A former colony of Portugal, Mozambique stretches along Africa’s south-east coast on the Indian Ocean. It has borders to the north with Tanzania, to the west Malawi, Zambia, and Zimbabwe to the south South Africa and Swaziland. To the east lies the Mozambique Channel, which separates it from the island of Madagascar.

The country is generally a low-lying plateau broken up by 25 sizable rivers. The largest is the Zambezi, which provides access to central Africa.

White sand beaches of the south turquoise waters compete with the less-visited north with its island archipelagos and untouched coral reefs. The 21-year civil war in Mozambique killed off much of the countries wildlife although the country has undertaken a large scale restocking programme.