Population:
25,930,150
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 2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 50
[see also: Population country ranks ]

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 4% (1997 census)

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: 44.92% (male 5,856,623/female 5,791,519)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 21.51% (male 2,741,474/female 2,835,474)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 27.24% (male 3,301,883/female 3,762,626)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 3.42% (male 425,312/female 462,125)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 2.9% (male 345,408/female 407,706) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
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: 94.8%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 88.2%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 6.5%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 15.3% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 17.1 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 16.5 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 17.7 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 222

Population growth rate:
2.45% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 24
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
38.3 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 10
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
11.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 25
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
-1.9 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 164
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 32.2% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 3.27% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
MAPUTO (capital) 1.187 million; Matola 937,000 (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 0.88 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.85 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:
18.9 median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2011 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
489 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 20
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 67.9 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 70 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 65.9 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 13

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 53.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 52.6 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 54.1 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 215

Total fertility rate:
5.15 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 12
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
11.6% (2011)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
7% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 99
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.04 physicians/1,000 population (2012)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
0.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 80.6% of population rural: 37% of population total: 51.1% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 19.4% of population rural: 63% of population total: 48.9% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 42.4% of population rural: 10.1% of population total: 20.5% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 57.6% of population rural: 89.9% of population total: 79.5% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
10.55% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 8
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1,505,900 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
39,000 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

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:
4.5% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 158
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
15.6% (2011)
country comparison to the world: 44
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
6.5% of GDP (2013)
country comparison to the world: 78
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 58.8%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 73.3%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 45.4% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 9 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 10 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 9 years (2014)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Child labor - children ages 5-14:
total number: 1,369,080
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - total number country ranks ]
percentage: 22% (2008 est.)
[see also: Child labor - children ages 5-14 - percentage country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 39.4%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 40.2%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 38.7% (2012 est.)