The National Democratic Institute for International Affairs and The Republic of Yemen Cosponsored by The United Nations Development Programme and The Government of Japan In Partnership with the Governments of: The Netherlands The United Kingdom The United States And the: Canadian International Development Agency Friedrich Ebert Stiftung International Labour Organization Irish Aid National Endowment for Democracy United States Agency for International Development Westminster Foundation for Democracy World Bank		Mozambique Country Summary english - french - spanish Mozambique has a hybrid system with a separately elected president and parliamentary-style legislature. The initial steps toward democratic rule were taken in 1990 when a new constitution was adopted committing the state to multipartyism and free?market reforms. A peace accord was signed in October of 1992, after 17 years of a devastating civil war following independence from Portugal. Two years later, more than 88 percent of Mozambique's eligible voters participated in the country's first open, multiparty elections. Economic and Social Indicators Population: GNP: Per Capita GNP: Growth Rate: Illiteracy Rate: : Life Expectancy: 19 million $1.7 billion $90 5.7% 42%-males 77%-females 44-males 46-females The World Bank. World Development Report. Oxford Union Press,1999 Last year, the country conducted its first ever multiparty local elections. The elections occurred without any violence, and observers praised the independent media for its balanced coverage of the candidates. However, the elections were boycotted by major opposition parties, which highlighted on-going political tensions between the government and major opposition at the national level. Voter turnout was low, which was attributed to several reasons, including logistical problems at the polling stations, lack of public information about the elections, and few candidate choices resulting from the boycott. Since the political transition, Mozambique has enjoyed continued macro-economic growth -- 5% annually over the past three years, peaking at 12.4% in 1997. However, it remains one of the poorest countries in the world with some of the lowest social indicators in the region. Heavy foreign debt has placed a huge burden on a government still recovering from the ramifications of war. Mozambique's new status as a Highly Indebted Poor Country (HIPC) - the first debt reduction mechanism designed to tackle not only commercial debt and debt owed to bilateral creditors, but also debt owed to multilateral creditors - has done little to change budgetary constraints. [ Introduction ] [ Worldwide Activities ] [ What We Do ] [ Feedback ] [ Jobs/Links/Archives ] [ NDI Home ]