIMO. Carlos Cardoso, a journalist investigating
these allegations, was murdered, and his death was never satisfactorily
explained.
Indicating in 2001 that he would not run for a third term,
Chissano criticised leaders who stayed on longer than he had, which was
generally seen as a reference to Zambian president Frederick Chiluba, who at
the time was considering a third term, and Zimbabwean president Robert Mugabe,
then in his fourth term. Presidential and National Assembly elections took
place on 1–2 December 2004. FRELIMO candidate Armando Guebuza won with 64% of
the popular vote, while his opponent, Afonso Dhlakama of RENAMO, received 32%
of the popular vote. FRELIMO won 160 seats in Parliament, with a coalition of
RENAMO and several small parties winning the 90 remaining seats. Guebuza was
inaugurated as the President of Mozambique on 2 February 2005, and served two
five-year terms. His successor, Filipe Nyusi, became the fourth President of
Mozambique on 15 January 2015.
From 2013 to 2019, a low-intensity insurgency by RENAMO
occurred, mainly in the country's central and northern regions. On 5 September
2014, former president Guebuza and the leader of RENAMO Dhlakama signed the
Accord on Cessation of Hostilities, which brought the military hostilities to a
halt and allowed both parties to concentrate on the general elections to be
held in October 2014. However, after the general elections, a new political
crisis emerged. RENAMO did not recognise the validity of the election results
and demanded the control of six provinces – Nampula, Niassa, Tete, Zambezia,
Sofala, and Manica – where they claimed to have won a majority. About 12,000
refugees are now in neighbouring Malawi. The UNHCR, Doctors Without Borders,
and Human Rights Watch reported that government forces had torched villages and
carried out summary executions and sexual abuses.
In October 2019, President Filipe Nyusi was re-elected after
a landslide victory in general election. Frelimo won 184 seats, Renamo got 60
seats and the MDM party received the remaining six seats in the National
Assembly. Opposition did not accept the results because of allegations of fraud
and irregularities. Frelimo secured two-thirds majority in parliament which allowed
Frelimo to re-adjust the constitution without needing the agreement of the
opposition.
Since 2015, the country has faced an ongoing insurgency by
Islamist groups. In September 2020, ISIL insurgents captured and briefly
occupied Vamizi Island
in the Indian Ocean. In March 2021, dozens of
civilians were killed and 35,000 others were displaced after Islamist rebels
seized the city of Palma.
Geography and climate
At 309,475 sq mi (801,537 km2), Mozambique is the world's
36th-largest country. It is comparable in size to Turkey. Mozambique
is located on the southeast coast of Africa.
It is bound by Eswatini to the south, South
Africa to the southwest, Zimbabwe
to the west, Zambia and Malawi to the northwest, Tanzania to the north and the Indian
Ocean to the east. Mozambique
lies between latitudes 10° and 27°S, and longitudes 30° and 41°E.
The country is divided into two topographical regions by the
Zambezi River. To the north of the Zambezi River, the narrow coastal strip gives
way to inland hills and low plateaus. Rugged highlands are further west; they
include the Niassa highlands, Namuli or Shire highlands, Angonia highlands,
Tete highlands and the Makonde plateau, covered with miombo woodlands. To the
south of the Zambezi River, the lowlands are broader with the Mashonaland
plateau and Lebombo
Mountains located in the
deep south.
The country is drained by five principal rivers and several
smaller ones with the largest and most important the Zambezi.
The country has four notable lakes: Lake
Niassa (or Malawi),
Lake Chiuta,
Lake Cahora Bassa and Lake
Shirwa, all in the north.
The major cities are Maputo, Beira,
Nampula, Tete, Quelimane, Chimoio, Pemba,
Inhambane, Xai-Xai and Lichinga.
