Mercer’s 2016 Cost of Living rankings benchmark how much a new resident in a city has to pay for products compared to New York using the US dollar as the base currency. For 2016, Maputo ranks as the 164th costliest city dropping 71 places from 2015 when Mercer placed Maputo as the world’s 93rd most expensive city for newly relocated citizens. Based on commentary from travel site Atlas & Boots, much of Maputo’s cost improvement was due to weaker Mozambican currency compared to the surging American dollar.
Mozambique exported an estimated US$3.4 billion worth of goods around the globe in 2016. Highest-value Mozambican exports include aluminum, coke and semi-coke, electrical energy, tobacco, natural gas, sugar, titanium and rubies according to the International Trade Centre.
Capital Facts for Maputo, Mozambique: Quick Reference
Geography
Capital landmarks: Maputo Central Train Station, Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, The Iron House (Casa do Ferro) and Independence Square
Famous People
Below, you will find 10 of the most famous people born in Maputo, Mozambique:
- Luis de Matos, magician (born Aug. 23, 1970)
- Lizha James, pop singer (born Dec. 12, 1982)
- Ruy Guerra, director & actor (born Aug. 22, 1931)
- Martinho Martins Mukana (aka Paíto), soccer player/footballer (born Jul. 5, 1982)
- Adelaide de Sousa, actress (born April 3, 1969)
- Eusebio (aka Black Panther), soccer player/footballer (born Jan. 25, 1942)
- Diana Almeida, film producer (born Mar. 20, 1983)
- Kurt Couto, Olympic hurdler (born May 14, 1985)
- Margaret Vines, actress (born Jan. 16, 1907)
- Neuso Sigauque, Olympic judoka (born Feb. 11, 1985)
- Maria da Graça, actress (born Mar. 17, 1919)
Note: Data for our Famous People tab was sourced from Google searches mostly targeting published Wikipedia articles specific to each person’s name.
Population
Demonym for a Maputo resident: Maputan
Population: 2,655,000 (Maputo built-up urban area including Matola)
Density: 16,594 people per square mile (6,407 per square kilometer)
Population: 893,000 (Matola, suburb of Maputo)
Density: 16,594 people per square mile (6,407 per square kilometer)
Population: 25,930,150 (Mozambique)
Density: 85 people per square mile (33 per square kilometer)
Financial
GDP: US$33.2 billion in 2015 (for Mozambique, per CIA World Factbook)
GDP per person: $1,200
Note: The above country-level GDP metrics are on a Purchasing Power Parity basis and are in U.S. dollars. Credible city GDP statistics for Maputo were unavailable.
Official currency used in Maputo: Mozambican metical
Research
Research Sources:
Atlas & Boots, The World’s Most Expensive Cities for Expats 2016. Accessed on February 16, 2017
Brookings Institution, Global Metro Monitor Report (includes GDP data). Accessed on December 2, 2016
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Africa: Mozambique. Accessed on February 16, 2017
Central Intelligence Agency, World Factbook, Field Listing: Major Urban Areas. Accessed on December 2, 2016
CityMetric, Where are largest cities in the world? 2015 edition. Accessed on December 2, 2016
Demographia, World Urban Area, 12th Annual Edition. Accessed on December 2, 2016
International Trade Centre, Trade Map. Accessed on February 16, 2017
Mercer, 2016 Cost of Living Rankings. Accessed on February 16, 2017
Official Government Website, Municipality of Maputo. Accessed on December 2, 2016
Wikimedia Commons, City Flags. Accessed on December 2, 2016
Note: Some city flags were unavailable. If so, attribution belongs to Wikimedia Commons for pertinent country flags.
Wikipedia, Maputo. Accessed on December 2, 2016
Wikipedia, Maputo Province. Accessed on December 2, 2016
Wikipedia, Matola . Accessed on December 2, 2016
Wikipedia, Mozambique. Accessed on February 16, 2017
Metropolitan Maputo encompasses the Marracuene District, as well as the city’s largest suburb named Matola which lies adjacent to Maputo’s western city limits. Occupying a built-up urban area spanning 160 square miles (414 square kilometers), there were approximately 2.7 million people in 2015.
Matola contains a smaller area of 26.1 square miles (67.6 square kilometers) with an estimated 893,000 inhabitants living in Maputo’s largest suburb. Note that Maputo Province excludes the city of Maputo, since the latter geographic entity itself is considered a separate province in Mozambique.
At the country level, Mozambique’s land area covers 303,623 square miles (786,380 square kilometers). The national population count was 25.9 million inhabitants as of July 2016.
Population density within the built-up urban area containing Mozambique’s capital city is an average 16,600 people per square mile (6,400 per square kilometer).
Within the borders of Maputo’s biggest suburb, Matola, density is higher than the overall Maputo area given Matola’s average 19,800 people per square mile (7,700 per square kilometer).
For Mozambique overall, population density drops to an average 85 inhabitants per square mile (33 per square kilometer).
Mozambique separated from Portugal on June 25, 1975. Mozambicans celebrate Independence Day as a public holiday each June 25.