Suffrage: universal adult at age 18
Elections: national elections are indirect and based on mass meetings throughout the country
Communists: about 60,000 FRELIMO members
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, FAO, G-77, GATT (de facto), IBRD, ICAO,
IFAD, ILO, IMF, IMO, ITU, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WHO, WMO
Diplomatic representation: Ambassador Valeriano FERRAO; Chancery at
Suite 570, 1990 M Street NW, Washington DC 20036; telephone (202) 293-7146;
US—Ambassador Melissa F. WELLS; Embassy at 3rd Floor, 35 Rua Da Mesquita,
Maputo (mailing address is P. O. Box 783, Maputo); telephone 743167 or 744163
Flag: three equal horizontal bands of green (top), black, and yellow with a red isosceles triangle based on the hoist side; the black band is edged in white; centered in the triangle is a yellow five-pointed star bearing a crossed rifle and hoe in black superimposed on an open white book
- Economy Overview: One of Africa's poorest countries, with a per capita GDP of little more than $100, Mozambique has failed to exploit the economic potential of its sizable agricultural, hydropower, and transportation resources. Indeed, national output, consumption, and investment declined throughout the first half of the 1980s because of internal disorders, lack of government administrative control, and a growing foreign debt. A sharp increase in foreign aid, attracted by an economic reform policy, has resulted in successive years of economic growth since 1985. Agricultural output, nevertheless, is only at about 75% of its 1981 level, and grain has to be imported. Industry operates at only 20-40% of capacity. The economy depends heavily on foreign assistance to keep afloat.
GDP: $1.6 billion, per capita less than $110; real growth rate 5.0% (1988)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 81.1% (1988)
Unemployment rate: 40.0 (1988)