Climate
Mozambique
has a tropical climate with two seasons, a wet season from October to March and
a dry season from April to September. Climatic conditions, however, vary
depending on altitude. Rainfall is heavy along the coast and decreases in the
north and south. Annual precipitation varies from 500 to 900 mm (19.7 to 35.4
in) depending on the region, with an average of 590 mm (23.2 in). Cyclones are
common during the wet season. Average temperature ranges in Maputo are from 13 to 24 °C (55.4 to 75.2 °F)
in July and from 22 to 31 °C (71.6 to 87.8 °F) in February.
In 2019 Mozambique
suffered floods and destruction from the devastating cyclones Idai and Kenneth.
This is the first time two cyclones have struck the southern African nation in
a single season.
Wildlife
There are known to be 740 bird species in Mozambique, including 20 globally threatened
species and two introduced species, and over 200 mammal species endemic to Mozambique,
including the critically endangered Selous' zebra, Vincent's bush squirrel and
13 other endangered or vulnerable species.
Protected areas of Mozambique include thirteen forest
reserves, seven national parks, six nature reserves, three frontier
conservation areas and three wildlife or game reserves. The country had a 2019
Forest Landscape Integrity Index mean score of 6.93/10, ranking it 62nd
globally out of 172 countries.
Politics
Mozambique
is a multi-party democracy under the 1990 constitution. The executive branch
comprises a President, Prime Minister, and Council of Ministers. There is a
National Assembly and municipal assemblies. The judiciary comprises a Supreme
Court and provincial, district, and municipal courts. Suffrage is universal at
eighteen. In the 1994 elections, Joaquim Chissano was elected president with
53% of the vote, and a 250-member National Assembly was voted in with 129
Liberation Front of Mozambique (FRELIMO) deputies, 112 Mozambican National
Resistance (RENAMO) deputies, and nine representatives of three smaller parties
that formed the Democratic Union (UD). Since its formation in 1994, the National
Assembly has made progress in becoming a body increasingly more independent of
the executive. By 1999, more than one-half (53%) of the legislation passed
originated in the Assembly.
After some delays, in 1998 the country held its first local
elections to provide for local representation and some budgetary authority at
the municipal level. The principal opposition party, RENAMO, boycotted the
local elections, citing flaws in the registration process. Independent slates
contested the elections and won seats in municipal assemblies. Turnout was very
low.
In the aftermath of the 1998 local elections, the government
resolved to make more accommodations to the opposition's procedural concerns
for the second round of multiparty national elections in 1999. Working through
the National Assembly, the electoral law was rewritten and passed by consensus
in December 1998. Financed largely by international donors, a very successful
voter registration was conducted from July to September 1999, providing voter
registration cards to 85% of the potential electorate (more than seven million
voters).
The second general elections were held 3–5 December 1999,
with high voter turnout. International and domestic observers agreed that the
voting process was well organised and went smoothly. Both the opposition and
observers subsequently cited flaws in the tabulation process that, had they not
occurred, might have changed the outcome. In the end, however, international
and domestic observers concluded that the close result of the vote reflected
the will of the people.
President Chissano won the presidency with a margin of 4%
over the RENAMO-Electoral Union coalition candidate, Afonso Dhlakama, and began
his five-year term in January 2000. FRELIMO increased its majority in the
National Assembly with 133 out of 250 seats. RENAMO-UE coalition won 116 seats,
one went independent, and no third parties are represented.
The opposition coalition did not accept the National
Election Commission's results of the presidential vote and filed a formal
complaint to the Supreme Court. One month after the voting, the court dismissed
the opposition's challenge and validated the election results. The opposition
did not file a complaint about the results of the legislative vote.
The second local elections, involving thirty-three
municipalities with some 2.4 million registered voters, took place in November
2003. This was the first time that FRELIMO, RENAMO-UE, and independent parties
competed without significant boycotts. The 24% turnout was well above the 15%
turnout in the first municipal elections. FRELIMO won twenty-eight mayoral
positions and the majority in twenty-nine municipal assemblies, while RENAMO
won five mayoral positions and the majority in four municipal assemblies. The
voting was conducted in an orderly fashion without violent incidents. However,
the period immediately after the elections was marked by objections about voter
and candidate registration and vote tabulation, as well as calls for greater
transparency. The government would go on to approve a new general elections law
in May 2009 that contained innovations based on the experience of the 2003
municipal elections.
