The country in southeast Africa is located between Tanzania and South Africa and scores with significant raw material reserves and great potential for trade and renewable energies. Particular hopes are currently being placed on the enormous gas reserves, which are to be gradually developed and exported in the form of LNG. However, coal and aluminum are still by far the most important export products.

In addition to the raw materials sector, agriculture in Mozambique, where productivity is still very low, offers interesting investment opportunities. One of the risk factors in one of Africa’s poorest countries is the security situation in the northern province of Cabo Delgado. In the next few years it will be particularly important that the extraction of raw materials is accompanied by more processing and value creation locally.

Economy. According to the IMF, the economy in Mozambique grew by 3.7 percent in 2022 (Subsahara African average: 3.4 percent). For the current year, economists have calculated a growth rate of 4.9 percent. For 2024, more than seven percent are expected.

The long-term performance is weak compared to other African countries: Mozambiques gross domestic product per capita rose from the equivalent of 303 to 543 dollars over the last 20 years – with high volatiliy. Inflation has recently been at around 10 percent. Public debt is at 103 per cent of GDP.

Population. Mozambique has around 33 million inhabitants. Annual population growth has declined from 3.1 to 2.7 percent in the last six years. Experts predict a further decline to 2.5 percent until 2032. In the last 20 years, the fertility rate has fallen from 5.8 to 4.6 per woman.

Life expectancy was at 59 years recently. 31,5 percent of Mozambiquians have access to electricity (twenty years ago, it was 8.4 percent).

Governance. On Transparency International’s latest Corruption Perceptions Index, Mozambique ranks 141th out of 180. With a score of 26 points the country has, according to TI, made small steps forwards recently: in 2018, Mozambique scored 23 points. The current score puts the country on the same level as Cameroon, Liberia and Uganda.

Sources and further information:

World Bank: https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique

Africa Business Guide https://www.africa-business-guide.de/de/maerkte/mosambik

Germany Trade & Invest: https://www.gtai.de/de/trade/mosambik/wirtschaftsumfeld/positive-aussichten-trotz-risiken-772748

Transparency International: www.transparency.org/en/cpi/2022/index/nga