:

18 years of age for compulsory and voluntary military service;
conscript service obligation - 18 months (2004)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 9,152,580
females age 16-49: 9,080,830 (2008 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 7,627,988
females age 16-49: 7,754,873 (2008 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 355,479
female: 343,016 (2008 est.)

Military expenditures:

5% of GDP (2003 est.)

Transnational Issues
Morocco

Disputes - international:

claims and administers Western Sahara whose sovereignty remains
unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since
September 1991, but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and
parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals; Morocco
protests Spain's control over the coastal enclaves of Ceuta,
Melilla, and Penon de Velez de la Gomera, the islands of Penon de
Alhucemas and Islas Chafarinas, and surrounding waters; discussions
have not progressed on a comprehensive maritime delimitation,
setting limits on resource exploration and refugee interdiction,
since Morocco's 2002 rejection of Spain's unilateral designation of
a median line from the Canary Islands; Morocco serves as one of the
primary launching areas of illegal migration into Spain from North
Africa

Illicit drugs:

one of the world's largest producers of illicit hashish; shipments
of hashish mostly directed to Western Europe; transit point for
cocaine from South America destined for Western Europe; significant
consumer of cannabis

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Mozambique

Introduction
Mozambique

Background:

Almost five centuries as a Portuguese colony came to a close with
independence in 1975. Large-scale emigration by whites, economic
dependence on South Africa, a severe drought, and a prolonged civil
war hindered the country's development until the mid 1990's. The
ruling Front for the Liberation of Mozambique (FRELIMO) party
formally abandoned Marxism in 1989, and a new constitution the
following year provided for multiparty elections and a free market
economy. A UN-negotiated peace agreement between FRELIMO and rebel
Mozambique National Resistance (RENAMO) forces ended the fighting in
1992. In December 2004, Mozambique underwent a delicate transi