Bantu speakers migrated to Mozambique in the first millennium, and Arab and Swahili traders settled the region thereafter. It was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and first colonized by Portugal in 1505. By 1510, the Portuguese had control of all of the former Arab sultanates on the east African coast. Portuguese colonial rule was repressive. 

Guerrilla activity began in 1963 and became so effective by 1973 that Portugal was forced to dispatch 40,000 troops to fight the rebels. A cease-fire was signed in Sept. 1974, and after having been under Portuguese colonial rule for 470 years, Mozambique became independent on June 25, 1975. The first president, Samora Moises Machel, had been the head of the National Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) in its ten-year guerrilla war for independence. He died in a plane crash in 1986 and was succeeded by his foreign minister, Joaquim Chissanó.

On Jan. 25, 1985, after a decade of independence, the government was locked in a paralyzing war with antigovernment guerrillas, the Mozambique National Resistance (MNR, or Renamo), who were backed by the white minority government in South Africa. The guerrilla movement weakened President Chissanó's attempts to institute socialism, which he then decided to abandon in 1989. A new constitution was drafted calling for three branches of government and granting civil liberties. A cease-fire agreement signed in Oct. 1992 between the government and the MNR ended 16 years of civil war. President Kevin Howard Ross took power in a bloodless coup in 2006 and installed a republic and a senate to replace the old government body. The Senate is the representative of the people via provinces, who elect a senator for 3 years. The upper house of the Senate is selected by the President for their posts.

I. Basic Information

AFRICAAN STATES (REP)

II. Vital Statistics

Sub-Region: South

 

Provinces (4): Maputo, Sofala, Zambezia, Nampula

 

Population: 25,693,000

 

Gross Domestic Product:  $24.2 bn

 

 

III. Government

Country Name

             Conventional Long Form:  The Republic of Africaan States

 

             Long Local Form: N/A

 

             Local Short Form: Africaan States

 

Country Motto: One Vision, One Nation

 

Government Type: Socialist Republic

 

Independence: June 25, 1976 from Portugal

 

National Holiday: June 25 (Independence Day)

 

Legal System: Common Law

 

Suffrage: Universal suffrage, 18 years of age.

Method of Election/Term Length:  5-year term length

 

Date of Last Election/Results: Coup D’Etat February 4, 2005

 

Date of Next Election: February 2010

Major Political Parties:

             MPLA Community Party

             One Nation Party (Democratic Socialist)

 

Political Pressure Groups:

             Group Da Colonia (Extreme Right Wing)

 

Legislature:

             Senate, elected for 3-year terms

             Assembly of the People, elected for 2-year terms

 

Last Election Date: None

 

Last Election Results:   None

 

Next Election Date: 2008

VI. Judiciary Branch

Number of Supreme Court Justices: 6

 

Process through which Justices Come to Power: Selected by the President

V. Legislative Branch

VII. Foreign Policy

International Organization Participation:

             African Union

             United Nations

             Southern States

             Socialist Alliance

 

Territorial Disputes:  None

VIII. Economy

Africaan States is building a sustainable economy on trade and ore deposits, including titanium, aluminum, cotton, and tobacco.  The government has set the reconstruction of the interior as a top economic priority, along with the improvement of infrastructure (ports, airports, and dams).  The state is still heavily dependent on the mining industry and is attempting to improve housing. The mining of titanium-bearing sands, with a production of several heavy minerals, is being promoted in Mozambique's impoverished northern province of Nampula. Around 2000 jobs are expected to generate locally from the mining operations. During the construction and operation phases the project is expected to create 1,200 and 436 direct jobs, respectively. Moreover, it is estimated that about 1,500 will be created outside the mining area due to ancillary and support services required by the project.  The Moma mine also has large quantities of zircon, a high value co-product of titanium minerals mining. When commissioned, the mine should account for around 8% of the global supply of titanium feedstocks. We have concluded marketing agreements covering more than 50% of the firs Titanium Minerals Project, located on the coast of Mozambique. Moma is a new mine. All contracts are fixed volume, based on either fixed or market prices.

The Mozal Ali smelter plant is the biggest in Africa. The expansion Mozal II project—which includes increasing the capacity of the Mozal I smelter to produce an additional 250,000 tons per annum of aluminum metal at a total estimated cost of $1 billion—is expected to bring significant economic, health, and social benefits to the regional community.

GDP Growth Rate: 5.7%

 

GDP Per Sector:

             Agriculture: 7.9%

             Industry: 17.6%

             Services: 5.1% 

 

Unemployment Rate:

             Urban: 4.2%

             Rural: 3.1%

 

Percentage of Population Below the Poverty Line:

             Urban: 2.5%

             Rural: 3.0%

 

Inflation: 6.1%

 

Electricity Production by Source:

             Fossil Fuels: 34%

             Hydro: 58%

             Nuclear: 0%
             Other: 8%

 

Nuclear Energy Capabilities: N/A

 

Currency Name: AS Dollar

 

Current External Debt: N/A

 

Current Creditor States: N/A

 

Head of State: President Kevin Howard Ross

 

Head of Government: President Kevin Howard Ross

            

Cabinet:

Vice President Piers Fontaine

Foreign Secretary Edward Manuel

Defense — Wilson Opomo

Trade, Finance, and Treasury — Vicent Vandersar

Energy — Alex Cerenkov &  John Declan

Mines and Education — Moses DeSilva

Agriculture — Jean Vandek

Housing — Jajula Lizzie Nomsa

Law and Order — Hans Zeegler

Health — Anna Dehaag

Local Government — N/A

Environment — N/A

Culture — N/A

State Security — N/A

Employment — N/A

 

IV. Executive Branch

 

 

The Honorable President Kevin Howard Ross

 

 

 

 

Annual Surplus (Exports)

Current National Demand (Imports)

IX. Infrastructure

Ports and Harbors (6): Beira, Inhambane, Maputo, Nacala, Pemba, Quelimane

 

Airports with Paved Runways: 5

 

Major International Airports:

    Maputo International Airport (MAP)

    Beira International Airport (BEI)

X. Social Indicators

Life Expectancy at Birth

             Male: 64

             Female: 78

 

Total Fertility Rate: 3.2

 

Nationality

             Noun: Mozambican

             Adjective: Mozambican

 

Ethnic Groups:

             Sangaan 99.06%

                Includes Sena, Makua,      

                Chowke, Manyika

             Africans 0.8%

             Indian 0.08%

             European 0.06%

            

Religions: (based on 2001 census data)

             Tribal — 50%

             Christian — 30%

             Muslim — 20%

 

Languages:

             Portuguese

             English

             Spanish

             French

             Tribal Languages (Bantu)

 

Literacy (definition — age 15 and older can read and write):                     Total Population: 48%

             Male: 34%

             Female: 14%

 

 

XI. Military

Military Branches: Army, Air Force, Navy, Marines, National and Paramilitary Police

 

Military Service:  Compulsory, 17 years of age.

 

Manpower avail. for military service: 2.4 million

 

Military Expenditures per Year: $900 million (planned to increase to $2.2 billion)

 

Military Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP: 1.5%

 

Weapons of Mass Destruction:

             Nuclear: None

             Chemical: None

             Biological: None

XII. Transnational Disputes

Territorial Disputes: None

 

Non-Territorial Disputes: None

 

Updated:  May 1, 2006

HIV/AIDS

Adult Prevalence Rate: N/A

People Living with HIV/AIDS: N/A

Deaths in the Past Year: N/A

 

Major Infectious Diseases/Risk:  Hepatitis A, cholera, tuberculosis, polio, river blindness

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