General information about Mozambique
The official name is the Republic of Mozambique (Republica de Mogambique). Located in southeast Africa. The area is 801.6 thousand km2, including 17.5 thousand km2 of the water surface of lakes. The population is 19.6 million people. (2002, estimate). The official language is Portuguese. The capital is Maputo (more than 1 million people, 2002). Public holiday – Independence Day June 25 (since 1975). The monetary unit is metical. Member of 45 international organizations, including the UN (since 1975), the AU (since 2000), SADC (since 1992).
Geography of Mozambique
According to allcitycodes, Mozambique is located between 30°30′ and 4Г24′ East longitude, 10°30′ and 26°18′ South latitude. In the east it is washed by the Indian Ocean, the coast is slightly dissected, but there are several convenient bays. In the north, Mozambique borders Tanzania, Malawi and Zambia, in the west with Zimbabwe, in the south with Swaziland and South Africa. The relief of the territory is quite uniform, it is a flat plateau, inclined from west to east. Only in the northwest rise small mountain spurs. The highest peak is Mount Binga (2436 m). In the east, the plateau merges into a horizontal coastal plain stretching from the border with Tanzania to the border with South Africa, it accounts for 45% of the entire territory. From west to east, the country is cut by 25 fairly full-flowing rivers flowing into the Indian Ocean, the largest of which is the Zambezi. Of the 820 km of its channel in Mozambique, 460 km are navigable. On the border with Malawi is Lake Nyasa, and on the border with Zimbabwe is the Kabora Bassa reservoir. The soils are very diverse: sandy, red-brown laterized and alferritic, alluvial, etc. The flora is diverse. The main plant formations are: north of the Ruvuma River – steppe savannah with islands of trees, between the Ruvuma and Zambezi rivers – forest savannah, south of the Zambezi – park savannah. Along the banks of the rivers grow gallery tropical forests with valuable tree species. The ocean coast is lined with palm trees and mangroves. north of the Ruvuma River – steppe savannah with islands of trees, between the Ruvuma and Zambezi rivers – forest savannah, south of the Zambezi – park savannah. Along the banks of the rivers grow gallery tropical forests with valuable tree species. The ocean coast is lined with palm trees and mangroves. north of the Ruvuma River – steppe savannah with islands of trees, between the Ruvuma and Zambezi rivers – forest savannah, south of the Zambezi – park savannah. Along the banks of the rivers grow gallery tropical forests with valuable tree species. The ocean coast is lined with palm trees and mangroves.The animal world is rich; national parks and reserves have been created to protect large mammals. The subsoil is poorly explored, the discovered minerals testify to their wealth. Known deposits of coal (its reserves are estimated at 10 billion tons), iron ore (500 million tons), tantalite, ilmenite, graphite, bauxite, manganese, platinum, gold, nickel, uranium, titanium, zirconium. In 1999, geologists discovered another titanium deposit, perhaps the largest in the world (100 million tons of metal). Two natural gas fields have been discovered (reserves of at least 60 bcm). The climate is tropical in most of the country and subtropical in the far south. There are dry and wet seasons. The temperature on the coast in the dry season is +18.3–20.0°C, and in the wet season +26.7–29.4°C. In the western regions, located above sea level, it is cooler. Mozambique is prone to frequent floods and drought. Annual rainfall: from 750 mm in the south to 1500 mm in the north.
Population of Mozambique
According to the 1980 and 1997 censuses, the population doubled during this period, and the population growth rate was approx. 4% per year. In 2002 they dropped to 1.13% due to the AIDS pandemic. Birth rate 36.41%, mortality 25.13%, infant mortality 138.55 people. per 1000 newborns. Sex and age structure (2002): 0-14 years – 42.5% (4,162,413 men and 4,176,295 women), 15-64 years – 54.7% (respectively 5,313,511 and 5,407,052), 65 years and older – 2.8% (227,761 and 320,487). Average life expectancy 34.46 years (2002). Literacy of the population is 42.3%. 99.66% of the population belongs to the Bantu language family. The ethnic composition is very diverse, especially in the south of the country. The largest ethnic groups: Makvelomwe (40% of the population), Tonga, Shona. In the north of the country, the language of communication along with Portuguese is Swahili. 30% of the population are Christians, 20% are Muslims.