Economy—overview: Before the peace accord of October 1992 Mozambique had been devastated by civil war and was one of the poorest countries on the globe. Prospects subsequently improved and with its solid economic performance in 1996-97 Mozambique has begun to exploit its sizable agricultural hydropower and transportation resources. Foreign assistance programs help supply the foreign exchange required to support the budget and pay for imports of goods and services. The restoration of electrical transmission lines to South Africa and the completion of a new transmission line to Zimbabwe (permitting the giant Cahora Bassa hydropower plant to export large amounts of electricity) proposed construction of a natural gas pipeline to South Africa and reform of transportation services will greatly improve foreign exchange receipts. The Mozambique and South African Governments are developing the Maputo corridor linking the port of Maputo with Witbank South Africa. In the past few years more than 700 state enterprises have been privatized including the country's largest commercial bank and a number of sizable manufacturing firms. Other pending reform measures are the reform of tax collection and the facilitation of private enterprise in the transportation energy and telecommunications sectors.

GDP: purchasing power parity—$14.6 billion (1997 est.)

GDP—real growth rate: 8% (1997 est.)

GDP—per capita: purchasing power parity—$800 (1997 est.)

GDP—composition by sector:
agriculture: 35%
industry: 13%
services: 52% (1996 est.)

Inflation rate—consumer price index: 5.8% (1997)

Labor force: NA
by occupation: 80% engaged in agriculture
note: in 1993 47% of the wage earners were employed in industry 28% in transportation and communication; traditionally a large number of Mozambicans work abroad

Unemployment rate: NA

Budget:
revenues: $324 million
expenditures: $600 million including capital expenditures of $310 million (1996 est.)

Industries: food beverages chemicals (fertilizer soap paints) petroleum products textiles cement glass asbestos tobacco

Industrial production growth rate: NA

Electricity—capacity: 2.358 million kW (1995)

Electricity—production: 465 million kWh (1995)

Electricity—consumption per capita: 73 kWh (1995)

Agriculture—products: cotton cashew nuts sugarcane tea cassava (tapioca) corn rice tropical fruits; beef poultry

Exports:
total value: $226 million (f.o.b. 1996 est.)
commodities: shrimp 40% cashews cotton sugar copra citrus
partners: Spain South Africa Japan Portugal US

Imports:
total value: $802 million (c.i.f. 1996 est.)
commodities: food clothing farm equipment petroleum
partners: South Africa 38% US Japan Portugal France

Debt—external: $5.7 billion (December 1997)

Economic aid:
recipient: ODA $NA

Currency: 1 metical (Mt) = 100 centavos

Exchange rates: meticais (Mt) per US$1—11 635.0 (January 1998) 11.543.6 (1997) 11 293.8 (1996) 9 024.3 (1995) 6 038.6 (1994) 3 874.2 (1993)

Fiscal year: calendar year