Presidential and National Assembly elections took place on
1–2 December 2004. FRELIMO candidate Armando Guebuza won with 64% of the
popular vote. His opponent, Afonso Dhlakama of RENAMO, received 32% of the
popular vote. FRELIMO won 160 seats in Parliament. A coalition of RENAMO and
several small parties won the 90 remaining seats. Armando Guebuza was
inaugurated as the President of Mozambique on 2 February 2005.
RENAMO and some other opposition parties made claims of
election fraud and denounced the result. These claims were supported by international
observers (among others by the European Union Election Observation Mission to Mozambique and
the Carter Centre) to the elections who criticised the fact that the National
Electoral Commission (CNE) did not conduct fair and transparent elections. They
listed a whole range of shortcomings by the electoral authorities that
benefited the ruling party FRELIMO.
According to EU observers, the election's shortcomings
probably did not affect the final result in the presidential election. On the
other hand, the observers have declared that the outcome of the parliamentary
election and thus the distribution of seats in the National Assembly does not
reflect the will of the Mozambican people and is clearly to the disadvantage of
RENAMO.
After clashes between RENAMO guards and the police in
Muxungue and Gondola in April 2013, RENAMO said it would boycott and disrupt
local elections in November 2013. Since the end of the civil war in 1992, about
300 RENAMO guards had remained armed and refused to join the national army or
the police force.
Foreign relations
While allegiances dating back to the liberation struggle
remain relevant, Mozambique's
foreign policy has become increasingly pragmatic. The twin pillars of Mozambique's
foreign policy are maintenance of good relations with its neighbours and
maintenance and expansion of ties to development partners.
During the 1970s and the early 1980s, Mozambique's foreign policy was inextricably
linked to the struggles for majority rule in Rhodesia
and South Africa
as well as superpower competition and the Cold War. Mozambique's decision to
enforce UN sanctions against Rhodesia and deny that country access to the sea
led Ian Smith's government to undertake overt and covert actions to oppose the
country. Although the change of government in Zimbabwe
in 1980 removed this threat, the government of South
Africa continued to destabilise Mozambique. Mozambique also
belonged to the Front Line States.
The 1984 Nkomati Accord, while failing in its goal of ending
South African support to RENAMO, opened initial diplomatic contacts between the
Mozambican and South African governments. This process gained momentum with South Africa's
elimination of apartheid, which culminated in the establishment of full
diplomatic relations in October 1993. While relations with neighbouring Zimbabwe, Malawi,
Zambia and Tanzania show occasional strains, Mozambique's
ties to these countries remain strong.
In the years immediately following its independence, Mozambique
benefited from considerable assistance from some Western countries, notably the
Scandinavians. The Soviet Union and its allies became Mozambique's
primary economic, military and political supporters, and its foreign policy
reflected this linkage. This began to change in 1983; in 1984 Mozambique
joined the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. Western aid by the
Scandinavian countries of Sweden,
Norway, Denmark and Iceland quickly replaced Soviet
support. Finland and the Netherlands are
becoming increasingly important sources of development assistance. Italy also maintains a profile in Mozambique as a
result of its key role during the peace process. Relations with Portugal, the former colonial power, continue to
be important because Portuguese investors play a visible role in Mozambique's
economy.
Mozambique
is a member of the Non-Aligned Movement and ranks among the moderate members of
the African bloc in the United Nations and other international organisations. Mozambique also
belongs to the African Union (formerly the Organisation of African Unity) and
the Southern African Development Community. In 1994, the government became a
full member of the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, in part to broaden
its base of international support but also to please the country's sizeable
Muslim population. Similarly, in 1995 Mozambique
joined its Anglophone neighbours in the Commonwealth of
Nations. At the time it was the only nation to have joined the
Commonwealth that was never part of the British Empire.
