Mozambique country profile

Mozambique, which gained independence from Portugal in 1975, is still suffering from a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992.

Tensions remain between the ruling party Frelimo and the rebel party Renamo.

Mozambique is one of the poorest countries in Africa. The acquisition of offshore gas fields that could transform the economy is nearing and is expected to start streaming around 2027-29.

However, since 2017 there has been a jihadist insurgency in the province of Cabo Delgado in northern Mozambique, and this has put the state’s ability to ensure security into question.

• Upper case: Maputo

• Location: 801,590 sq km

• Population: 31.6 million

• Languages: Portuguese, plus Makhuwa, Sena, Tsonga, Lomwe, Changana

• Life expectancy: 58 years (men) 64 years (women)

Moderator: Daniel Chapo

Mozambique’s ruling party, Frelimo, won a divisive and violent October 2024 presidential election, extending its power.

Daniel Chapo, an unknown Frelimo presidential candidate and seen as an ambassador for change, replaced Filipe Nyusi, who had served two terms as president.

Chapo, who received 71% of the vote, is the first president born after independence in 1975. His closest, Venâncio Mondlane got 20%.

Chapo said in his victory speech: “We have been silent all this time, out of respect for the law. We are an organized group preparing to win.”

There were violent protests in several cities and many people were killed after the results were announced.

This election was full of allegations of fraud and the killing of supporters of the opposition parties, which led to protests across the country.

Television is a popular medium in Mozambique and there are about 20 channels. State-owned TVM is a national network, and STV is a popular private channel.

Print media has limited influence.

Journalists who offend the authorities risk intimidation and threats and surveillance is commonplace, Reporters Without Borders said.

Some important dates in the history of Mozambique:

c. 400BC-400AD – Bantu-speaking people immigrated to Mozambique, followed by waves of migration from the west and north in the following centuries.

c. 1000 – Indian Ocean trade networks extended south to Mozambique, leading to the development of many port cities, accompanied by the spread of Islam and the Swahili culture.

1498 – Vasco da Gama’s voyage around the Cape of Good Hope marks the entry of the Portuguese into the trade, politics, and society of the area.

1500-1700 – The Portuguese took over most of the coastal trade from the Arab Muslims.

1698 – Arab Muslims take over Portugal’s main territory on the island of Mombasa in Kenya. Later, the Mazrui and Omani Arabs regained much of the Indian Ocean trade, forcing the Portuguese to retreat south.

19th century – Lisbon offers certain areas in Mozambique to be governed by chartered companies such as the Mozambique Company.

1880-1918 – Portugal increased its efforts to take over the interior of the area at the end of the 19th century during the so-called “Scramble for Africa”, gaining control of a large part of the area, despite resistance.

1942 – The Mozambique Company withdraws the territories controlled by the Portuguese, uniting Mozambique under Portuguese rule.

1960 – Mueda massacre. An unknown number of nationalist protesters demanding freedom in Mueda were shot dead by the military. This fuels the support of those who want to rule themselves.

1962 – The Mozambique Liberation Front, or Frelimo was formed in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania.

1964-74 – Mozambique’s war of independence. Armed conflict erupts out of frustration among many Mozambicans who see foreign rule as exploitation.

The UN pressures Portugal to decolonize. Portugal is threatening to withdraw from NATO, stopping pressure from within NATO to leave its African colonies. Nationalist groups in Mozambique turned to the Soviet bloc for help.

1974 – Following the Carnation Revolution in Lisbon, the new Portuguese government calls for a ceasefire and negotiations culminating in the Lusaka Agreement, giving power to Frelimo.

1975 – Independence: Frelimo establishes a one-party system, leading to civil wars.

1977-92 – The Mozambican civil war between the Frelimo government, with the support of Cuba and the USSR, and the anti-communist Mozambican National Resistance (Renamo), combined with the destruction of neighboring Rhodesia and South Africa. More than a million people die as a result of the ensuing famine.

1990 – The constitution was amended to allow for a multi-party system.

1992 – The peace agreement brokered by the UN ends the fighting between Frelimo and the Renamo rebels.

1994 – The first multi-party election.

2017 – Jihadist violence begins in the north, delaying the development of promising offshore gas fields.