Mozambique: Natural-Resource Extraction in Mozambique – Citizens Are Deeply Dissatisfied With Community Participation

Most say little information is available about how proceeds are used.

Key findings

• A majority (56%) of Mozambicans express dissatisfaction with the government’s performance on handling natural resources.
• o At least six in 10 are critical among urban residents (62%), well-educated respondents (62%), and men (60%).
• o Respondents who view the government’s performance negatively are more likely than those who view it positively to say the country is going in the wrong direction (63% vs. 46%).
• Asked who benefits most from the country’s natural resources, citizens are most likely to say foreign investors (29%) and the government (28%), followed by senior political officials (19%). Only 18% believe ordinary citizens are the primary beneficiaries.
• o Northerners are most likely to say that the government is the biggest beneficiary (36%), while those in the South point to foreign investors (35%). Residents of Central Mozambique are roughly split on who benefits most.
• Most respondents (74%) say they are “not very satisfied” or “not at all satisfied” with the level of local communities’ participation in natural-resource extraction.
• A similar proportion (72%) say there is little information available regarding how money from natural resources is used.

The exploitation of natural resources occupies a central place in the debate on Mozambique’s economic development. Endowed with vast reserves of natural gas, coal, heavy sands, gemstones, and extensive forestry resources, the country is heavily dependent on natural resources, which contribute approximately half of gross domestic product (Bandeira, Macome, Maradan, Nhabinde, & Zein, 2012).

The government has sought to strengthen sectoral governance and distribute the benefits generated by natural resources more evenly. In recent years, it has introduced clearer legal frameworks, including mining and petroleum laws and a mineral-resources policy and strategy, and introduced revenue-sharing mechanisms to benefit local communities (Republic of Mozambique, 2014a, 2014b; Assembly of the Republic, 2013, 2020).

Despite these efforts, studies point to persistent challenges related to a lack of transparency, accountability, equitable distribution of benefits, and community participation in extractive projects while also highlighting embezzlement in the industry (Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative, 2025; Mate, 2024).

Previous Afrobarometer research from 2022 revealed that only one-third of Mozambicans thought that the rewards of natural-resource extraction (e.g. employment and tax revenue) outweigh the harms thereof (e.g. pollution). And more than half of citizens wanted the government to tighten regulation of the industry to curb negative environmental impacts (Amouzou, 2023).

New findings from Afrobarometer’s 2025 survey reaffirm the public’s scepticism.

Most Mozambicans are unhappy with the level of local-community participation in natural resource extraction and say there is little information available regarding how money from natural resources is used.

Citizens believe that the benefits of natural-resource extraction accrue primarily to political and economic elites. In this context, more than half say the government is doing a poor job of handling natural resources.

By Afrobarometer.