Impressive figures confirm Mozambique’s rising economic status

With intra-regional trade growth of 66% and a leading position in regional energy exports, Mozambique is increasingly asserting its position as a new economic engine in sub-Saharan Africa.

Mozambique-Maputo-port

Mozambique’s Maputo port, (Image: Reuters / Phaata)

Mozambique has just announced a 66% increase in trade with its intra-African partners, including countries such as Mauritius, Eswatini and Zambia.

However, energy-related trade with South Africa (63%) and Zimbabwe (13%) accounts for the majority of Mozambique’s $7.1 billion increase in intra-African exports over the past five years.

In total, natural gas exports to South Africa and Zimbabwe account for around 48% of Mozambique’s total intra-African exports.

In 2023, Mozambique recorded a real GDP growth rate of 7%, ranking among the top five fastest growing countries in the world and second in Africa, after Libya (12.5%).

The country's growth was disrupted in the fourth quarter of 2023 due to political instability, leaving Mozambique among the top 16 fastest growing economies in sub-Saharan Africa, along with Guinea-Bissau.

The top 10 fastest growing economies in Africa include: Niger (11.2%), Senegal (8.2%), Libya (7.9%), Rwanda (7.2%), Ivory Coast (6.8%), Ethiopia (6.7%), Benin (6.4%), Djibouti (6.2%), Tanzania (6.1%) and Togo (6.0%).

However, despite the relative decline in 2024, the growth figures over the past five years still confirm Mozambique's clearly rising economic position in the sub-Saharan region.

According to the Mozambique Information Agency (Agência de Informação de Moçambique), Prime Minister Benvinda Levi used this economic achievement to highlight Mozambique’s role as a member of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA).

Speaking at the launch of the AfCFTA held in Beira, Ms. Levi said the trade bloc should be seen by the country’s private sector as a catalyst for strategic partnerships and economic and trade activities.

She said Beira was chosen as the venue for the event because it is truly an integrated logistics hub, capable of connecting trade with mainland countries, and through it, with the entire continent and global markets.

Ms. Levi expressed her belief that Mozambique’s private sector has the capacity to make a significant contribution to increasing the country’s trade with the rest of Africa – which currently accounts for just 2% of the country’s total trade.

She stressed the need for businesses to step up investment in the development of connected industries and infrastructure, to support the rapid expansion of production within the framework of the “Industrialise Mozambique” program. This, she said, would open up opportunities for further export growth.

Finally, she called on the business community to effectively exploit the potential of logistics corridors in the central, northern and southern regions of the country – which are considered international platforms that connect the national market with the region, continent and the world.

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