General information on Mozambique
Continent: Africa
Geographic location: southwestern Africa, located in the southern hemisphere
Highest point: Monte Binga (2,436 m above sea level)
Longest river: Zambezi (2574 km)
Form of government: Republic
Government System: Presidential system
Languages: official language Portuguese, in addition to various. Bantu languages spoken
neighboring countries in the south and southwest Swaziland and south Africa, in western Zimbabwe, in the north-west Zambia and Malawi and northern Tanzania
Capital: Maputo
Area: Approximately 801,590 square kilometers
Population: Approximately 28,861,863 people
Population density: About 31 residents per km²
Religions: Catholic 28.4%, Protestants 12.2%, Muslims 17.9%, other, non-denominational / not recorded 31.5%
Currency: New Metical (MZN); 1 EUR about 70 MZN, the current exchange rate, see oanda.com
Climate: savannah climate with wet and dry season
Time zone: UTC + 2
Area code: +258
Country code: MZ, MOZ
Current: In Mozambique, the outlets of type are C, F and F used. The mains voltage is 3 x 220V with a 50Hz change interval. A travel plug adapter is an advantage.
- Check a2zdirectory for old history of Mozambique and agooddir for modern history of Mozambique.
Travel climate in Mozambique
The geographical location of Mozambique in southeast Africa on the Indian Ocean favors a savannah climate with continuous temperatures between 25 and 30 ° C, which inland can climb to 35 ° C and do not drop to 20 ° C at night. During the rainy season, with a humid and hot climate, the main rainfall falls from November to April, which can amount to between 700 and 1500 mm per year, depending on the region.
During the dry periods it cools down more at night.
In the past, catastrophic weather events occurred time and again in Mozambique, which were accompanied by both extreme drought and torrential rain with extensive flooding in the Mozambique valley.
Cities and regions in Mozambique
The administration of Mozambique is divided from north to south into eleven provinces, each of which is subdivided into different administrative districts:
Cabo Delgado
In the northernmost province of Mozambique with the capital Pemba, about 2,333,280 residents live on an area of 82,625 km², which is a population density of 28 residents per km². The province of Cabo Delgado includes the Quirimbas archipelago in the Indian Ocean off the coast of Mozambique, which is popular with tourists because of its coral reefs. One of Mozambique’s international airports, Niassa, is located in the capital Pemba, which has around 120,000 residents
To the west of Cabo Delgado lies the province of Niassa, which has 1,865,976 residents and covers an area of 129,056 km². The provincial capital is Lichinga, at 1369 meters above sea level, with around 213,360 residents. In the north of Niassa is the Niassa Game Reserve, the largest nature reserve in Mozambique.
Nampula
South of Cabo Delgado and Niassa joins the province of Nampula with the capital of the same name with an area of 81,606 km² and 6,102,867 residents. The island of Ilha de Moçambique, which belongs to the province, was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1992 due to the unique coexistence of many different cultures. In the course of the civil war there were unfortunately extensive movements of refugees within these cultures.
Zambesia
The province of Zambesia, located south of Nampula and east of the Malawi corridor, is named after the river of the same name, which forms the southern border of the province of 105,008 km². Around 5,110,790 people live in Zambesia, around 350,000 of them in the capital Quelimane. The coast of the province is characterized by mangrove swamps, the hinterland is relatively wooded. In the fertile province, rice, corn, cassava, cashew nuts, sugar cane, coconuts, citrus fruits, cotton and tea are mainly produced on Mozambique’s largest tea plantation and gemstones are mined in various deposits.
Tete
In the far west of Mozambique is the province of Tete, with an area of 100,724 km², one of the largest regions in Mozambique. Of the approx. 2,764,170 residents, 305,722 live in the capital of the same name. Although the province has natural resources of nickel, iron, copper, bauxite, coal and gold, agriculture and, above all, tobacco growing are the predominant livelihoods of the population. The landscape of the province of Tete is characterized by mopane trees and grasslands.
Sofala
The rather smaller province of Sofala with an area of 68,018 km² is located in the middle of Mozambique on the Indian Ocean. Around 2,221,800 people live in Sofala, 533,825 of them in the provincial capital Beira. Much of the province lies on the alluvial fan formed by the Zambezi and Pungave rivers in the estuary, the Sofala Shelf.
Manica
West of Sofala is the province of Manica with 1,911,237 residents and an area of 61,661 km². In the hilly mountainous region on the border with Zimbabwe is the highest peak in Mozambique at 2,436 m above sea level, Monte Binga. The capital of the province is Mozambique’s fifth largest city, Chimoio, with 372,821 residents. The population lives mainly from agriculture.
