Facts about Mozambique

At the end of the colonial period, slavery in Delaware began a precipitous decline.

Mozambique now is less dependent on imports for basic food and manufactured goods because of steady increases in local production.

Mozambique's decision to enforce UN sanctions against Rhodesia and deny that country access to the sea led Ian Smith's regime to undertake overt and covert actions to destabilize the country.

Under United Nations supervision, peace came to Mozambique.

The Republic of Mozambique, or Mozambique, is a country in southeastern Africa, bordering South Africa, Swaziland, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

Mozambique is divided into eleven provinces: Cabo Delgado, Gaza, Inhambane, Manica, Maputo (city), Maputo, Nampula, Niassa, Sofala, Tete, and Zambezia.

Mozambique has a hot, rainy season from November to March.

Similarly, in early 1996, Mozambique joined its Anglophone neighbors in the Commonwealth.

Mozambique has been a multiparty democracy since adoption of the 1990 constitution.

After tens of millions of years of relative isolation, Africa-Arabia collided with Eurasia, and the formation of the Isthmus of Panama linked South America and North America, facilitating the distribution of mammals seen today.

Mozambique's first inhabitants were San hunters and gatherers, ancestors of the Khoisani peoples.

Mozambique also belongs to the African Union (formerly the Organization of African Unity) and the Southern African Development Community.

The state-run Radio Mozambique is the country's main source of news and information, and RENAMO claims that its candidates receive inadequate coverage.

Relations with Portugal, the former colonial power, are complex and of some importance, as Portuguese investors play a visible role in Mozambique's economy.

Nevertheless, Mozambique remains one of the world's least developed countries.

During the 1970s and 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.

Life expectancy in Mozambique is 40 years for both men and women.

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 organizations.

Mozambique's most highly developed art forms have been wood sculpture, for which the Makonde in northern Mozambique are particularly renowned, and dance.

The Roman Catholic Church established three archdioceses (Beira, Maputo, and Nampula) in Mozambique.

The twin pillars of Mozambique's foreign policy are maintenance of good relations with its neighbors, and maintenance and expansion of ties to development partners.

Mozambique's Portuguese population at the time of independence in 1975 was about 250,000.

Two islands that belong to Malawi lie entirely within Mozambique's Lake Niassa (Lake Malawi) territorial waters.

The United States, for example, has forgiven Mozambique's debt.

Mozambique is still recovering from the destruction wrought by nearly two decades of civil war during the Cold War era.

In 1962, several anti-colonial political groups formed the Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO), which initiated an armed campaign against Portuguese rule in 1964.

Mozambique's major ethnic groups encompass numerous subgroups with diverse languages, dialects, cultures, and histories.

Despite the influence of Islamic coastal traders and European colonizers, the people of Mozambique have largely retained an indigenous culture based on small-scale agriculture.

The Comoros lie offshore to the northeast, and Madagascar lies to the east across the Mozambique Channel.

When Portuguese explorers reached Mozambique in 1498, Arab trading settlements had existed along the coast and outlying islands for several centuries.

Nearly 90 percent of Mozambique's arable land is still uncultivated; focusing economic growth in this sector is a major challenge for the government.

In 2000, Mozambique qualified for the Enhanced HIPC program as well and attained its completion point in September 2001.

Mozambique has also joined the World Trade Organization.

The population of Mozambique is estimated at 19,686,505.

During the colonial era, Christian missionaries were active in Mozambique, and many foreign clergy remain in the country.

Mozambique is located in eastern Africa, on the continent's largest coastal plain.