| Population | 30,888,034 (July 2021 est.) 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 |
| Nationality | noun: Mozambican(s) adjective: Mozambican |
| Ethnic groups | African 99% (Makhuwa, Tsonga, Lomwe, Sena, and others), Mestizo 0.8%, other (includes European, Indian, Pakistani, Chinese) .2% (2017 est.) |
| Languages | Makhuwa 26.1%, Portuguese (official) 16.6%, Tsonga 8.6%, Nyanja 8.1, Sena 7.1%, Lomwe 7.1%, Chuwabo 4.7%, Ndau 3.8%, Tswa 3.8%, other Mozambican languages 11.8%, other 0.5%, unspecified 1.8% (2017 est.) |
| Religions | Roman Catholic 27.2%, Muslim 18.9%, Zionist Christian 15.6%, Evangelical/Pentecostal 15.3%, Anglican 1.7%, other 4.8%, none 13.9%, unspecified 2.5% (2017 est.) |
| Age structure | 0-14 years: 45.57% (male 6,950,800/female 6,766,373) 15-24 years: 19.91% (male 2,997,529/female 2,994,927) 25-54 years: 28.28% (male 3,949,085/female 4,564,031) 55-64 years: 3.31% (male 485,454/female 509,430) 65 years and over: 2.93% (male 430,797/female 449,771) (2020 est.) |
| Dependency ratios | total dependency ratio: 88.4 youth dependency ratio: 83 elderly dependency ratio: 5.4 potential support ratio: 18.5 (2020 est.) |
| Median age | total: 17 years male: 16.3 years female: 17.6 years (2020 est.) |
| Population growth rate | 2.58% (2021 est.) |
| Birth rate | 38.03 births/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Death rate | 10.59 deaths/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| Net migration rate | -1.62 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2021 est.) |
| 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 as shown in this population distribution map |
| Urbanization | urban population: 37.6% of total population (2021) rate of urbanization: 4.24% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.) |
| Major cities - population | 1.748 million Matola, 1.122 million MAPUTO (capital), 887,000 Nampula (2021) |
| Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female 0-14 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-24 years: 1 male(s)/female 25-54 years: 0.87 male(s)/female 55-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.96 male(s)/female total population: 0.97 male(s)/female (2020 est.) |
| Mother's mean age at first birth | 19.2 years (2011 est.) note: median age at first birth among women 20-49 |
| Maternal mortality rate | 289 deaths/100,000 live births (2017 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate | total: 63.03 deaths/1,000 live births male: 65.06 deaths/1,000 live births female: 60.94 deaths/1,000 live births (2021 est.) |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 56.49 years male: 55.09 years female: 57.94 years (2021 est.) |
| Total fertility rate | 4.89 children born/woman (2021 est.) |
| Contraceptive prevalence rate | 27.1% (2015) |
| Drinking water source | improved: urban: 93.2% of population rural: 58.3% of population total: 70.7% of population unimproved: urban: 6.8% of population rural: 41.7% of population total: 29.3% of population (2017 est.) |
| Health expenditures | 8.2% (2018) |
| Physicians density | 0.08 physicians/1,000 population (2018) |
| Hospital bed density | 0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011) |
| Sanitation facility access | improved: urban: 61.8% of population (2015 est.) rural: 18.8% of population total: 34.1% of population unimproved: urban: 38.2% of population rural: 81.2% of population total: 65.9% of population (2017 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate | 11.5% (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS | 2.1 million (2020 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths | 38,000 (2020 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases | degree of risk: very high (2020) food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever water contact diseases: schistosomiasis animal contact diseases: rabies |
| Obesity - adult prevalence rate | 7.2% (2016) |
| Food insecurity | severe localized food insecurity: due to economic downturn, localized shortfalls in staple food production, and insecurity in northern areas - an estimated 1.65 million people require humanitarian assistance at least up until September 2021; populations in Cabo Delgado are experiencing the severest levels of acute food insecurity, where an estimated 227,000 people are facing "Emergency" levels of food insecurity, reflecting the effects of the conflict on livelihoods and rainfall deficits that caused a drop in cereal production in 2021 (2021) |
| Children under the age of 5 years underweight | 15.6% (2014/15) |
| Education expenditures | 5.5% of GDP (2018) |
| 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. |
| Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write total population: 60.7% male: 72.6% female: 50.3% (2017) |
| School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education) | total: 10 years male: 11 years female: 10 years (2017) |
Source: CIA World Factbook
This page was last updated on September 18, 2021
