Population:
26,573,706
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
Nationality:
noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican
Ethnic groups:
African 99.66% (Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and others), Europeans 0.06%, Euro-Africans 0.2%, Indians 0.08%
Languages:
Emakhuwa 25.3%, Portuguese (official) 10.7%, Xichangana 10.3%, Cisena 7.5%, Elomwe 7%, Echuwabo 5.1%, other Mozambican languages 30.1%, other 0.3%, unspecified 3.7% (2007 est.)
Religions:
Roman Catholic 28.4%, Muslim 17.9%, Zionist Christian 15.5%, Protestant 12.2% (includes Pentecostal 10.9% and Anglican 1.3%), other 6.7%, none 18.7%, unspecified 0.7% (2007 est.)
Demographic profile:
Mozambique is a poor, sparsely populated country with high fertility and mortality rates and a rapidly growing youthful population – 45% of the population is younger than 15. Mozambique’s high poverty rate is sustained by natural disasters, disease, high population growth, low agricultural productivity, and the unequal distribution of wealth. The country’s birth rate is among the world’s highest, averaging around more than 5 children per woman (and higher in rural areas) for at least the last three decades. The sustained high level of fertility reflects gender inequality, low contraceptive use, early marriages and childbearing, and a lack of education, particularly among women. The high population growth rate is somewhat restrained by the country’s high HIV/AIDS and overall mortality rates. Mozambique ranks among the worst in the world for HIV/AIDS prevalence, HIV/AIDS deaths, and life expectancy at birth.
Mozambique is predominantly a country of emigration, but internal, rural-urban migration has begun to grow. Mozambicans, primarily from the country’s southern region, have been migrating to South Africa for work for more than a century. Additionally, approximately 1.7 million Mozambicans fled to Malawi, South Africa, and other neighboring countries between 1979 and 1992 to escape from civil war. Labor migrants have usually been men from rural areas whose crops have failed or who are unemployed and have headed to South Africa to work as miners; multiple generations of the same family often become miners. Since the abolition of apartheid in South Africa in 1991, other job opportunities have opened to Mozambicans, including in the informal and manufacturing sectors, but mining remains their main source of employment.
Age structure:
0-14 years: 44.72% (male 5,975,407/female 5,908,511)
15-24 years: 21.57% (male 2,824,012/female 2,907,033)
25-54 years: 27.42% (male 3,409,425/female 3,875,837)
55-64 years: 3.4% (male 435,203/female 468,939)
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 352,546/female 416,793) (2017 est.)
population pyramid:
Africa ::MOZAMBIQUE
Population Pyramid
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.
For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.
Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 93.5
youth dependency ratio: 87.5
elderly dependency ratio: 6.1
potential support ratio: 16.5 (2015 est.)
Median age:
total: 17.2 years
male: 16.6 years
female: 17.8 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 222
Population growth rate:
2.46% (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 20
Birth rate:
38.1 births/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
Death rate:
11.6 deaths/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
Net migration rate:
-1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 160
Population distribution:
three large populations clusters are found along the southern coast between Maputo and Inhambane, in the central area between Beira and Chimoio along the Zambezi River, and in and around the northern cities of Nampula, Cidade de Nacala, and Pemba; the northwest and southwest are the least populated areas
Urbanization:
urban population: 32.8% of total population (2017)
rate of urbanization: 3.36% annual rate of change (2015-20 est.)
Major urban areas - population:
MAPUTO (capital) 1.187 million; Matola 937,000 (2015)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.01 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 0.88 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2017 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth:
18.9 years
median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2011 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio:
489 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 21
Infant mortality rate:
total: 65.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 67.9 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 63.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 13
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.7 years
male: 52.9 years
female: 54.5 years (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 215
Total fertility rate:
5.08 children born/woman (2017 est.)
country comparison to the world: 11
Contraceptive prevalence rate:
11.6% (2011)
Health expenditures:
7% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 82
Physicians density:
0.06 physicians/1,000 population (2013)
Hospital bed density:
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Drinking water source:
improved:
urban: 80.6% of population
rural: 37% of population
total: 51.1% of population
unimproved:
urban: 19.4% of population
rural: 63% of population
total: 48.9% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility access:
improved:
urban: 42.4% of population
rural: 10.1% of population
total: 20.5% of population
unimproved:
urban: 57.6% of population
rural: 89.9% of population
total: 79.5% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
12.3% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.8 million (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
62,000 (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: very high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate:
7.2% (2016)
country comparison to the world: 160
Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
15.6% (2011)
country comparison to the world: 44
Education expenditures:
6.5% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 78
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.8%
male: 73.3%
female: 45.4% (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 10 years
male: 10 years
female: 9 years (2014)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24:
total: 39.3%
male: 40.2%
female: 38.7% (2012 est.)
country comparison to the world: 18