ozambique is a country on the southeastern coast of Africa, south of Tanzania and east of Zimbabwe, Zambia, and Malawi. Its total area is 308,642 sq mi. Maputo is the capital and largest city.

Mozambique has a tropical savanna climate. Dense rain forest covers the river valleys, and a more open woodland-grassland predominates in the drier regions and uplands. Mozambique has substantial mineral resources, including large deposits of coal, iron, salt, and tantalite.

The population is 18,165,476 (1997 estimate). Most of the people live along the Zambezi River and on the Angonia Highlands. The country has ten major ethnic groups; the Makua-Lomwe, who make up 47 percent of the population, are dominant in the north, and the Tsonga, who make up 23 percent of the population, predominate in the south. Portuguese is the official language, but most of the people speak a Bantu language. About half the people follow traditional religious beliefs; about 30 percent are Christians; and about 15 percent, mainly in the north, are Muslims.

The 1990 constitution provides for a multiparty system with legislative power held by the unicameral Assembly of the Republic and executive power held by the president. Both are directly elected.

Some 83 percent of the country's labor force is engaged in agriculture. The leading cash crops include cashew nuts, cotton, sugarcane, copra, and tea. Shrimp and lobster provide about 50 percent of the country's export income. The basic unit of currency is the metical.