Mozambique’s current population is 31.26 million. Based on current projections, Mozambique’s population will surpass 100 million by 2078 and will reach 122.8 million by the end of the century. This means that over the next 80 years, Mozambique is projected to almost quadruple its current population.
Mozambique is growing at a rate of 2.93% every year. The fertility rate is high at 4.89 births per woman, caused by early first pregnancies and the low use of contraceptive methods.
Mozambique faces several challenges with population growth because the country is very poor. Some of these challenges include ensuring access to health care and education (and compromising the quality of these services) and unemployment.
| Mozambique Population (as of 9/13/2024) | 34,837,957 |
| Last UN Estimate (July 1, 2024) | 34,631,766 |
| Births per Day | 3,511 |
| Deaths per Day | 655 |
| Migrations per Day | -107 |
| Net Change per Day | 2,749 |
| Population Change Since Jan. 1 | 706,493 |
Net increase of 1 person every 31 seconds
Population estimates based on interpolation of data from World Population Prospects
| One birth every 25 seconds | |
| One death every 2.2 minutes | |
| One emigrant every 13.45 minutes | |
| Net gain of one person every 31 seconds |
City | 2024 Population |
|---|---|
| Maputo | 1,191,613 |
| Matola | 675,422 |
| Beira | 530,604 |
| Nampula | 388,526 |
| Chimoio | 256,936 |
| Nacala | 224,795 |
| Quelimane | 188,964 |
| Tete | 129,316 |
| Xai-Xai | 127,366 |
| Maxixe | 119,868 |
Mozambique, with an area of 309,496 square miles (801,563 square kilometers) remains fairly sparsely populated with 29 people per square kilometer, which is 178th in the world. The north-central provinces of Nampula and Zambezia are the most populous regions of Mozambique and account for 45% of the total population.
The largest city and capital is Maputo (previously Lourenco Marques) with a population of 1.2 million. The once second-largest city of Matola, had a dramatic population increase going from 671,556 to 1,616,267 between 2007 and 2017.
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 34,631,766 | 2.99% | 44 | 45 | 169 |
| 2023 | 33,635,160 | 3% | 43 | 47 | 170 |
| 2020 | 30,783,688 | 3.01% | 39 | 48 | 172 |
| 2019 | 29,884,380 | 2.98% | 38 | 48 | 173 |
| 2018 | 29,018,644 | 3.03% | 37 | 49 | 173 |
| 2017 | 28,166,393 | 3.03% | 36 | 49 | 175 |
| 2015 | 26,547,572 | 2.91% | 34 | 50 | 176 |
| 2010 | 22,999,235 | 2.52% | 29 | 52 | 178 |
| 2005 | 20,304,569 | 2.29% | 26 | 52 | 180 |
| 2000 | 18,129,653 | 2.58% | 23 | 53 | 179 |
| 1995 | 15,960,530 | 4.04% | 20 | 54 | 180 |
| 1990 | 13,094,537 | 0.85% | 17 | 55 | 186 |
| 1985 | 12,548,949 | 2.05% | 16 | 53 | 185 |
| 1980 | 11,336,221 | 3.51% | 14 | 55 | 182 |
| 1975 | 9,540,817 | 2.95% | 12 | 58 | 184 |
| 1970 | 8,250,506 | 2.18% | 10 | 63 | 187 |
| 1965 | 7,406,421 | 1.98% | 9 | 64 | 186 |
| 1960 | 6,713,695 | 1.36% | 9 | 65 | 186 |
| 1955 | 6,274,471 | 1.2% | 8 | 65 | 182 |
Year | Population | Growth Rate | Density (/km²) | Population Rank | Density Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | 34,631,766 | 2.99% | 44 | 45 | 169 |
| 2025 | 35,631,653 | 2.97% | 45 | 45 | 167 |
| 2030 | 40,846,755 | 2.77% | 52 | 40 | 163 |
| 2035 | 46,411,774 | 2.59% | 59 | 39 | 157 |
| 2040 | 52,124,215 | 2.35% | 66 | 36 | 153 |
| 2045 | 57,851,793 | 2.11% | 74 | 34 | 149 |
| 2050 | 63,530,952 | 1.89% | 81 | 32 | 144 |
| 2055 | 69,093,714 | 1.69% | 88 | 30 | 136 |
| 2060 | 74,638,116 | 1.56% | 95 | 30 | 131 |
| 2065 | 79,768,191 | 1.34% | 101 | 28 | 124 |
| 2070 | 84,572,376 | 1.18% | 108 | 27 | 123 |
| 2075 | 88,965,292 | 1.02% | 113 | 25 | 120 |
| 2080 | 92,965,358 | 0.88% | 118 | 24 | 118 |
| 2085 | 96,529,133 | 0.76% | 123 | 23 | 115 |
| 2090 | 99,654,091 | 0.64% | 127 | 22 | 111 |
| 2095 | 102,217,894 | 0.51% | 130 | 22 | 108 |
17
Total
16.3
Male
17.6
Female
There are people over age 18 in Mozambique.
Year | Date |
|---|---|
| 2017 | 2017 |
| 2007 | 15 August 2007 |
| 1997 | 15 August 1997 |
Mozambique, officially the Republic of Mozambique, is a country in Southeast Africa bordered by Zimbabwe, Eswatini, South Africa, Tanzania, Malawi, Zambia, and the Indian Ocean. It is also separated from the island of Madagascar by the Mozambique Channel.
Other groups living in Mozambique include: Makonde, Swahili, Tonga, Yao, Nguni, and Chopi. The Bantu account for 97.8% of the population, with the rest including White Africans (mostly of Portuguese descent), Euro-Africans (of mixed Bantu and Portuguese heritage) and Indians. There are about 45,000 people of Indian descent in the country.
The Makua live in the northern region of the country, the Sena and Shona live in the Zambezi valley, and the Shangaan (or Tsonga) are dominant in the southern region of the country.
Religion in Mozambique is somewhat varied, with 56.1% of the population practicing Christianity, 17.9% practicing Islam, and the remaining with the remaining 26% either practicing a different religion or being agnostic/atheist. Religious groups tend to be in different regions of the country, with the north being predominantly Muslim and the south having more Christians.
More than half of the country's population lives in poverty and rely on agricultural subsidies. Private land ownership is strictly prohibited, and political corruption and police extortion are commonplace in Mozambique. Politics and business go hand in hand in an unhealthy way, and keeps the people of the country in very unfortunate circumstances.
The longstanding power of the Mozambique Liberation Front (FRELIMO) has been in place since 1975. They clashed with the Mozambican National Resistance (RENAMO) during a 16-year civil war that ended in 1992. The government has been accumulating unauthorized debt for a long time, making it difficult to get aid and keeping most of the country very poor.