# Demographics of Mozambique
The demographics of [Mozambique](https://www.edgepedia.org/mozambique) cover the size, structure, and dynamics of the population of Mozambique, a country in southeastern Africa with one of the world's youngest and fastest-growing populations. Mozambique's population was estimated at 31.7 million in 2022 by the U.S. Census Bureau[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html), and in 2025 stands between 34.1 million on the projections of the National Statistics Institute (INE)[2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf) and 35.6 million on the World Bank's estimates[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique). Annual growth was reported at 2.6 percent in 2022[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html) and 2.8 percent in 2025[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique).
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Population (2025) | 34,090,466 (INE projection); 35,631,653 (World Bank estimate)[2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf) • [3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique) |
| Growth rate | 2.6% per year (2022, U.S. Census Bureau); 2.8% (2025, World Bank); projected to double to about 57 million by 2047 at current trends[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html) • [3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique) • [2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf) |
| Age structure | 56.1% of the population aged 19 and below (2022); dependency ratio 92.9 in 2022[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html) |
| Fertility | Total fertility rate 4.8 births per woman in 2022, over 25% lower than the 1980 rate of 6.5[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html) |
| Life expectancy | 57.1 years in 2022 (U.S. Census Bureau); 64 years in 2024 (World Bank)[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html) • [3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique) |
| Urbanization | 38% urban in 2021; 65% rural in 2025[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html) • [2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf) |
| Migration | Net migration of −65,573 people in 2025 (World Bank)[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique) |
## Population size and growth
Mozambique's population has grown from about 18.5 million in 2000 to about 31.7 million in 2022, an increase of 70 percent over two decades[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html). The [World Development Indicators](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-development-indicators) series runs from 13,094,537 in 1990 through 27,337,105 in 2016 to 35,631,653 in 2025[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique).
Two 2025 figures circulate and should not be silently merged. The INE annual projection gives 34,090,466 residents for 2025[2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf) • [4](https://www.ine.gov.mz/documents/20119/195507/Anuario-%202020_final.pdf/4483f08a-a8c0-bbd8-333e-8f351cd2d57c?download=true&t=1694236208128&version=1.0), while the World Bank, whose estimates draw on the UN World Population Prospects and national statistical offices, gives 35,631,653[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique). At the reported growth rate of roughly 2.6 percent a year, the population is projected to double to approximately 57 million by 2047 if current trends persist[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html) • [2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf).
## Age structure and fertility
Mozambique has one of the youngest populations in the world: 56.1 percent of its people were aged 19 or below in 2022[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html). The dependency ratio, the ratio of people younger than 15 or older than 64 to the working-age population, stood at 92.9 percent in 2022, high by world standards, and exceeded 100 percent in districts of Niassa, Tete, Zambézia, and Sofala provinces[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html).
Fertility has fallen but remains high. The total fertility rate was 4.8 births per woman in 2022, more than 25 percent lower than the 1980 level of 6.5[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html). A World Bank DataBank series shows fertility declining from 6.3 births per woman at the start of the series to 5.2 at the end[5](https://databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx?Id=8e4dcceb&Report_Name=Mozambique). Continued growth is driven by high fertility, early marriage, and limited access to family planning services[2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf).
## Mortality and health
[Life expectancy](https://www.edgepedia.org/life-expectancy) at birth was 57.1 years in 2022, among the lowest in the world, on the U.S. Census Bureau's measures[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html). The World Bank places the 2024 combined figure at 64 years, up from 44.3 years at the start of its series[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique) • [5](https://databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx?Id=8e4dcceb&Report_Name=Mozambique). HIV prevalence among people aged 15 to 49 was 13.2 percent in 2015, and malaria accounted for 29 percent of all deaths and 42 percent of deaths among children under 5[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html).
## Distribution and migration
The population is predominantly rural: 65 percent in 2025[2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf), with 38 percent urban in 2021[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html). [Population density](https://www.edgepedia.org/population-density) is low at 40.3 people per square kilometer, and most provinces are sparsely settled except Maputo City[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html). Net migration was −65,573 in 2025 on World Bank figures[3](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique). Conflict in Cabo Delgado since October 2017 displaced over a million people according to OCHA estimates[2](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf).
