Mozambique

Mozambique is a country in Southeast Africa on the Indian Ocean, bordered by Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Eswatini and South Africa to the south and southwest, separated from Comoros, Mayotte and Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel, and covering approximately 801,590 square kilometers, the world's 35th-largest country. Maputo is its capital and largest city, and Mozambique's population of roughly 34.9 million in 2024 is drawn from more than 2,000 ethnic groups, predominantly Bantu peoples. Portuguese colonization began in 1505 and lasted for centuries before Mozambique gained independence in 1975; a devastating civil war followed from 1977 to 1992, and the country transitioned to democratic governance in 1994, though subsequent elections have faced fraud allegations. Mozambique is governed as a unitary dominant-party semi-presidential republic functioning under an authoritarian system, with President Daniel Chapo, who took office on 15 January 2025, and Prime Minister Maria Benvinda Levy; the country remains among the world's poorest, with an economy centered on fishing and agriculture despite substantial natural resource wealth.