
Mozambique
- Capital:
- Maputo
- Continent:
- Africa
- Region(s):
- Eastern Africa, Sub-Saharan Africa
- Abbreviation:
- MOZ
Mozambique's population structure shows a somewhat lower male to female ratio of 0.94 to 1, with a median male age of 16.65 years old and a median female age of 18.20 years old. The highest concentration of adults under 75 years old is in the 18 and 19 year-old age groups, while the lowest concentration is in the 74 and 73 year-old age groups.
Data after 2022 is projected based on recent change
* As of 2/12/2025
1 birth
Every 24.2 seconds
1 death
Every 2.2 minutes
1 emigrant
Every 8.0 minutes
1 person
Every 31.7 seconds
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.