MozambiqueIslandUNESCO World Heritage
Island of Mozambique
0.93 km² of land in the Mozambique Channel.
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
0.93km²
Area
7km
Coastline
20m
Highest point
14,000
People
29°C
Warmest sea
March
5km
To the mainland
When to go to Island of Mozambique
Best for the beach in May and from July to October.
The sea is warmest in March (29 °C) and coolest in August (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Small island off mainland Mozambique
Island of Mozambique is an island in Mozambique. It covers 0.93 km², with 7 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 20 m. About 14,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 5 km away. It is part of a UNESCO World Heritage site.
Getting there
- Nacala International Airport (MNC)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 61 km in a straight lineCar hire at MNC airport (Nacala)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- 5 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- May and from July to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Island of Mozambique.
- 2beaches
- 1castles and fortsFort of São Sebastião
- 7ruins and archaeological sites
- 21hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 16restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 10 m above the sea. 100 % of it is below 200 m.
- 100 %0–50 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
2 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Mozambique55,829 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 29 | 30 | 31 | 31 |
| Night low (°C) | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22 | 21 | 21 | 22 | 23 | 25 | 26 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 336 | 240 | 160 | 104 | 17 | 33 | 21 | 16 | 8 | 18 | 34 | 136 |
| Wet days | 27 | 24 | 23 | 14 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 7 | 18 |
| Sun h/day | 6.5 | 7.0 | 7.2 | 7.7 | 8.1 | 7.5 | 7.5 | 8.2 | 9.2 | 9.5 | 9.4 | 8.1 |
| Wind (km/h) | 16 | 14 | 14 | 17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 18 | 19 | 19 | 19 | 16 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +0.1 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | +0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.4 | −0.1 | −0.1 | +0.2 | +0.1 | −0.4 | −0.2 | −0.1 |
| 2022 | +0.3 | +0.2 | −0.1 | +0.3 | −0.2 | ±0.0 | −0.3 | ±0.0 | −0.1 | −0.3 | −0.6 | −0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.2 | −0.2 | −0.5 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.7 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.7 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.2 |
| 2025 | ±0.0 | ±0.0 | +0.1 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.6 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.3 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Madagascar
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q331099) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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