Inhambane
South of Sofala and Manica is the province of Inhambane on an area of 68,615 km², in which 1,496,824 people live. The capital of the same name, located on the Bay of Inhambane, is not the largest city in the province with around 64,000 residents. This is the town of Maxixe, which has 108,824 residents and is located on the bay of Inhambane opposite, which also forms the economic center of Inhambane. Inhambane administrative district also includes the popular seaside resorts of Praia do Tofo and Praia da Barra.
Gaza
To the west and south of Inhambane, 1,446,654 people live in the province of Gaza, which is characterized by the Limpopo river system and its tributaries. The country’s area is 75,709 km², the administrative seat is the capital Xai-Xai with 116,343 residents on the Indian Ocean. The city is located in the Limpopo estuary. The beach Praia do Xai-Xai, about 10 km to the south, with a coral reef in front of it, was a popular tourist destination before the civil war.
Maputo
Maputo is the southernmost province of Mozambique on the border with South Africa or Swaziland, in which around 2.5 million people live on an area of 26,058 km². The capital of the Maputo province is the city of Matula with around 1.6 million residents. The capital of Mozambique, Maputo, is an independent administrative district within the province of the same name.
Important cities in Mozambique are:
Maputo
Maputo, with 1,101,170 residents, is the second largest city in Mozambique and at the same time the capital. It spreads over an area of 347 km² in the extreme south of the country on the west side of Maputo Bay. The capital is a separate administrative district of Mozambique and is independent of the surrounding province of Maputo. At the same time, it has the country’s most important seaport, which is of supraregional importance for southern Africa. The State University of Mozambique and the Maputo University of Education are also located in Maputo.
Matola
Matola is the capital of the Maputo province and is not far from the state capital at the western end of the Bay of Maputo. With 1,616,267 residents on an area of 375 km², it is currently the largest city in Mozambique, but the data on the number of residents and, in particular, the underlying areas in the various sources are not uniform.
Nampula
The economic center in the north of Mozambique is formed by the 743,100 city of Nampula. The capital of the province of the same name is a business, banking and administrative city on an area of approx. 100km² and has its own private university of the Catholic Church. Numerous buildings from the Portigisian colonial era are well worth seeing.
Beira
The city of Beira, located in the middle of the country on the Indian Ocean and at the mouth of the Rio Pungwe, has 533,825 residents and is the capital of the Sofala province. The urban area covers approx. 88 km². While Beira used to be a popular seaside resort for tourists from the colonial rulers due to the beautiful surrounding sandy beaches, the city and especially the port have also gained economic importance today. Beira International Airport is Mozambique’s second largest airport. The city is endeavoring to rebuild the tourist attractions that were destroyed by the civil war, in particular the necessary infrastructure and shopping streets.
Fixed-date holidays in Mozambique
January 1 New Year
3. Feb. Mozambican Heroes Day
Apr 7. Day of Mozambican Women
May 1 May Day
June 25 Independence
7. Sep. Victory Day
25. Sep. Armed Forces Day
4. Oct. Day of peace and reconciliation
25. Dec. Christmas
Medical information for Mozambique
For legal reasons, we as a tour operator are not allowed to communicate any binding medical information for Mozambique and therefore refer to the information provided by the Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, the Robert Koch Institute and the German Society for Tropical Medicine and International Health
Travel advice for Mozambique
You can obtain the latest travel and safety advice, information on entering and leaving the country, as well as special criminal law advice and recommendations for your stay in Mozambique from the Federal Foreign Office of Germany.
Current customs regulations can be obtained from the Mozambique embassy in Germany .
Mission abroad in Mozambique
Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany in Mozambique Administrative
district /
Consular district: Mozambique
Place: Maputo
Street address: Rua Damião de Góis 506, Maputo
Postal address: Embaixada da República Federal da Alemanha, CP 1595, Maputo, Mozambique
Telephone: +258 21 48 27 00, emergency number: + 258-82-303 33 00 or: + 258-84-303 33 00
Fax: +258 21 49 28 88
E-Mail: Contact form
Website: https://maputo.diplo.de Official languages
in the host country: Portuguese
Embassy of the Republic of Mozambique in Berlin
Place: Berlin
Street address: Stromstrasse 47, 10551 Berlin
Postal address: Stromstrasse 47, 10551 Berlin
Telephone: 0 30 398 765 00 1/2
Fax: +49 30 398 765 03
Email: Contact form, [email protected]
Website: http: / /www.embassy-of-mozambique.de
