20+ Interesting Facts About Mozambique

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  1. Mozambique is a coastal country in southeastern Africa. It borders the Indian Ocean to the east and has a tropical climate.
  2. Mozambique shares land borders with Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Eswatini. The Mozambique Channel separates the country from Madagascar and Comoros.
  3. Mozambique has the fourth longest coastline in Africa after Madagascar, Somalia, and South Africa. The length of its coastline is 2,470 km.
  4. Bantu people started migrating towards Mozambique in 400 BC, while this process continued by 400 AD. Islam arrived in its coastal areas around 1000 AD due to the development of port towns for trade in the Indian Ocean.
  5. The Portuguese captured Mozambique at the beginning of the 16th Century. The colonization of Portugal continued until 1975.
  6. The Mozambican War of Independence started in 1964 and continued for ten years. Later, Portugal agreed to liberate Mozambique, and it became an independent country in 1975.
  7. After independence, Frelimo (Mozambique Liberation Front) established a communist single-party system. It resulted in the Mozambican Civil War between Frelimo and anti-communist Renamo (Mozambican National Resistance). The war continued for 15 years (1977-92) and ended after a UN-brokered peace deal between the two groups.
  8. The Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte in Mozambique is considered the oldest European building in the Southern Hemisphere. The Portuguese constructed it in 1522. (Source) 
    Chapel of Nossa Senhora de Baluarte
    Mozambique has the oldest European building in the Southern Hemisphere

  9. Portuguese is the official language of Mozambique, spoken by nearly 40% of people. However, the majority of the population residing outside big cities speaks native languages, including Bantu languages, Swahili, etc.
  10. People in Mozambique have diverse religious affiliations. Nearly 58% of its population follow Christianity (Roman Catholics, Zionist Christians, and Evangelists), while the remaining are adherents of Islam (19%), atheism (14%), and other religions.
  11. The Portuguese named the country after the Island of Mozambique, located in its northern part. The island got its name from an Arab trader, Mussa bin Bique.
  12. The Island of Mozambique, a small coral island, is the only UNESCO World Heritage site in Mozambique. It remained the capital of Portuguese-controlled Mozambique for nearly four centuries (1507-1898). Later, the Portuguese transferred the capital to Maputo. It is famous for historical buildings which depict a blend of Arab, Portuguese, and African cultures.
  13. Foreign energy companies discovered two major offshore gas reserves in Mozambique in 2010 and 2011. This area now hosts the three largest LNG (liquefied natural gas) projects in Africa. (Source)
  14. In 2019, two cyclones (Idai and Kenneth) hit Mozambique within six weeks, affecting several million people. It was the first time in recorded history that two tropical cyclones devastated the country in the same season. (Source)
  15. Frelimo, a socialist political party, has ruled Mozambique since its independence. It has won all elections after the start of the multiparty system in 1994.
  16. Mozambique is the only country in the world to have a modern firearm (an AK-47) on its flag. It symbolizes the country’s war of independence (1964-74) against Portugal.
  17. Lake Malawi is one of the largest and deepest freshwater lakes. Mozambique is the only country with an undisputed share of the lake, while there is a disagreement between Malawi and Tanzania over their control of the lake.
  18. Mozambique earns significant revenue by exporting coal, petroleum gas, gold, and aluminum. The country is the world’s largest importer of special-purpose ships and fluorides. (Source)
  19. Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1995 and became the first country in the organization without a British colonial past. Currently, there are four Commonwealth nations with no relation to the British Empire. The other three are Rwanda (joined in 2009), Gabon, and Togo (2022).
  20. Mozambique is the only country whose one-word name includes all five vowels. Other countries with this feature have multiple words in their name (Equatorial Guinea, Dominican Republic, etc.).
  21. After South Africa, Mozambique has the second-largest population of patients living with HIV in Africa. The country has the 5th highest HIV prevalence rate (11.6%) in the world.
  22. Mozambique’s first president, Samora Machel, died in 1986 in a plane crash in South Africa while returning from Zambia to Mozambique. Mozambique and the Soviet Union called it an assassination by South Africa, but the South African government blamed pilot error for this accident.
  23. Around 80% of Mozambique’s workforce gets employment in agriculture. However, this sector contributes only 20% of the country’s GDP.

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