Mozambique Economy Facts

Economical overview

Compared to neighboring countries, Mozambique has a varied economy, where agriculture and industry as well as trade and tourism play an important role. Agriculture is estimated to account for a quarter of the gross domestic product (GDP), but its importance is more important than that. Four out of five Mozambicans rely on family farming.

According to the World Bank, Mozambique in the mid-1990s was the world’s poorest country. But after the end of the civil war in 1994, growth accelerated rapidly. The manufacturing industry flourished and nearly a thousand state-owned companies were privatized, even though large monopoly companies remained state-owned.

• Countryaah.com: Major imports by Mozambique, covering a full list of top products imported by the country and trade value for each product category.

The rapid economic progress has attracted considerable attention abroad. Mozambique, which used to be the left’s nanny, liberalized trade and released prices, becoming a favorite for market liberals.

Mozambique has since 1996 been one of the sub-Saharan African countries that has experienced the strongest growth. On average, gross domestic product (GDP) has grown by over seven percent each year. The rapid recovery has been driven by large foreign investment in mining and industry. During the 2010s, investors were attracted by newly discovered significant offshore natural gas deposits and large coal resources. However, the fact that the country’s infrastructure is still poorly developed, even though investments are in progress, and does not meet investors’ requirements, however, risks hampering development. The IMF has estimated that coal and gas production can increase growth in the country by two percent annually.

However, the large investments have not created many new jobs, and growth in other important sectors of the economy has been weak. Ordinary people, especially in the countryside, have not been part of the progress either. Critics believe that in recent years market liberal policies have taken too little into account social effects in the form of increasing income gaps and poverty.

• Abbreviationfinder.org: Check this abbreviation website to find three letter ISO codes for all countries in the world, including NAK which represents the country of Mozambique. Check findjobdescriptions to learn more about Mozambique.

Critical voices have been raised against Mozambique’s market-liberal economic policies, which are largely governed by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) lending institutions. The critics believe that it has taken too little into account social effects in the form of increasing income gaps and poverty. The austerity programs carried out under the auspices of the credit institutions have, among other things, meant that state subsidies have been abolished, that state employees have been laid off and that foreign companies have competed out domestically. This has led to increased unemployment. However, the IMF and the World Bank have taken up some of the criticism and are now talking about the need for social reform.

Mozambique has long been heavily dependent on foreign aid, but the large investments in extracting the country’s good natural resources are expected to mean more and more for the country’s economy. The government’s strategy to reduce poverty underlies much of the aid. Budgetary policy is designed in collaboration with the foreign donors, where Sweden plays an important role.

The money that Mozambican abroad sends home to their families is also important for the economy.

Government debt has been very large, but as part of the World Bank and IMF debt relief programs for the world’s most debt-ridden countries, HIPC (Heavily Indebted Poor Countries) and MDRI (Multilateral Debt Relief Initiative), the country’s debt has been written down significantly.

FACTS – FINANCE

GDP per person

US $ 490 (2018)

Total GDP

US $ 14,458 million (2018)

GDP growth

3.3 percent (2018)

Agriculture’s share of GDP

21.4 percent (2018)

Manufacturing industry’s share of GDP

10.7 percent (2018)

The service sector’s share of GDP

46.6 percent (2018)

Inflation

5.6 percent (2019)

Government debt’s share of GDP

99.8 percent (2018)

External debt

US $ 12 010 million (2017)

Currency

Metical

Assistance per person

US $ 60 (2017)

2011

April

MDM’s leaders take damage from their own campaign

The new opposition party MDM’s campaign against corruption strikes back when its MPs are revealed in a tangle of tax cheats with imported cars. Party leader Daviz Simango is accused of promoting his own family and family within MDM.