FCDO - Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (Mozambique)

Mozambique is strategically placed to drive growth across southern Africa. It is rich in natural resources, with huge offshore gas deposits and significant agricultural potential. After the end of the civil war in 1992, Mozambique initially made good progress, but growth and development have stalled and it remains one of the poorest countries in the world: almost 70% of the population live on less than £2 a day; the rate of early pregnancy is amongst the highest in the world, half of children are malnourished and over half do not finish primary school. Conflict, weak government, high levels of corruption and a growing risk of radicalisation threaten Mozambique’s stability. There is a window of opportunity to put Mozambique back on track, to address deep rooted poverty which threatens stability, to tackle corruption and to strengthen governance in order to prepare it for the arrival of natural resource revenues in 10 years time.