Mozambique Population
Mozambique had an estimated population of 35,631,653 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 46th most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.43% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +2.85% a year.
Mozambique at a glance
How Mozambique's population is changing
Mozambique's population is growing fast: +2.85% a year, which works out to about +1,014,184 people per year, or +2,777 a day. Births (37.0 per 1,000) and deaths (6.9 per 1,000) alone would give +3.01% a year; net migration removes about 65,573 people a year (−0.18%). Roughly one in every 231 people on Earth lives in Mozambique.
Population of Mozambique since 1960
In 1960, Mozambique had 6,713,695 people. By 2025 that was 35,631,653 — 5.3× larger. The fastest growth came between 1992 and 2002, when the population rose by 39%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 6,713,695 | — |
| 1970 | 8,250,506 | +22.9% |
| 1980 | 11,336,221 | +37.4% |
| 1990 | 13,094,537 | +15.5% |
| 2000 | 18,129,653 | +38.5% |
| 2010 | 22,999,235 | +26.9% |
| 2020 | 30,783,688 | +33.8% |
| 2025 | 35,631,653 | +15.7% |
Mozambique from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Mozambique at about 2,000,000 people in 1800; the UN estimates 35,631,657 in 2025 (18× 1800) and projects 104,346,536 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 193% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 2,000,000 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 4,676,306 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 4,251,279 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 5,910,234 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 18,129,652 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 35,631,657 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 63,530,959 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 88,965,296 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 104,346,536 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Mozambique
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 35,631,653. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Maputo | 3,166,328 | UN urban centre | 8.89% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Matola | 1,198,988 | GeoNames settlement | 3.36% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 3 | Nampula | 885,780 | UN urban centre | 2.49% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 4 | Beira | 608,097 | UN urban centre | 1.71% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Chimoio | 453,521 | UN urban centre | 1.27% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Quelimane | 438,554 | UN urban centre | 1.23% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Tete | 421,174 | UN urban centre | 1.18% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Lichinga | 294,317 | UN urban centre | 0.83% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Nacala | 273,732 | UN urban centre | 0.77% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Pemba | 261,380 | UN urban centre | 0.73% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Mozambique compares
Mozambique has almost the same population as Malaysia (35,977,838).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Mozambique | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #44 |  Poland | 36,435,861 | +2% | compare → |
| #45 |  Malaysia | 35,977,838 | +1% | compare → |
| #47 |  Ghana | 35,064,272 | −2% | compare → |
| #48 |  Peru | 34,576,665 | −3% | compare → |
Compare Mozambique with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Mozambique
Land neighbours (6)
Tanzania 70,545,865 · 2.0× the population · compare
South Africa 64,747,319 · 1.8× the population · compare
Malawi 22,216,120 · 1.6× smaller · compare
Zambia 21,913,874 · 1.6× smaller · compare
Zimbabwe 16,950,795 · 2.1× smaller · compare
Eswatini 1,256,174 · 28.4× smaller · compare
Mozambique's 6 neighbours together hold 197,630,147 people — 5.5× Mozambique's population. The most populous is Tanzania (70,545,865).
In its region
Mozambique is the 10th most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 2.7% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings featuring Mozambique
- Fastest-growing countries #17
- Highest birth rates #8
- Highest fertility rates #10
- Youngest populations (share aged 0–14) #7
Cities
Maputo, Matola, Nampula, Beira, Chimoio, Quelimane, Tete, Lichinga — all Mozambique's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Mozambique when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.