Economy - overview At independence in 1975, Mozambique was one of the world's poorest countries. Socialist mismanagement and a brutal civil war from 1977-92 exacerbated the situation. In 1988, the government embarked on a series of dramatic macroeconomic reforms designed to stabilize the economy and reduce government participation. These steps combined with the political stability that has prevailed since the 1994 multi-party elections have led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth rate fueled by foreign and domestic investments and donor assistance. Inflation was brought to single digits during the same period, although it has returned to double digits in 2000 and 2001. Foreign exchange rates have remained relatively stable. Fiscal reforms, including the introduction of a value-added tax and reform of the customs service, have improved the government's revenue collection abilities. In spite of these gains, Mozambique remains dependent upon foreign assistance for much of its annual budget, and the majority of the population remains below the poverty line. Subsistence agriculture continues to employ the vast majority of the country's workforce. A substantial trade imbalance persists, although it has diminished with the opening of the MOZAL aluminum smelter, the country's largest foreign investment project. Additional investment projects in titanium extraction/processing and garment manufacturing should further close the import/export gap. Mozambique's once substantial foreign debt has been reduced through forgiveness and rescheduling under the IMF's Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) and Enhanced HIPC initiatives, and is now at a manageable level.

GDP purchasing power parity - $17.5 billion (2001 est.)

GDP - real growth rate 9.2% (2001 est.)

GDP - per capita purchasing power parity - $900 (2001 est.)

GDP - composition by sector
agriculture: 33%
industry: 25%
services: 42% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line 70% (2001 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1996-97)

Distribution of family income - Gini index 39.6 (1996-97)

Inflation rate (consumer prices) 10% (2001 est.)

Labor force 7.4 million (1997 est.)

Labor force - by occupation agriculture 81%, industry 6%, services 13% (1997 est.)

Unemployment rate 21% (1997 est.)

Budget
revenues: $393.1 million
expenditures: $1.025 billion, including capital expenditures of $479.4 million (2001 est.)

Industries food, beverages, chemicals (fertilizer, soap, paints), petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco

Industrial production growth rate 3.4% (2000)

Electricity - production 7.017 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - production by source
fossil fuel: 3.56%
hydro: 96.44%
other: 0% (2000)
nuclear: 0%

Electricity - consumption 925.81 million kWh (2000)

Electricity - exports 5.7 billion kWh (2000)

Electricity - imports 100 million kWh (2000)

Agriculture - products cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn, coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers; beef, poultry

Exports $746 million (f.o.b., 2001 est.)

Exports - commodities prawns 40%, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk electricity (2000)

Exports - partners South Africa 12.7%, Zimbabwe 12.2%, Spain 10.6%, Portugal 10.0% (2000)

Imports $1.254 billion (c.i.f., 2001 est.)

Imports - commodities machinery and equipment, mineral products, chemicals, metals, foodstuffs, textiles (2000)

Imports - partners South Africa 33.5%, Portugal 4.8%, US 4.2%, Australia 3.8% (2000)

Debt - external $1 billion (2001 est.)

Economic aid - recipient $632.8 million (2001)

Currency metical (MZM)

Currency code MZM

Exchange rates meticais per US dollar - 23,314.2 (January 2002), 20,703.6 (2001), 15,447.1 (2000), 13,028.6 (1999), 12,110.2 (1998), 11,772.6 (1997)
note: effective October 2000, the exchange rate is determined as the weighted average of buying and selling exchange rates of all transactions of commercial banks and stock exchanges with the public; meticais is the plural form of metical

Fiscal year calendar year

NOTE: The information regarding Mozambique on this page is re-published from the 2002 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mozambique Economy 2002 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mozambique Economy 2002 should be addressed to the CIA.