Mozambique

South-East-African republic independent from Portugal in 1975; its Muslim community — concentrated on the northern coast among Swahili and Makua-speaking peoples — grew from the medieval Swahili trading towns of the Indian Ocean, and is predominantly Sunni.

☾ The Coming of Islam

The Swahili coast of the Indian Ocean

Islam reached the Mozambican coast through the Swahili trading world of the Indian Ocean; medieval ports such as the Island of Mozambique and Sofala linked the coast to a wider network of Muslim merchants long before the Portuguese arrived.

☾ Religious Composition

A Muslim minority on a Christian-plurality coast

Mozambique is religiously mixed: Christian communities and traditional religions are widespread, while a substantial Sunni-Muslim minority — largely Swahili and Makua-speaking — is concentrated on the northern coast.

Demographic shares are approximate.

At a glance