In the same year, Mozambique
became a founding member and the first President of the Community of Portuguese
Language Countries (CPLP), and maintains close ties with other
Portuguese-speaking countries.
Military
Mozambique
operates a small, functioning military that handles all aspects of domestic
national defence, the Mozambique Defence Armed Forces
Economy
Mozambique
is one of the poorest and most underdeveloped countries in the world, even
though between 1994 and 2006 its average annual GDP growth was approximately
8%. The IMF classifies Mozambique
as a Heavily Indebted Poor Country. In a 2006 survey, three-quarters of
Mozambicans said that in the past five years their economic position had
remained the same or become worse.
Mozambique's
official currency is the New Metical (as of March 2018, US$1 is roughly
equivalent to 62 New Meticals), which replaced old Meticals at the rate of a
thousand to one. The old currency was redeemable at the Bank of Mozambique
until the end of 2012. The US$,
South African rand, and recently the euro are also widely accepted and used in
business transactions. The minimum legal salary is around US$60 per month.
Mozambique is a member of the Southern African Development Community
(SADC).[16] The SADC free trade protocol is aimed at making the Southern
African region more competitive by eliminating tariffs and other trade
barriers. The World Bank in 2007 talked of Mozambique's 'blistering pace of
economic growth'. A joint donor-government study in early 2007 said 'Mozambique
is generally considered an aid success story.'
Economic reforms
More than 1,200 mostly small state-owned enterprises have
been privatised. Preparations for privatisation and/or sector liberalisation
were made for the remaining parastatal enterprises, including
telecommunications, energy, ports, and railways. The government frequently
selected a strategic foreign investor when privatising a parastatal.
Additionally, customs duties have been reduced, and customs management has been
streamlined and reformed. The government introduced a value-added tax in 1999
as part of its efforts to increase domestic revenues. Plans for 2003–04
included Commercial Code reform; comprehensive judicial reform; financial
sector strengthening; continued civil service reform; and improved government
budget, audit, and inspection capability. Further political instability
resulting from flooding left thousands homeless, displaced within their own
country.
Corruption
Mozambique's
economy has been shaken by a number of corruption scandals. In July 2011, the
government proposed new anti-corruption laws to criminalise embezzlement,
influence peddling and graft, following numerous instances of the theft of public
money. This has been endorsed by the country's Council of Ministers. Mozambique has
convicted two former ministers for graft in the past two years.
Mozambique
was ranked 116 of 178 countries in anti-graft watchdog Transparency
International's latest index of global corruption. According to a USAID report
written in 2005, "the scale and scope of corruption in Mozambique are cause for
alarm."
In March 2012, the government of the southern Mozambican province of Inhambane uncovered the misappropriation
of public funds by the director of the Provincial Anti-Drugs Office, Calisto
Alberto Tomo. He was found to have colluded with the accountant in the
Anti-Drugs Office, Recalda Guambe, to steal over 260,000 meticais between 2008
and 2010.
The government of Mozambique has taken steps to
address the problem of corruption, and some positive developments can be
observed, such as the passages of several new anti-corruption bills in 2012.
Tourism
The country's natural environment, wildlife, and historic
heritage provide opportunities for beach, cultural, and eco-tourism. Mozambique has
a great potential for growth in its gross domestic product (GDP).
The north beaches with clean water are suitable for
tourism,[original research? especially those that are very far from urban
centres, such as those in the province of Cabo Delgado, especially the
Quirimbas Islands, and the province of Inhambane, especially the Archipelago of
Bazaruto. The Inhambane
Province attracts
international divers because of the marine biodiversity and the presence of
whale sharks and manta rays
The country also has several national parks, including Gorongosa National Park, with its infrastructures
rehabilitated and repopulated in certain species of animals that were already
disappearing.
