OVERVIEW:
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique (Portuguese: Moçambique or República de Moçambique, pron. IPA: [ʁɛ'publikɐ dɨ musɐÞ'bikɨ]), is a country in southeastern Africa bordered by the Indian Ocean to the east, Tanzania to the north, Malawi and Zambia to the northwest, Zimbabwe to the west and Swaziland and South Africa to the southwest. It was explored by Vasco da Gama in 1498 and colonized by Portugal in 1505. By 1510, the Portuguese had control of all of the former Arab sultanates on the east African coast. From about 1500, Portuguese trading posts and forts became regular ports of call on the new route to the east.
It is a member of the Community of Portuguese Language Countries and the Commonwealth of Nations. Mozambique (Moçambique) was named after Muça Alebique, a sultan.
The north-central provinces of Zambezia and Nampula are the most populous, with about 45% of the population. The estimated four million Macua are the dominant group in the northern part of the country; the Sena and Shona (mostly Ndau) are prominent in the Zambezi valley, and the Shangaan (Tsonga) dominate in southern Mozambique. Other groups include Makonde, Yao, Swahili, Tonga, Chopi, and Nguni (including Zulu). Bantu people comprise 99.66% of the population, the remaining 0.34% include Europeans 0.06% (largely of Portuguese ancestry), Euro-Africans 0.2% (mestiço people of mixed Bantu and Portuguese heritage), and Indians 0.08%. During Portuguese colonial rule, a large minority of people of Portuguese descent lived permanently in almost all areas of the country, and Mozambicans with Portuguese blood at the time of independence numbered about 250,000. Most of these left the region after its freedom in 1975. The remaining minorities in Mozambique claim heritage from Pakistan, Portuguese India and Arab countries. There are also some 7,000 Chinese.
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