Mozambique

C

Natural Resources

Mozambique has few mineral resources that are easily exploitable. A coal deposit in the Zambezi Valley has been successfully mined since colonial times, and gold and bauxite are mined in small quantities in the mountains. Forests cover 24 percent of Mozambique, and only 6 percent of the land is arable.

D

Climate

The Indian monsoon influences the climate of the northern two-thirds of Mozambique. Rains arrive with the monsoon winds from the Indian Ocean in October and linger through March, while a dry season prevails during the rest of the year, when the winds blow in the opposite direction. The southern third of the country is generally drier. Rainfall can be as high as 1,400 mm (56 in) a year near the Zambezi Delta and as low as 300 mm (12 in) a year in the lowlands of the southern interior. Mozambique is prone to severe droughts, and when droughts are relieved by heavy rains, flash floods often result. Severe flooding ravaged Mozambique in 2000, displacing thousands of people and wiping out crops and livestock.

Average temperatures along the coast are as low as 18°C (65°F) in the extreme south, while in the hot season most parts of the coast average 27° to 28°C (80° to 82°F). The hottest region is the interior Zambezi Valley, with average summer temperatures of 32°C (90°F). The coldest temperatures are usually recorded in one of the western mountain ranges, where frosts are common in the winter. The average January temperature in Maputo, the capital, is 26°C (78°F), while the average July temperature is 18°C (65°F).

E

Environmental Issues

Several national parks were created in Mozambique during the colonial era. Since the end of the civil war, several large national parks and reserves have been established in areas that were formerly battlefields. Protected areas cover 7 percent (2007) of Mozambique’s total land area.

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III

The People of Mozambique

Mozambique had an estimated population of 21,284,701 in 2008, giving the country an average density of 27 persons per sq km (70 per sq mi). Many people fled to cities during the country’s civil war, but the population of Mozambique remains overwhelmingly rural.

A

Principal Cities

Most of Mozambique’s major cities are found along the coast. The capital, Maputo, lies in the extreme south and is the country’s major industrial center. Beira, south of the Zambezi Delta, is the main city of central Mozambique. Badly damaged during the civil war, Beira had started only in the late 1990s to reclaim its status as the major port of entry for goods carried by rail to Zimbabwe. The industrial city of Chimoio lies inland on the Beira railway. In the south the ports of Inhambane and Xai-Xai are important urban centers, and north of the Zambezi the main towns are Nampula, Nacala, Quelimane, and Pemba.

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