Form of government: multiparty republic{1} with a single legislative house (Assembly of the Republic [250]).
Chief of state and head of government: President.
Capital: Maputo.
Official language: Portuguese.
Official religion: none.
Monetary unit: 1 metical (Mt; plural meticais)=100 centavos;
valuation (Oct. 6, 1995) 1 U.S.$=Mt 9,974; 1 
=Mt 15,768.
Population (1995): 17,889,000.
Density (1995){2}: persons per sq mi 58.3, persons per sq km 22.4.
Urban-rural (1991): urban 28.1%; rural 71.9%.
Sex distribution (1994): male 48.48%; female 51.52%
Age breakdown (1994): under 15, 46.0%; 15-29, 26.1%; 30-44, 15.3%; 45-59, 8.5%; 60-74, 3.5%; 75 and over, 0.6%.
Population projection: (2000) 20,868,000; (2010) 27,381,000.
Doubling time: 26 years.
Ethnolinguistic composition (1983): Makua 47.3%; Tsonga 23.3%; Malawi 12.0%; Shona 11.3%; Yao 3.8%; Swahili 0.8%; Makonde 0.6%; Portuguese 0.2%; other 0.7%.
Religious affiliation (1980): traditional beliefs 47.8%; Christian 38.9%, of which Roman Catholic 31.4%; Muslim 13.0%; other 0.3%.
Major cities (1991): Maputo 931,591; Beira 298,847; Nampula 250,473.
Birth rate per 1,000 population (1995): 45.5 (world avg. 25.0).
Death rate per 1,000 population (1995): 18.3 (world avg. 9.3).
Natural increase rate per 1,000 population (1995): 27.2 (world avg. 15.7).
Total fertility rate (avg. births per childbearing woman; 1990-95): 6.5.
Marriage rate per 1,000 population (1974): 0.7.
Divorce rate per 1,000 population (1973): 0.01.
Life expectancy at birth (1990-95): male 44.9 years; female 48.0 years.
Major causes of death per 100,000 population: n.a.; however, major infectious diseases include cholera, malaria, diarrhea, acute respiratory infections, measles, tuberculosis, intestinal parasitoses and infestations, and AIDS.
Budget (1994). Revenue: Mt 1,525,700,000 (sales tax 48.4%, customs taxes 22.5%, individual income tax 17.9%). Expenditures: Mt 4,096,500,000 (defense and security 18.6%, goods and services 14.7%).
Production (metric tons except as noted). Agriculture, forestry, fishing (1994): cassava 3,294,000, corn (maize) 526,000, coconuts 425,000, sugarcane 230,000, sorghum 164,000, bananas 80,000, peanuts (groundnuts) 74,000; livestock (number of live animals) 1,250,000 cattle, 389,000 goats, 174,000 pigs, 119,000 sheep, 22,000,000 chickens; roundwood (1993) 16,013,000 cu m; fish catch 24,170. Mining and quarrying (1994): marine salt 40,000; bauxite 9,620; copper 133{3}, {4}; garnet 3,000 kg; gemstones 6,865 carats. Manufacturing (valued in Mt '000,000; 1994): food processing 263,761.9; beverages and tobacco 137,676.4; textiles 121,243.2; chemical products 92,014.9; nonmetallic mineral products 67,592.8; clothing 48,832.1; machinery and transport equipment 38,956.5; iron and steel products 36,223.3. Construction (value in Mt; 1994) 157,700,000. Energy production (consumption): electricity (kW-hr; 1994) 340,000,000 (728,000,000); coal (metric tons; 1993) 40,000 (60,000); crude petroleum (1993) none (none{5}); petroleum products (metric tons; 1993) none{5} (265,000); natural gas, none (none).
Population economically active (1980): total 5,671,290; activity rate 48.6% (participation rates: over age 15, 87.3%; female 52.4%; unemployed 1.7%).
Public debt (external, outstanding; 1993): U.S.$4,650,000,000.
Household income and expenditure. Average family size (1992-93) 6.7{6}; income per household: n.a.; sources of income (1992-93){6}: wages and salaries 51.6%, self-employment 12.5%, barter 11.5%, private farming 7.7%; expenditure (1992-93){6}: food, beverages, and tobacco 74.6%, housing and energy 11.7%, transportation and communications 4.7%, clothing and footwear 3.7%, education and recreation 1.4%, health 0.8%.
Gross national product (at current market prices; 1993): U.S.$1,375,000,000 (U.S.$70 per capita).
Tourism: n.a.
Land use (1993): forested 17.9%; meadows and pastures 56.1%; agricultural and under permanent cultivation 4.0%; other 22.0%.
Imports (1994): U.S.$1,018,000,000 (1990; foodstuffs 28.9%, capital equipment 22.9%, crude petroleum and derivatives 10.9%, machinery and spare parts 9.5%). Major import sources (1994): South Africa 35.4%; U.K. 8.4%; France 7.7%; Japan 6.7%; U.S. 6.4%; Portugal 5.0%; Italy 3.0%.
Exports (1994): U.S.$149,500,000 (shrimp 42.3%, cotton 12.6%, petroleum 9.2%, sugar 7.4%, cashew nuts 2.2%). Major export destinations: Spain 22.4%; South Africa 14.8%; Japan 13.1%; Portugal 9.9%; United States 9.5%.
Transport. Railroads (1994): route length 1,946 mi, 3,131 km; passenger-mi 78,900,000, passenger-km 127,000,000; short ton-mi cargo 447,900,000, metric ton-km cargo 654,000,000. Roads (1991): total length 16,955 mi, 27,287 km (paved 17%). Vehicles (1992): passenger cars 35,000; trucks and buses 35,000. Merchant marine (1992): vessels (100 gross tons and over) 107; total deadweight tonnage 31,645. Air transport (1994): passenger-mi 26,967,000, passenger-km 434,000,000; short ton-mi cargo 6,849,000, metric ton-km cargo 10,000,000; airports (1995) with scheduled flights 8.
Communications. Daily newspapers (1994): total number 2; total circulation 81,000; circulation per 1,000 population 4.7. Radio (1994): total number of receivers 620,000 (1 per 28 persons). Television (1994): total number of receivers 35,000 (1 per 496 persons). Telephones (main lines; 1993): 62,100 (1 per 263 persons).
Educational attainment (1980). Percentage of population age 25 and over having: no formal schooling 80.7%; primary education 18.2%; secondary 0.9%; higher 0.2%. Literacy (1995): percentage of total population age 15 and over literate 40.1%; males literate 57.7%; females literate 23.3%.
Health (1993): physicians 114 (1 per 143,351 persons); hospital beds 13,280 (1 per 1,231 persons); infant mortality rate per 1,000 live births (1995) 127.7.
Food (1992): daily per capita caloric intake 1,680 (vegetable products 97%, animal products 3%); 72% of FAO recommended minimum requirement.
Total active duty personnel (1995): n.a.{8}. Military expenditure as percentage of GNP (1993): 7.6% (world 3.3%); per capita expenditure U.S.$6.