22 •
The Lion King
• April - June 2017
MOZ
AMBI
QUE
A COUNTRY OF GOOD PEOPLE
BY DAN GOBE
K
nown as the country of Good
People, Mozambique is located in
Southern Africa, has an extensive
coastline of 2,470Km with amazing
beaches, turquoise waters abounding
in shoals of diverse and well-preserved
ecosystem and remote archipelagos
in the north.
Mozambique got its independence
in 1975 after almost five centuries
under Portuguese colonization. After
the independence, the country wit-
nessed a prolonged and gruesome
civil war which hindered its economic
growth and development. The Peace
Agreement signed in 1992 led to a
parliamentary democracy with suc-
cessful elections held every 5 years
since 1994.
The country has since then entered
into an economic growth phase, with
an average growth rate of 7%, which
is expected to be strengthened by the
discovery of large reserves of natural
gas in the north of the country, lead-
ing to massive foreign direct invest-
ment that has the potential to turn
Mozambique into one of the world’s
largest exporters of liquefied natural
gas (LNG).
Mozambique’s 25.9 million population
(2016 estimate) is made up of indige-
nous ethnic groups and small minorities
of European and Asian descent with
Portuguese as the official language,
16 African languages and respective
dialects. Roman Catholics make up
about 30.3% of the population, other
Christian denominations - 36%, Muslim
Photo Credit: flickr.com/photos/Rosino
