Mozambique People - 2021

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

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.)

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: 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.)

total population growth rate v. urban population growth rate, 2000-2030

Major urban areas - 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.)

Current Health Expenditure

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)

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

15.6% (2014/15)

Education expenditures

5.5% of GDP (2018)

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)

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24

total: 7.4%

male: 7.7%

female: 7.1% (2015 est.)

NOTE: The information regarding Mozambique on this page is re-published from the 2021 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Mozambique 2021 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Mozambique 2021 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.