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 1987, the government embarked
on a series of macroeconomic reforms designed to stabilize the
economy. These steps, combined with donor assistance and with
political stability since the multi-party elections in 1994, have
led to dramatic improvements in the country's growth rate. Inflation
was brought to single digits during the late 1990s although it
returned to double digits in 2000-02. 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 the opening of the
MOZAL aluminum smelter, the country's largest foreign investment
project to date has increased export earnings. Additional investment
projects in titanium extraction and 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 - $19.52 billion (2002 est.)
GDP - real growth rate:
7.7% (2002 est.)
GDP - per capita:
purchasing power parity - $1,100 (2002 est.)
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 22%
industry: 23%
services: 55% (2001 est.)
Population below poverty line:
70% (2001 est.)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2.5%
highest 10%: 31.7% (1997)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
39.6 (1996-97)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
15.2% (2002 est.)
Labor force:
9.2 million (2000 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), aluminum,
petroleum products, textiles, cement, glass, asbestos, tobacco
Industrial production growth rate:
3.4% (2000)
Electricity - production:
7.193 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - production by source:
fossil fuel: 2.9%
hydro: 97.1%
other: 0% (2001)
nuclear: 0%
Electricity - consumption:
1.39 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - exports:
5.8 billion kWh (2001)
Electricity - imports:
500 million kWh (2001)
Oil - production:
0 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - consumption:
8,500 bbl/day (2001 est.)
Oil - exports:
NA (2001)
Oil - imports:
NA (2001)
Oil - proved reserves:
0 bbl (37257)
Natural gas - production:
60 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - consumption:
60 million cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - exports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - imports:
0 cu m (2001 est.)
Natural gas - proved reserves:
63.71 billion cu m (37257)
Agriculture - products:
cotton, cashew nuts, sugarcane, tea, cassava (tapioca), corn,
coconuts, sisal, citrus and tropical fruits, potatoes, sunflowers;
beef, poultry
Exports:
$680 million f.o.b. (2002 est.)
Exports - commodities:
aluminum, prawns, cashews, cotton, sugar, citrus, timber; bulk
electricity
Exports - partners:
Belgium 24.3%, South Africa 9.1%, Germany 6.2% (2002)
Imports:
$1.18 billion c.i.f. (2002 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, chemicals, metal products,
foodstuffs, textiles
Imports - partners:
South Africa 27.5%, France 8.9%, US 7%, Australia 6.9%, Japan 6%,
Malaysia 4% (2002)
Debt - external:
$966 million (2002 est.)
Economic aid - recipient:
$632.8 million (2001)
Currency:
metical (MZM)
Currency code:
MZM
Exchange rates:
meticais per US dollar - 23,678 (2002), 20,703.6 (2001), 15,447.1
(2000), 13,028.6 (1999), 12,110.2 (1998)
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
Fiscal year:
calendar year