## Data sources and quality
Mozambique has an unusually long census series for Africa: decennial censuses in 1930, 1940, 1950, 1960, 1970, and 1980, all taken on 1 August, with fertility and mortality information available in part or whole from 1950 onward. These early censuses used the "census-by-assembly" method, and no usable vital registration system was in place at the time, so the census series was the sole basis for demographic estimates[6](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/729161468286483453/pdf/multi0page.pdf).
After independence in 1975, censuses resumed at ten-year intervals from 1997: 1997, 2007, and 2017[7](https://mozambique.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/Final%20CCA%20Mozambique%20-%20August%202021.pdf). The 2007 census, the second after independence, ran from 1 to 15 August 2007 and estimated the population at 20,366,795[8](https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/wphc/Mozambique/more.htm). The 2017 census recorded 27,864,265 people[4](https://www.ine.gov.mz/documents/20119/195507/Anuario-%202020_final.pdf/4483f08a-a8c0-bbd8-333e-8f351cd2d57c?download=true&t=1694236208128&version=1.0). Official 2017 census results were released in April 2019, almost two years after enumeration, and timeliness and availability are the main identified shortcomings of census data; district-level projections cover 2017 to 2050[7](https://mozambique.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/Final%20CCA%20Mozambique%20-%20August%202021.pdf).
The UN Population Division's World Population Prospects 2024 estimates for Mozambique are built on the 1950 through 2017 censuses, adjusted for undercount, age heaping, and under-enumeration of children under 15, and draw fertility estimates from [Demographic and Health Surveys](https://www.edgepedia.org/demographic-and-health-surveys) of 1997, 2003, 2011, and 2022-2023 plus MICS 2008, AIS 2015, and MIS 2018[9](https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2024_Data_Sources.pdf). The 2022-2023 Inquérito Demográfico e de Saúde (DHS) is the latest household survey in that series[10](https://microdata.worldbank.org//catalog/6247).
## Human capital context
Mean years of schooling was 3.5 in 2019, 4.5 years for men and 2.7 for women, and Mozambique ranked 185 of 191 countries on the [Human Development Index](https://www.edgepedia.org/human-development-index) in 2021[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html). Educational attainment varies sharply by province: in 2018, 17.5 percent of women in Cabo Delgado and 28.1 percent in Niassa were literate, against 90.0 percent in Maputo City[1](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html).
## References
1. [Mozambique: Population Vulnerability and Resilience Profile, U.S. Census Bureau](https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/international-programs/data/population-vulnerability/mozambique.html)
2. [UNFPA Country Programme Evaluation, Mozambique 10th CPE Report, Chapter 2: Country context](https://www.unfpa.org/sites/default/files/2026-02/Mozambique%2010th%20CPE%20Report_Revsied%20Final%20%282%29.pdf)
3. [Mozambique | Data, World Bank](https://data.worldbank.org/country/mozambique)
4. [Anuário Estatístico 2020, Instituto Nacional de Estatística (INE), Mozambique](https://www.ine.gov.mz/documents/20119/195507/Anuario-%202020_final.pdf/4483f08a-a8c0-bbd8-333e-8f351cd2d57c?download=true&t=1694236208128&version=1.0)
5. [World Development Indicators | DataBank, Mozambique](https://databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx?Id=8e4dcceb&Report_Name=Mozambique)
6. [World Bank Document, Report on Mozambique population (Chapter II)](https://documents1.worldbank.org/curated/en/729161468286483453/pdf/multi0page.pdf)
7. [Common Country Analysis, Mozambique (August 2021), United Nations Mozambique](https://mozambique.un.org/sites/default/files/2022-05/Final%20CCA%20Mozambique%20-%20August%202021.pdf)
8. [Mozambique Census, 2007, United Nations Statistics Division](https://unstats.un.org/unsd/demographic/sources/census/wphc/Mozambique/more.htm)
9. [World Population Prospects 2024, Data Sources: Mozambique, UN Population Division](https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2024_Data_Sources.pdf)
10. [Mozambique - Inquérito Demográfico e de Saúde 2022-2023, World Bank Microdata Library](https://microdata.worldbank.org//catalog/6247)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Society and history › Social life and human behavior › Communities and populations › Demographics and population › Demographics of cities and regions › Demographics of African countries*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license