Transport
Modes of transport in Mozambique include rail, road,
water, and air.
There are over 30,000 km (19,000 mi) of roads, but much of
the network is unpaved. Like its Commonwealth neighbours, traffic circulates on
the left.
There is an international airport at Maputo, 21 other paved airports, and over 100
airstrips with unpaved runways.
On the Indian Ocean coast are several large seaports,
including Nacala, Beira and Maputo, with further ports being developed.
There are 3,750 km of navigable inland waterways. There are rail links serving
principal cities and connecting the country with Malawi,
Zimbabwe and South Africa.
The Mozambican railway system developed over more than a century from three
different ports on the Indian Ocean that
served as terminals for separate lines to the hinterland. The railroads were
major targets during the Mozambican Civil War, were sabotaged by RENAMO, and
are being rehabilitated. A parastatal authority, Portos e Caminhos de Ferro de
Moçambique (abbreviated CFM; in English-
Mozambique Ports
and Railways), oversees the railway system of Mozambique and its connected ports,
but management has been largely outsourced. Each line has its own development
corridor.
As of 2005 there were 3,123 km of railway track, consisting
of 2,983 km of 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) gauge, compatible with neighbouring rail
systems, and a 140 km line of 762 mm (2 ft 6 in) gauge, the Gaza Railway. The
central Beira Railroad Corporation route links the port of Beira to the
landlocked countries of Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. To the north of this the port of Nacala
is also linked by rail to Malawi,
and to the south Maputo is linked to Zimbabwe and South Africa. These networks
interconnect only via neighbouring countries. A new route for coal haulage between
Tete and Beira was planned to come into service
by 2010, and in August 2010, Mozambique
and Botswana signed a
memorandum of understanding to develop a 1,100 km railway through Zimbabwe, to carry coal from Serule in Botswana to a deepwater port at Techobanine
Point in Mozambique.
Newer rolling stock has been supplied by the Indian Golden
Rock workshop using Centre Buffer Couplers (AAR) and air brakes.
Languages
Portuguese is the official and most widely spoken language
of the nation, spoken by 50.3% of the population. The Bantu-group languages of Mozambique that
are indigenous to the country vary greatly in their groupings and in some cases
are rather poorly appreciated and documented. Apart from its lingua franca uses
in the north of the country, Swahili is spoken in a small area of the coast
next to the Tanzanian border; south of this, towards Moçambique Island,
Kimwani, regarded as a dialect of Swahili, is used. Immediately inland of the
Swahili area, Makonde is used, separated farther inland by a small strip of
Makhuwa-speaking territory from an area where Yao or ChiYao is used. Makonde and Yao belong to a different group, Yao
being very close to the Mwera language of the Rondo Plateau area in Tanzania.
Prepositions appear in these languages as locative prefixes
prefixed to the noun and declined according to their own noun-class. Some
Nyanja is used at the coast of Lake Malawi, as well as on the other side of the
Lake.
Somewhat different from all of these are the languages of
the eMakhuwa group, with a loss of initial k-, which means that many nouns
begin with a vowel: for example, epula = "rain".
There is eMakhuwa proper, with the related eLomwe and
eChuwabo, with a small eKoti-speaking area at the coast. In an area straddling
the lower Zambezi, Sena, which belongs to the
same group as Nyanja, is spoken, with areas speaking the related CiNyungwe and
CiSenga further upriver.
A large Shona-speaking area extends between the Zimbabwe border
and the sea: this was formerly known the Ndau variety but now uses the
orthography of the Standard Shona of Zimbabwe. Apparently similar to Shona, but
lacking the tone patterns of the Shona language, and regarded by its speakers
as quite separate, is CiBalke, also called Rue or Barwe, used in a small area
near the Zimbabwe border.
South of this area are languages of the Tsonga group, which
are quite different again. XiTswa or Tswa occurs at the coast and inland,
XiTsonga or Tsonga straddles the area around the Limpopo River,
including such local dialects as XiHlanganu, XiN'walungu, XiBila, XiHlengwe,
and XiDzonga. This language area extends into neighbouring South Africa.
