Contents

- General Information
- Geography and Environment
- Population and HIV/AIDS
- Economy
- Agriculure: General Description of the Family Farm Sector
- Communications, Information, Science and Technology
- Chronology of History

ECONOMY

Mozambique's economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, although it is one of the poorest countries in the world.

The heritage of a colonial policy of ethnic segregation and a war lasting three decades (independence war 1964-1975 and civil strife 1975-1992) clearly mark the main economic indicators: dominance of the agricultural sector with low productivity (agrarian society); less developed manufacturing, industrial, service and finance sectors; low educational level (lack of skilled labor force); foreign aid (WB, IMF) and other international development co-operations and donors and therefore high debt services.

Almost two-thirds of the population depend on agriculture (about 81%, and out of these about 90% on subsistence agriculture) for its livelihood. The vulnerability of the agricultural sector to the level of rainfall has been highlighted throughout the past years. Livestock ranging is of little importance due to the Tse Tse fly (about two-thirds of the total area) and other animal diseases. Cattle ranging has high development possibilities in the drier southern part of the country. Chickens and goats are most important, as are the crops maize, millet, sorghum, rice, cassava, potatoes and sweet potatoes. The cash crop sector is in a reconstruction stage and raked with development problems, especially the cashew sector. Other planted cash crops are sugar cane, tea, tobacco, and coconut. Extraction of timber is limited because of lack of infrastructure (bad road situation) but has a high development potential due to the richness of high quality timber species. Fisheries, particularly shrimp and prawn, are of importance, with high potential for production increase. Mozambique has considerable mineral resources, such as coal tantalite, ilmenite, graphite, iron ore, bauxite, salt; possible development of gold mines, petroleum, and gas. During 1991-1993 mining contributed a constant of 0.2% of GDP.

The industrial and manufacture sector (comprising mining, manufacturing, and energy) in 1998 is simple. It is largely food and beverage production (64%), chemical and petrol industries (10%), and non-metalic mineral products (10%). Half of the value of industrial production comes from food processing by small family companies. (INE 1998). A large aluminum smelting plant by Maputo City is scheduled to go into full operation soon, and will add significantly to the country's industrial production. Employment in industry was only a small portion of the total, namely, 4% of the total. 1998 (INE, Statistico Annuario 1998)

Food and Beverages: 2992 billion MT
Chemical and Petrol Industry: 449 billion MT
Non-Metalic Mineral Products: 485 bn MT
Other Total Manufacturing value: 4703 bn MT

Services contribute a large portion of gross domestic product - 43% from 1995-99, according to the World Bank (http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/). Like the industrial and manufacturing sector, services (comprising transport and communication, commerce, administration, and other services) are largely characterized by small, family enterprises and the dominance of one or two activities. According to the 1997 census, 14% of those working were in services. Half of them were in the conta propria and family work category, and three-quarters of these in the commerce sector. A second large group of workers were employed by the government in administrative services (16% of the total service workers).

Size of Economy, 1999 [1]
GNP measured at purchasing power parity (PPP): US$ 13.8 billion
GNP measured at PPP per capita: US$ 797
GNP per capita: US$ 230
GNP average annual growth rate, 1998-99: 8.6%
GNP average per capita annual growth rate, 1998-99: 6.6%
GNP: US$ 3.9 billion GDP total: US$ 2,512 (1990), US$ 4,169 (1999)

GDP value added as % of GPP, agriculture: 37 (1990), 32 (1999)
GDP value added as % of GPP, industry: 18 (1990), 24 (1999)
GDP value added as % of GPP, manufacturing: 10 (1990), 13 (1999)
GDP value added as % of GPP, services: 44 (1990), 44 (1999)

Labor force [3]
At the national level the majority of the economically-active population is employed in the agricultural sector (82%), followed by trade and finance (6.9%), manufacturing (3%), administration (2.7%), construction (2%), other services (1.5%), and all other sectors (2%). About 70% of the 8,485,117 total population aged 15 and over are economically active. That means about 30% of the population 15 years and over is economically inactive, which includes persons who are looking for jobs for the first time, retired and disabled persons, students, and domestic workers.

