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REPUBLIC OF MOZAMBIQUE
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One often hears of massive cyclones approaching the island of Madagascar. Heading towards the coast of east Africa, they inevitably unleash their wrath on a place called Mozambique!
In southern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel - between South Africa and Tanzania - lies this former Portuguese colony, now an independent nation of some 20 million people in a land more than twice the size of Malaysia. |
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The River Zambezi flows through the north-central region - the most fertile part of a realm plagued by severe flood, drought, devastating cyclones, AIDS, and civil war.
Indigenous tribes make up 99.6% of the population. Despite independence since 1975, Portuguese is still the official language. Formerly know as Portuguese East Africa, Mozambique is one of the world’s poorest nations, a situation made worse by civil strive and natural disasters. Reforms introduced since 1994 have brought relative stability. But Mozambique remains largely dependent on foreign aid, and much of the population subsists below the poverty line.
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Only one sixth of Mozambique’s 30,000 km of roads are paved, leading to the capital, Maputo. Its ten provinces extend over varied terrain - mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in the centre, high plateaus in the northwest, and mountains in the west.
The land is rich in natural resources, including coal, natural gas, hydropower, aluminium, tantalum, graphite, and titanium. Recurrent problems in the hinterlands have resulted in increased migration of the population to urban and coastal areas, with adverse environmental consequences. Elephant poaching for ivory also poses a problem.
The PETRONAS Adventure Team can expect some interesting challenges in their journey through Mozambique.
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