21 Mozambique Facts Most Americans Don't Know

Quick answer: Mozambique is a country in southeastern Africa located on the Indian Ocean, sharing borders with Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa, and Eswatini. Its capital city is Maputo. Gaining independence from Portugal in 1975, the nation is known for its extensive 2,470 km coastline, unique biodiversity, and a population where the majority sustains their livelihoods through small-scale, hand-worked farming.

By Anselmo Boaventura

Short answer: Mozambique is a country in southeastern Africa on the Indian Ocean, between South Africa and Tanzania, with Maputo as its capital and Portuguese as its official language. It became independent from Portugal on 25 June 1975. Here are 21 facts that surprise most people who have never been.

The country

1. Location: southeastern Africa, facing Madagascar across the Mozambique Channel.
2. Neighbours: Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, Zimbabwe, South Africa and Eswatini.
3. Capital: Maputo, in the far south — closer to Johannesburg than to most of northern Mozambique.
4. Coastline: about 2,470 km, one of the longest in Africa. See how long the Mozambique coastline really is.
5. Independence: 25 June 1975, from Portugal.
6. The name comes from the Island of Mozambique (Ilha de Moçambique), a small coral island in the north that is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site.
7. Currency: the metical (MZN).

The surprising ones

1. An AK-47 on the flag. Mozambique's flag is widely described as the only national flag with a modern rifle — crossed with a farmer's hoe. Why the flag has an AK-47.
2. A Commonwealth member that was never British. Mozambique joined the Commonwealth in 1995 despite being a former Portuguese colony.
3. More than 40 languages are spoken, though Portuguese is official. What language they speak in Mozambique.
4. Peri-peri has Mozambican roots. The famous chilli sauce grew out of Portuguese and Mozambican cooking.
5. Cashews: in the early 1970s Mozambique was one of the world's biggest cashew producers. Where cashews come from.
6. Dugongs: the Bazaruto Archipelago protects one of the last viable dugong populations on the East African coast.
7. Whale sharks and manta rays draw divers from around the world to Tofo.
8. A wildlife comeback: Gorongosa National Park is one of Africa's best-known restoration stories. National parks of Mozambique.
9. Lake Niassa (called Lake Malawi in Malawi) forms part of the northwestern border.
10. The Zambezi River crosses the country and feeds Cahora Bassa, one of the largest dams in Africa.

The people and the land

1. Most people farm. The majority of Mozambicans make their living from agriculture, mostly on small family plots called machambas, worked by hand.
2. DUAT, not ownership: all land belongs to the state; families and businesses hold a right to use it, called a DUAT. What a DUAT is.
3. Mobile money is everywhere: M-Pesa, e-Mola and mKesh reach villages that have no bank. How the three compare.
4. Cyclones and droughts hit farmers hard — Cyclone Idai in 2019 devastated Beira and the surrounding farmland.

What this means for farming families

Put facts 18 to 21 together and you have the daily reality of a Mozambican smallholder: a hand-worked plot, land held under a DUAT, a phone for payments, and weather that can wipe out a season. The single biggest difference a family can make before the rains is buying good seed and fertilizer on time — the subject of our guide The Nature of a Seed.

Frequently asked questions

Where is Mozambique? In southeastern Africa, on the Indian Ocean coast, between Tanzania to the north and South Africa to the south.

What is Mozambique famous for? Its long Indian Ocean coastline, islands and diving, Gorongosa National Park, cashews, prawns, peri-peri cooking, and the AK-47 on its flag.

What is the capital of Mozambique? Maputo.

Is Mozambique a poor country? Mozambique is one of the lower-income countries in the world, and most people depend on small-scale farming.

Turn a fact into a harvest: sponsor a farmer in Mozambique from $25. Your gift pays for seed and fertilizer at the farmer's local shop, and you get the receipt. Sponsorships are gifts, not investments.