The population of Mozambique will double every 25 years, if the current pace is maintained, according to demographic indicators published on Wednesday by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
“Eight billion lives, infinite possibilities” is the title of this year’s edition of the publication on the state of the world population.
Mozambique emerges with a current estimated population of 33.9 million and if the annual growth rate remains unchanged, it will have 67.8 million in 2048 – 25 years from now.
The country will grow more than most less developed countries, which on average will take 30 years to double their population at current growth rates.
There are only 12 countries in the world with a population growth equal to or faster than Mozambique, including a Portuguese-speaking country, Angola, doubling every 23 years.
The others are (in alphabetical order) Chad (23), Mali (23), Niger (19), Central African Republic (24), Democratic Republic of Congo (21), Somalia (23), Syria (14), Ukraine (19), Uganda (25), Tanzania (24) and Zambia (25).
In Mozambique, population growth reflects the context of a country where each woman has, on average, between four and five children, contributing to a young-based age pyramid: 43% of the population is under 15.
Most births (73%) are already supervised by someone with experience, but around a quarter of women are still unassisted at the time of giving birth and for every 100,000 births 127 mothers lose their lives in Mozambique – a figure in which, even so, the country is much better off than the average (377) for less developed countries.
It is also estimated that just under a third of women aged between 15 and 49 use contraceptives.
On the other hand, Mozambique remains in the group of the five countries in the world with more premature marriages.
The report published today indicates that between 2006 and 2022, 53% of women who are between 20 and 24 years old today, were already married at 18. A figure above the average in the group of less developed countries, which is 38%.
Only four countries have higher percentages than Mozambique: Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Mali and Niger.
