Mozambique is a country in Southeast Africa. Mozambique is
located on the Indian Ocean between the 10th and 27th southern
latitude. The state borders with Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe,
South Africa and Eswatini. The Mozambique Channel separates the
island nation of Madagascar from mainland Africa. The capital is
Maputo, other important cities in Mozambique are Matola, Beira and
Nampula.
On June 25, 1975, Mozambique gained independence
from Portugal. Due to the years of civil war that followed, it is
still one of the poorest countries in the world. Mozambique has been
a member of the Commonwealth of Nations since November 12, 1995.
Since the discovery of large oil fields off the coast of Cabo
Delgado province in the north in 2010/2011, the country has great
potential for economic recovery. However, in recent years, the
division between the numerous cultures and religions in the country
has also increased. At the latest since the spread of the Islamist
terrorist organization IS since 2015 (also in the province of Cabo
Delgado), the state of Mozambique has been in danger of failing.
geography
location and description
Along the 2800 km long coast
there is a wide coastal lowland. It covers most of the south, but
narrows northwards from the Zambezi estuary. Behind the coast, the land
rises in stages up to the approximately 1000 m high plateau of the high
field. The highest mountain is Monte Binga in Manica province (on the
border with Zimbabwe) at 2436 m.
With a land area of 801,590 km²,
Mozambique ranks 34th in the world. 18% of the land area is forest and
bush land, 4% arable land, 55% meadows and pastures.
The extent
of the country is 2000 km north-south and 50 to 600 km west-east. The
coast of the Indian Ocean is 2800 km long.
Mozambique has 4571 km
of national borders, of which 756 km with Tanzania, 1569 km with Malawi,
419 km with Zambia, 1231 km with Zimbabwe, 491 km with South Africa and
105 km with Eswatini.
climate
Savannah climate with a wet and
a dry season prevails. Around 80% of the annual precipitation falls in
the rainy season, which runs from November to April. Depending on the
region, these vary between 700 and 1500 mm per year. While the
temperatures during the rainy season are hot and humid (tropical), the
dry season is mainly characterized by significantly cooler nights. Day
temperatures are between 25 and 30 °C all year round, inland up to 35
°C. The nights are sometimes very humid at around 15 to 25 °C,
especially on the coast.
In some years, around 2007/2008, there
was unusually high rainfall, which claimed lives and threatened
harvests. Overall, the country experiences high climate variability and
frequent extreme weather events (particularly droughts, floods, tropical
cyclones). Droughts are the most common disasters, occur about every
three to four years and massively impede the country's development.
Regarding the consequences of global warming, it is assumed that
cyclones could occur less frequently, but their intensity and thus
precipitation is likely to increase. In 2019, for example, Cyclones Idai
and Kenneth were unusually intense and caused severe damage. These
weather events can also lead to increased erosion in coastal areas.
Since a large part of the population and especially many poor people in
rural areas live from rainfed agriculture, they are particularly
vulnerable to changes in precipitation patterns.
Bodies of water
The country's numerous
rivers flow east from the highlands into the Mozambique Straits. The
largest river is the Zambezi (2,574 km), which is dammed in western
Mozambique by the Cahora Bassa Dam. Other large rivers are the Rovuma,
the border river to Tanzania, as well as the Sava and the Limpopo. Lake
Malawi forms part of the border with Malawi; its outflow is the Shire,
which empties into the Zambezi. Together with the Lurio, the drainage
basins of these rivers make up over half of the country. However, due to
its geography, Mozambique only accounts for a comparatively small
proportion of the catchment areas of international rivers. The national
water authority Direcção Nacional de Águas is responsible for drinking
water production and monitoring the water situation.
