Mozambique’s population will double every 25 years if the current pace is maintained, according to demographic indicators published today by the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA).
“Eight billion lives, infinite possibilities” is the title of this year’s publication on the status of the world population.
Mozambique appears 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, among which a Lusophone country, Angola, doubles 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.
Someone with experience assists most births (73%), but about a quarter of women are still unassisted when giving birth.
For every 100,000 births, 127 mothers lose their lives in Mozambique – a figure in which, even so, the country is far 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 among the five countries with more early marriages.
The report published today indicates that between 2006 and 2022, 53% of the women between 20 and 24 years old today were already married at 18.
A value above the average in the group of less developed countries is 38%.
Only four countries have higher percentages than Mozambique: Central African Republic (CAR), Chad, Mali, and Niger.
With information from Lusa