Still related to these, but distinct, are GiTonga, BiTonga, and CiCopi or
Chopi, spoken north of the mouth of the Limpopo, and XiRonga or Ronga, spoken
in the immediate region around Maputo.
The languages in this group are, judging by the short vocabularies,very vaguely
similar to Zulu, but obviously not in the same immediate group. There are small
Swazi- and Zulu-speaking areas in Mozambique
immediately next to the Swaziland
and KwaZulu-Natal
borders.
Arabs, Chinese, and Indians primarily speak Portuguese and
some Hindi. Indians from Portuguese India speak any of the Portuguese Creoles
of their origin aside from Portuguese as their second language.
Religion
The 2017 census found that Christians made up 59.2% of Mozambique's
population and Muslims comprised 18.9% of the population. 7.3% of the people
held other beliefs, mainly animism, and 13.9% had no religious beliefs. A more
recent government survey conducted by the Demographic and Health Surveys
Program in 2015 indicated that Catholicism had increased to 30.5% of the
population, Muslims constituted 19.3%, and various Protestant groups a total of
44%.According to 2018 estimates from the United States Commission on
International Religious Freedom, 28% of the population is Catholic, 18% are
Muslim (mostly Sunni), 15% are Zionist Christians, 12% are Protestants, 7% are
members of other religious groups, and 18% have no religion.
The Roman Catholic Church has established twelve dioceses (Beira, Chimoio, Gurué, Inhambane, Lichinga, Maputo, Nacala, Nampula, Pemba, Quelimane, Tete, and
Xai-Xai; archdioceses are Beira, Maputo and Nampula).
Statistics for the dioceses range from a low 5.8% Catholics in the population
in the Diocese of Chimoio, to 32.50% in Quelimane diocese (Anuario catolico de
Mocambique 2007).
The work of Methodism in Mozambique started in 1890. The
Rev. Dr. Erwin Richards began a Methodist mission at Chicuque in Inhambane Province. The Igreja Metodista Unida em
Moçambique (UMC in Mozambique)
observed the 100th anniversary of Methodist presence in Mozambique in
1990. Then-Mozambique President Chissano praised the work and role of the UMC
to more than 10,000 people who attended the ceremony.
The United Methodist Church
has tripled in size in Mozambique
since 1998. There are now more than 150,000 members in more than 180
congregations of the 24 districts. New pastors are ordained each year. New
churches are chartered each year in each Annual Conference (North and South).
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church)
has established a growing presence in Mozambique. It first began sending
missionaries to Mozambique
in 1999, and, as of April 2015, has more than 7,943 members.
The Baha’i Faith has been present in Mozambique
since the early 1950s but did not openly identify itself in those years because
of the strong influence of the Catholic Church which did not recognise it
officially as a world religion. The independence in 1975 saw the entrance of
new pioneers. In total, there are about 3,000 declared BaháʼÃs in Mozambique as
of 2010. The Administrative Committee is located in Maputo.
Muslims are particularly present in the north of the
country. They are organised in several "tariqa" or brotherhoods. Two
national organisations also exist—the Conselho Islâmico de Moçambique and the
Congresso Islâmico de Moçambique. There are also important Pakistani, Indian
associations as well as some Shia communities.
Among the main Protestant churches are Igreja União Baptista
de Moçambique, the Assembleias de Deus, the Seventh-day Adventists, the
Anglican Church of Southern Africa, the Igreja do Evangelho Completo de Deus,
the Igreja Metodista Unida, the Igreja Presbiteriana de Moçambique, the Igrejas
de Cristo and the Assembleia Evangélica de Deus.There is a very small but
thriving Jewish community in Maputo.There are currently 68,996 Jehovah's Witnesses in Mozambique.
