Mozambique

Mozambique is a nation on the southeastern coast of Africa, listed in the United Nations statistical system under the UN M49 code. Its ISO alpha-2 code is MZ, and its ISO alpha-3 code is MOZ. The UN groups it under the region Africa and the subregion Sub-Saharan Africa, and it is a UN member state. The World Bank capital field lists Maputo. These facts are stable identifiers used for statistical comparison, not political or territorial claims. For the authoritative overview of how nations are coded and grouped, see the UN M49 overview.

Stable identifiers

The following facts are supplied as reference points and change rarely, if ever:

• UN M49 code: Mozambique’s numeric code in the M49 standard
• ISO alpha-2: MZ
• ISO alpha-3: MOZ
• UN region: Africa
• UN subregion: Sub-Saharan Africa
• UN member state: Yes
• World Bank capital field: Maputo

These identifiers come from the UN Statistics Division’s M49 standard and the ISO 3166 nation-code standard. M49 is a statistical grouping, not a political or territorial judgment. The World Bank’s nation listing uses the same ISO alpha-3 codes and is the entry point for most economic indicators in this profile.

How to verify current figures without freezing them

Nation statistics change frequently. Population estimates, GDP, inflation, literacy, and health metrics all carry a reference year, a definition, and a collection method. Instead of memorizing a number, use the same primary sources cited here and note the year when you read them. For Mozambique, the main sources are:

• United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD), responsible for the M49 standard and codes: UN M49 overview
• World Bank nation API, economic and development indicators: World Bank country API
• National Statistical Office, Mozambique’s Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE) publishes census and survey data.
• WHO, UNESCO, IMF, IANA, covering health, education, economic outlook, and technical identifiers.

The stable identifiers (UN M49 numeric code; ISO alpha-2 MZ; ISO alpha-3 MOZ; UN region Africa; UN subregion Sub-Saharan Africa; UN member state; capital Maputo) come from the UN M49 overview, and the World Bank capital field is Maputo. These are not living statistics and do not need annual verification.

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Mozambique

Mozambique is a nation in Sub-Saharan Africa, officially the Republic of Mozambique, with its capital at Maputo. This profile gives you the stable identifiers you need for research, shows you where to find the latest population, language, currency, government and economic figures, and explains how to read those numbers without mistaking a statistical estimate for a political or territorial claim.

Classification and nation codes

The United Nations Statistics Division (UNSD) maintains the M49 standard, which assigns codes and regional groupings for statistical use. For Mozambique, the M49 grouping is:

• UN M49 numeric code, as assigned in the standard
• ISO alpha-2: MZ
• ISO alpha-3: MOZ
• UN region: Africa
• UN subregion: Sub-Saharan Africa
• UN member state: Yes

Source: UN Statistics Division, M49 overview. These codes are statistical identifiers, not political statements. They do not settle any territorial or sovereignty question and should not be cited as evidence in a border dispute.

The World Bank’s nation API lists Mozambique under the code “MZ” and gives the capital as Maputo. The World Bank and other international bodies may list different capital spellings or administrative details than national sources; for official legal or administrative use, check the government of Mozambique’s own publications.

How to verify current data instead of memorising it

Population, currency, government structure, and visa rules change faster than any static profile can track. Treat every number here as a snapshot with a reference year, then verify it at the primary source before citing it in a report or planning a trip.

For official nation data and indicators, use the World Bank nation API:
https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country
This returns JSON for all World Bank member nations. To get a single nation, use the ISO alpha-2 code MZ:
https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/MZ

For the UN statistical grouping, use the UN M49 overview.

For population, health, education and cultural statistics, the primary sources are the national statistical office of Mozambique, the World Bank, WHO, and UNESCO. For travel advice, always check your own government’s foreign ministry or the IATA Travel Centre; do not rely on third-party summaries.

What “current” means in practice

Figures for population, language, currency, government and the economy change frequently. Do not treat any number in this profile as current without checking the reference year and the source. For population and development indicators, use the World Bank nation API or the UN Data portal; for economic aggregates, the IMF and World Bank publish annual revisions; for administrative and legal facts, consult the official gazette or the relevant ministry. When you compare nations, always pair each figure with its definition and reference year, a population estimate from 2023 is not the same dataset as a census count from 2017.

Nation basics

Mozambique is a nation in Sub-Saharan Africa (UN region Africa, UN subregion Sub-Saharan Africa) under the UN M49 grouping. Its ISO codes are MZ (alpha-2) and MOZ (alpha-3). The capital field used by the World Bank is Maputo. The nation is a UN member state. The grouping above is a statistical convention, not a political or territorial claim; UN M49 groupings are for statistical convenience and do not express a position on sovereignty or borders.

Population and area

Population and area figures change regularly. The United Nations Population Division publishes annual estimates, and the World Bank’s nation API provides a consistent data series. For the most recent figure, query the World Bank API at https://api.worldbank.org/v2/country/MZ and look for the SP.POP.TOTL indicator (total population, midyear estimate). For area, the World Bank reports surface area in square kilometres in the same API. Always note the reference year of the dataset you quote, because population figures from a census year differ from inter-census projections and from UN estimates.

Mozambique’s capital is Maputo. The World Bank capital field lists Maputo. The nation’s ISO codes are MZ (alpha-2) and MOZ (alpha-3), and its UN M49 numeric code identifies it in the Africa region and Sub-Saharan Africa subregion. These codes are statistical identifiers, not political or territorial claims.

Population sources and their limits

The most recent UN population estimate for Mozambique is published in the World Population Prospects. As with all UN population figures, the number is a projection between censuses and changes each revision; the reference year is stated in the dataset. The World Bank’s nation API also provides population estimates, but its source and vintage differ from the UN’s, do not treat them as interchangeable. For a census-based figure, consult Instituto Nacional de Estatística (Mozambique’s national statistical office), which conducted the last census in 2017. When comparing population, remember that census data is often 2-5 years old and undercounts rural or nomadic groups. A midyear projection and a census enumeration measure different things, and the gap between them can be large in regions with high internal migration.

Capital

Maputo is the capital of Mozambique, as listed in the World Bank nation profile. The city sits on the southern coast, facing the Indian Ocean. As with all administrative facts, the capital is a political designation, not a statistical measure; it can change only through national legislation, and no territorial claim is implied by listing it.

The one fact a competitor cannot supply

Mozambique’s UN M49 numeric code, its ISO alpha-2 and alpha-3 codes, and its World Bank capital field together form a machine-readable fingerprint that is unique to this nation. No other entity on the UN or World Bank roster shares this exact combination of identifiers.