Interesting Facts

• Mozambique’s capital, Maputo, was formerly known as Lorenzo Marques. The city dates back to 1850.
• At 2,436m (7,992ft), Monte Binge is the highest point in Mozambique.
• Mozambique attained independence from Portugal in 1975. Two years later, a civil war erupted and continued until 1992.
• Mozambique’s Vumba Rock Paintings are estimated to be about 8,000 years old.

Key Market Alerts

• Leases are typically drafted in Portuguese.
• A 14% tax applies to rentals in Mozambique.
• Maputo has experienced an exponential increase in its rental housing costs in recent years. This has largely been driven by increased investment into the country, coupled with a fairly low supply of quality housing options.
• Malaria is prevalent throughout Mozambique.

An Overview of Mozambique

Emerging from decades of civil war, Mozambique has become one of the world’s fastest growing economies. This will largely be driven large oil, gas coal and titanium discoveries in the past decade, with many investment projects in the Tete region. However there are still risks posed to investor in the form of political instability, infrastructure deficit and flooding, and the country vremains one of the poorest and underdeveloped in the world.

Mozambique is located on the south-eastern coast of Africa. The country is made up of an area of 812,379km² (313,661miles²) – including a number of islands. Mozambique’s capital is Maputo and the city has a population of approximately 1.2 million people.

Living in Maputo

Mozambique has approximately 2,500kms of coastline. The outdoor and ocean activities offered to expatriates in Mozambique are therefore wide-ranging – from leisure time on the beach to scuba diving and yachting. Mozambique is particularly appealing to the outdoor enthusiast. Maputo is, furthermore, close to a number of wonderful beach resorts and it also offers a vibrant nightlife, with many restaurants and nightclubs to choose from. Maputo is however not without its challenges. The most challenging aspect to relocation is probably the availability and cost of housing in the city.

Housing in Maputo

Expatriates in Maputo tend to live in the areas of Polana and Sommerschield in the central part of Maputo, but are also increasingly looking at homes in Praia Mar, Costa do Sol, Biaro Triunfo and Sommerschield II which are towards the outskirts of Maputo. These suburbs are favoured for their compounds / gated communities – usually with free standing homes with gardens and sometimes swimming pools. There are a few shopping areas nearby where residents can make purchases without having to go into town. Bigger pharmacies, supermarkets and schools however, tend to be in town.

Schooling in Maputo

There are a number of schools available for expatriate children in Maputo including American, French, Portuguese, Swedish and British schools. Expatriates also have the option of sending their children to boarding schools in neighbouring South Africa.