Mozambique Languages

The official language of Mozambique is Portuguese. It was inherited from the Portuguese who colonized the country. Portuguese is spoken by many people in the urban areas. Apart from the official language, other languages used in Mozambique include the Mozambican sign language, Makhuwa, Meeto, Chrima, Chopi, Kimwani, Tsonga, Ndalu, Chubwa, Sena, Ndau, and English among others. Mozambique has many Bantu speakers hence the significant number of native languages in the country. Swahili is also common in Mozambique. There are also foreign languages like the Arabic, Chinese, and the Gujarati language.

The majority of Mozambicans speaks Portuguese language and only 8.8% of the population speaks it as their first language. 27 % of the population uses it as their second language but are fluent speakers. Emakhuwa, one of the local languages, is spoken by 26.1 % of the population, Elomwe language is spoken by 7.6%, Cisena 6.1% Xichangana is spoken by 11.3% while Echuwabo is spoken by 5.8% of the population. These languages are part of the Bantu indigenous languages which are more than 50 in Mozambique. The other small native languages and foreign languages are spoken by around 7.3% of the population.

In Portuguese, "bom dia" means "good morning", "boa tarde" means "good afternoon", and "boa noite" means goodnight. To say excuse me, you can say "com licença".

Some of the minority languages in Mozambique are among the native Bantu languages spoken by very few Mozambicans. They include the following Chuwabu, Ronga, Chopi, Zulu, Makonde, Kimwani, Tswa, Lomwe, Swazi, and Mozambican sign language. The latter language is used only in Mozambique and its origin is unknown. It does not originate from Portuguese or American Sign Language.

This page was last modified on May 1st, 2018

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Published on 2019-11-06


Capital	Maputo
Languages	Emakhuwa 25.3%, Portuguese (official) 10.7%, Xichangana 10.3%, Cisena 7.5%, Elomwe 7%, Echuwabo 5.1%, other Mozambican languages 30.1%, other 0.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2007 est.)
Ethnic Groups	African 99.66% (Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%
Religion	Roman Catholic 28.4%, Muslim 17.9%, Zionist Christian 15.5%, Protestant 12.2% (includes Pentecostal 10.9% and Anglican 1.3%), other 6.7%, none 18.7%, unspecified 0.7% (2007 est.)
Government	Presidential republic
Independance	25 June 1975 (from Portugal)
Area	799,380.00 km²
Water Area	13,000.00 km²
Land Area	786,380.00 km²
Population	25,930,150.00
Location	Southeastern Africa, bordering the Mozambique Channel, between South Africa and Tanzania
No. Bordering Countries	6
Bordering Countries	Malawi 1,498 km, South Africa 496 km, Swaziland 108 km, Tanzania 840 km, Zambia 439 km, Zimbabwe 1,402 km
GDP(PPP)	$35,010,000,000.00 (USD)
GDP (Per Capita)	$1,200.00 (USD)
Export Partners	Its major export partners are South Africa, China, and Italy.
Export Commodities	Its main exports are alumium, prawns, cashews, and cotton.
Import Partners	Its major import partners are South Africa, China, and India.
Import Commodities	Its major imports include machinery and equipment, vehicles, fuel, and chemicals.
Climate	Tropical to subtropical
Terrain	Mostly coastal lowlands, uplands in center, high plateaus in northwest, mountains in west
Learn More	Mozambique

Mozambique Languages

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