About Mozambique

Petits Músics del Món takes part in Maputo, the capital of Mozambique, a semi-presidential African country located between Tanzania, South Africa, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Mozambique has 31.6 million inhabitants and the capital, Maputo, has 1.08 million people. It is one of the countries in the world with the lowest Development Index (HDI) ranking 181st.

In Mozambique, the majority of the population (67%) is engaged in primary activities, such as forestry, fishing, mining and, mainly, agriculture.

Mozambique’s economic poverty is also reflected in the education system, where the government does not have the ability to purchase resources needed by students, such as chairs and desks, study materials, books, etc. Many schools are in ruins, with open or leaking roofs, broken windows or no windows at all. When it rains or there are strong winds, children miss school because the deteriorated infrastructure cannot withstand these weather conditions.

The schools have classrooms with a large number of students, due to the lack of schools. A class usually has a total of 100 students in each class with a teacher attending to them and many children are forced to study under trees sitting on the ground. In Maputo, children have to walk long distances of around 20 kilometers to get to the nearest school in the area.

In this country there are a large number of difficulties and problems that limit the rights of children, young people and women. In addition, these problems occur both in cities and in rural areas.