Official Name: República de Moçambique (Republic of Mozambique)

Area: Africa

Size: 801,590 km² 

Coastline: 2,470 km

Independence: from Portugal June 25, 1975 

Form of Govt.: Multiparty republic

Head of Govt.: Prime Minister

Capital: Maputo

Largest City: Maputo

Demographics (2005): 19,792,000.    25 /km²

Indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangana, Chokwe, Manyika, Sena, Makua, Ndau, and others), Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.04%, Arabs 0.02%, Chinese 0.02%, Europeans (entirely Portuguese) 0.06%

GDP per Capita (2005): $1,389 

Languages: Portuguese

Geography: mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west. Severe droughts, devastating cyclones and floods in central and southern provinces. The coastline occupies about one-third of the seaboard of eastern Africa. Mountainous regions are the Lebombo (South), the Manica and Gorongosa highlands (Zimbabwe border), the Angonia Highlands and the Namuli Peaks in the north. Central Mozambique is dominated by the valley of the Zambezi

Climate: Mozambique has a tropical climate with two seasons. A wet season from October to March and a dry season from April to September. Climatic conditions, however, vary depending on altitude. Rainfall is heavy along the coast and decreases in the north and south. Annual precipitation varies from 500 to 900 mm depending on the region with an average of 590 mm. Cyclones are also common during the wet season. Average temperature ranges in Maputo are from 13 to 24 degrees in July to 22 to 31 degrees in February.