Infographics: Urbanisation and Urban Development in Mozambique

URBANET’s latest country series sheds light on one of the smaller countries in East Africa: Mozambique. URBANET invites its readers to take a look at some fascinating figures and insights on demographic development, which show, for example, that Mozambique has one of the youngest populations worldwide!

Urban and Rural Population

Mozambique’s rural population has been slowly but steadily increasing since the 1950s and is projected to do so in the following 25 years. By 2050, up to 30 million people will live in the country’s rural areas. However, urbanisation started to increase in Mozambique since the late 1970s – and has grown exponentially ever since. The year 2040 marks the estimated date when more people will live in Mozambique’s cities than in its countryside. By 2050, the former will reach a number of 38 million urban inhabitants.

Urban and Rural Population in Mozambique 1950-2050 @ URBANET

Size of Settlements

Mozambique comprises seven larger agglomerations. Even though the country’s urban population has only been rising since the late 1970s, two of its cities – Matola and Maputo – already count more than one million inhabitants. The population of the other five cities ranges from 300,000 to one million inhabitants.

Size of Settlements in Mozambique 2018 @ URBANET

The 6 Largest Urban Agglomerations

Even though almost 1.5 million people are living in Mozambique’s capital of Maputo, it is not the country’s largest agglomeration. The largest city in Mozambique is Matola, which has nearly 2.4 million inhabitants. Next to the two largest cities, which are situated in the South of the country, the city of Nampula in the North has also passed the benchmark of one million, with currently about 1.3 million people living in its urban area. The population of two cities in Central Mozambique, Chimoio and Quelimane, will have doubled from roughly 0.3 million in 2015 to 0.6 million by 2030. Meanwhile, Beira, which is also located in the country’s centre, will house around 800.000 inhabitants by 2030 – with a rising tendency.

The 6 largest agglomerations in Mozambique @ URBANET

Urbanisation in Mozambique – Key Figures

Urbanisation is a worldwide trend which does not stop at Mozambique’s borders. The World Bank forecasts indicate that 50 to 60 per cent of the Mozambican population will be living in cities by 2050. This accounts for a total number of 30-36 million urban residents. While merely 29 per cent of the country’s population has access to electricity, this number drops to even under 10 per cent in its rural areas. A large number of people living in Mozambique are significantly younger than the worldwide average. The average Mozambican is 16 years old, while more than 40 per cent of its inhabitants are even younger than 15 years. Lastly, Mozambique is a great example of how climate change disproportionately affects countries in the Global South: While a person in industrialised nations such as Germany accounts for 8.2 tons of CO2 emissions each year, an average Mozambican is simply responsible for 0.3 tons of CO2 emissions per year – while at the same time being affected by climate change the most.

Interesting key facts for Mozambique @ URBANET