Flora
The dominant vegetation is dry
savannah with dry grasslands and some dry forests. Some of the trees in
the savannah shed their leaves during the dry season and turn green
during the rainy season. Typical trees of the dry savannah are umbrella
acacias and baobabs. The grass is brown and withers in the dry season
but grows up to 2 meters high during the rainy season.
ethnic groups
The majority of the total population belongs to
Bantu peoples. The Makua make up the largest group with about 40% of
the population, and the Tsonga are also an influential group with
21%. The Yao, who also live in Malawi, make up 12% of the
population, and the Makonde in the north-east are also a strong
minority at 11%. The East African Swahili ethnic group lives in the
coastal area and makes up 7% of the population. In addition, the
Chewa still live in the country with a share of 4% of the population
- their main settlement area is Malawi. The smaller 3% Shona
minority in the West, in turn, forms the majority population in
Zimbabwe.
In 2017, 0.8% of the population was foreign-born.
Furthermore, many people with a migration background (Indians,
Pakistanis, Chinese), Europeans (mainly Portuguese) and South
Africans live in Mozambique. The return of almost five million
internally displaced persons to their home towns and the return of
1.7 million refugees from neighboring countries after the end of the
Mozambican civil war as well as around 15,000 Mozambicans from the
former German Democratic Republic, so-called Madgermanes, pose major
challenges for the country.
Mozambique has a significant
diaspora in South Africa. In 2017, around 680,000 people from
Mozambique lived there. Other countries with many Mozambicans living
abroad are Zimbabwe (90,000) and Portugal (70,000).
Languages
Altogether more than 40 languages are spoken in the country. The
native national languages belong to the language group of the Bantu
languages. According to the 2007 census, Portuguese, the only
official language, is now spoken by about 12% (mainly in cities) of
the total population as a mother tongue, but in Maputo it is spoken
by about 25%. A good 50% speak Portuguese as a second language in
addition to their native language. Most Mozambicans speak more than
one native language. In addition to the official language
Portuguese, the most important languages include (sorted according
to the proportion of speakers):
Makua, also eMakhuwa - the most
important language in northern Mozambique is spoken by 25.3% of the
population according to the 2007 census. 40% of the residents are
considered ethnic Makua. These speak different variants within an
eMakua dialect continuum or "Makhuwa languages" - according to
Ethnologue nine in Mozambique -, of which the "central Makhuwa" -
2006 with 3.09 million speakers - also simply as "eMakhuwa" or
"eMakua".
Changana – spoken by 10.7% of the population in the
South West in Maputo Province and Gaza Province, also called Ronga
in Maputo City; however, the ethnic Tsonga population is 21%
Sena
– in Sofala province by 7.5% of the population
Chilomwe - 7% of
the population (closely related to eMakhua)
Chuwabo - 5.1% of the
population
Swahili – in the north (border with Tanzania)
ChiMakonde – in the northeast (province of Cabo Delgado)
Chichewa
– also called Nyanja; to the west (Tete Province), the area borders
Zambia and Malawi, where this language is also spoken.
Shona -
Spoken by the Shona people
Ndau - Spoken in Sofala Province,
related to the Shona language
Tswa – in the South East (Inhambane
Province)
Among foreign languages, those spoken by Chinese,
Indian and Pakistani immigrants stand out.
religion
During
the colonial period, the Roman Catholic Church was by far the most
important Christian denomination. Since independence, however,
evangelical movements have become increasingly important. Of
particular importance is the popular TV station TV Miramar, which is
owned by the Brazilian faith healer sect Igreja Universal do Reino
de Deus, which also broadcasts Christian fundamentalist content in
addition to well-known Brazilian telenovelas.
According to a
survey from 2007, a total of 28.4% of the inhabitants are Roman
Catholic (mainly in the south and south-west) and 17.9% are Muslim
(mainly Sunni, especially in the north and in the coastal regions).
15.5% are Zionist Christians. Protestants make up 12.2% of the
population, of which 10.9% are Pentecostals and 1.3% Anglicans. 6.7%
belong to other religions, mostly traditional religions. 18.7% do
not belong to any religion and 0.7% are not recorded.