Health
The fertility rate is at about 5.5 births per woman. Public
expenditure on health was at 2.7% of the GDP in 2004, whereas private
expenditure on health was at 1.3% in the same year. Health expenditure per
capita was 42 US$
(PPP) in 2004. In the early 21st century there were 3 physicians per 100,000
people in the country. Infant mortality was at 100 per 1,000 births in 2005.
The 2010 maternal mortality rate per 100,000 births for Mozambique is
550. This is compared with 598.8 in 2008 and 385 in 1990. The under 5 mortality
rate, per 1,000 births is 147 and the neonatal mortality as a percentage of
under 5s mortality is 29. In Mozambique
the number of midwives per 1,000 live births is 3 and the lifetime risk of
death for pregnant women 1 in 37.
The official HIV prevalence in Mozambique in 2011 was 11.5% of the
population aged between 15 and 49 years. In the southern parts of Mozambique—Maputo
and Gaza provinces as well as the city of Maputo—the official
figures are more than twice as high as the national average. In 2011 the health
authorities estimated about 1.7 million Mozambicans were HIV-positive, of whom
600,000 were in need of anti-retroviral treatment. As of December 2011, 240,000
were receiving such treatment, increasing to 416,000 in March 2014 according to
the health authorities. According to the 2011 UNAIDS Report, the HIV/AIDS
epidemic in Mozambique
seems to be levelling off.
Education
Portuguese is the primary language of instruction in all
Mozambican schools. All Mozambicans are required by law to attend school
through the primary level; however, a lot of children in Mozambique do
not go to primary school because they have to work for their families'
subsistence farms for a living. In 2007, one million children still did not go
to school, most of them from poor rural families, and almost half of all
teachers in Mozambique
were still unqualified. Girls’ enrolment increased from 3 million in 2002 to
4.1 million in 2006 while the completion rate increased from 31,000 to 90,000,
which testified a very poor completion rate.
After grade 7, pupils must take standardised national exams
to enter secondary school, which runs from eighth to 10th grade.[citation
needed] Space in Mozambican universities is extremely limited; thus most pupils
who complete pre-university school do not immediately proceed on to university
studies. Many go to work as teachers or are unemployed. There are also
institutes that give more vocational training, specialising in agricultural,
technical or pedagogical studies, which students may attend after grade 10 in
lieu of a pre-university school.
After independence from Portugal in 1975, a number of
Mozambican pupils continued to be admitted every year at Portuguese high
schools, polytechnical institutes and universities, through bilateral
agreements between the Portuguese government and the Mozambican government.
According to 2010 estimates, the literacy rate of Mozambique
was 56.1% (70.8% male and 42.8% female). By 2015, this had increased to 58.8%
(73.3% male and 45.4% female).
Sport
Football (Portuguese: futebol) is the most popular sport in Mozambique. The
national team is the Mozambique
national football team.
Track and field and basketball are also avidly followed in
the country.
Roller hockey is also popular and the best result for the
national team was when they came in fourth at the 2011 FIRS Roller Hockey World
Cup.
Mozambique
also features a women's beach volleyball team which finished 2nd at the
2018–2020 CAVB Beach Volleyball Continental Cup.
Cuisine
With a nearly 500-year presence in the country, the Portuguese have greatly influenced Mozambique's cuisine. Staples and crops such as cassava (a starchy root of Brazilian origin) and cashew nuts (also of Brazilian origin, though Mozambique was once the largest producer of these nuts[citation needed]), and pãozinho (pronounced , Portuguese-style French buns[citation needed]), were brought in by the Portuguese. The use of spices and seasonings such as bay leaves, chili peppers, fresh coriander, garlic, onions, paprika, red sweet peppers, and wine were introduced by the Portuguese, as were maize, millet, potatoes, rice, sorghum, and sugarcane. espetada, the popular inteiro com piripiri (whole chicken in piri-piri sauce), prego (steak roll), pudim (pudding), and rissóis (battered shrimp) are all Portuguese dishes commonly eaten in present-day Mozambique.
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