Click here to view detailed information on Population 7 and 15 years and over by economic status, 1997. and Economically-active population of 15 years and over by sector, place of residence, and sex, 1997. (CSV file)

Trade:
Exports (in million US$ in 1998): of commercial services 286, merchandise 210 [2]
Imports (in million US$ in 1998): of commercial services 396, merchandise 910 [2]

Export commodities: Prawns, cotton, cashew kernels, cashew nuts, sugar, maize, wood, copra, lobster, citrus, and tires [5]
Import commodities (5 of total in current prices in 1997): Intermediate goods (36%), equipment (33%), consumer goods (20%), and fuel and electricity (11%). [5]

External debt and official assistance [2]
External debt (in million US$): 4,653 (1990), 8,208 (1998);
present value of 74% of GNP in 1998 [2]
In 1998, Mozambique qualified for debt relief under the Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative by the World Bank and the IMF. As of 2000, the total debt was reduced from 6 billion US$ to 1.7 billion US$. This change reduces the service-to-export ratio from 20% to 5% (http://devdata.worldbank.org/external/).

Official development assistance: US$ 71 per capita, and 42.4% of GNP (1990); US$ 61 per capita, and 28.2% of GNP (1998) [2]. In 2000, 1.27 billion US$ was pledged as aid, or $74 per capita.

Currency: 1 Metical (MT), average exchange rate on 11 May 2000 was 15,100 MT/US$

Average exchange rates ends-of-period (MT/US$): 1,038.15 (1990), 2,724.14 (1992), 6,552.50 (1994), 11,295.00 (1996), and 12,366.00 (1988) [4]

Fiscal year: 1 January-31 December

Energy use and emission [1]
Commercial energy use in thousand metric tons of oil equivalent: 7,318 in 1990 and 7,664 in 1997
Commercial energy use per capita in kg of oil equivalent: 517 in 1990 and 461 in 1997 (-1.7% average annual growth 1990-97)
Net energy imports of % of commercial energy use: 6 in 1990 and 9 in 1997
Carbon dioxide emissions: 1.0 metric ton and 0.1 metric ton per capita in 1996

Agriculture [1]
Tractors per 1,000 agricultural workers: 7 (1979-81), 10 (1996-98)
Agricultural productivity, agricultural value added per agricultural worker 1995 US$: 127 (1996-98)
Food production index: 100.1 (1979-81), 130.9 (1996-98)

Land use, percentage of total land (1998, in 1,000 hectares) [2]:
Land area (excluding inland water bodies): 78,409
Agricultural area: 47,350 (60.3%)
Arable land: 3,120 (4.0%), 0.19 hectares per capita (based on adjusted 1997 population of 16,075,708)
Permanent crops: 230 (0.3 %)
Permanent pastures: 44,000 (56.1%)
Forests and woodland: 17,300 (22.1%) (Note: data from 1994, since 1995 FAO lists this category with 0 hectares)
Irrigated land: 107

Agricultural products: Maize, millet, sorghum, rice, cassava, potato, sweet potato, beans; cashew, cotton, sugarcane, copra; tobacco, tea; livestock; freshwater and marine fish.

Sources:
[1] The World Bank. 2000. World Development Report 2000/2001. Attacking Poverty. New York, N.Y.: Oxford University Press. The complete report is available on-line: http://worldbank.org/poverty/wdrpoverty/report/

[2] FAOSTAT 2000. Land Use Table. http://faostat.fao.org/default.htm

[3] INE. 1999. CD-ROM: Censo 97. Il Recenseamento Geral da População e Habitação. Resultados Definitivos. Maputo: INE.

[4] Bank of Mozambique, http://www.bancomoc.mz/english/taxas/e_taxcf.htm

[5] INE - Instituto Nacional de Estatística, http://www.ine.gov.mz/sector1/export.htm

- General Information
- Geography and Environment
- Population and HIV/AIDS
- Economy
- Agriculure: General Description of the Family Farm Sector
- Communications, Information, and Science and Technology
- Chronology of History