Urban population growth (annual %) in Mozambique
Mozambique: Urban population growth (annual %) was 4.9% in 2025. ▼ Falling
Urban population growth in Mozambique, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
Mozambique recorded 4.9% for urban population growth in 2025.
That represents a change of up 0.8% on the previous year and up 35.6% over ten years.
Over the whole period, urban population growth in Mozambique peaked at 9.8% in 1994 and was at its lowest, 2.8%, in 2003.
That places Mozambique 5th out of 218 countries with data for 2025, putting it in the top 10%.
The long-run direction has been consistently falling across the 65 years of available data.
Urban population growth (annual %) in Mozambique, year by year
| Year | annual % | Change |
|---|---|---|
| 1961 | 7.3% | — |
| 1962 | 8.2% | +11.3% |
| 1963 | 8.7% | +7.0% |
| 1964 | 9.1% | +4.4% |
| 1965 | 9.4% | +2.9% |
| 1966 | 9.5% | +1.4% |
| 1967 | 9.5% | +0.3% |
| 1968 | 9.5% | -0.2% |
| 1969 | 9.4% | -0.9% |
| 1970 | 9.4% | -0.9% |
| 1971 | 9.4% | +0.3% |
| 1972 | 9.5% | +1.0% |
| 1973 | 9.5% | -0.2% |
| 1974 | 9.4% | -0.9% |
| 1975 | 9.3% | -0.9% |
| 1976 | 9.2% | -1.2% |
| 1977 | 9.1% | -0.3% |
| 1978 | 9.1% | -0.2% |
| 1979 | 8.9% | -2.2% |
| 1980 | 7.6% | -14.3% |
| 1981 | 7.1% | -6.7% |
| 1982 | 7.9% | +10.2% |
| 1983 | 8.1% | +3.2% |
| 1984 | 8.2% | +0.8% |
| 1985 | 8.1% | -1.3% |
| 1986 | 7.8% | -2.9% |
| 1987 | 6.3% | -19.8% |
| 1988 | 5.4% | -13.7% |
| 1989 | 6.1% | +12.2% |
| 1990 | 6.3% | +3.8% |
| 1991 | 6.4% | +1.3% |
| 1992 | 5.9% | -7.2% |
| 1993 | 6.7% | +12.7% |
| 1994 | 9.8% | +46.2% |
| 1995 | 8.5% | -13.3% |
| 1996 | 5.2% | -38.4% |
| 1997 | 4.1% | -21.8% |
| 1998 | 3.2% | -21.4% |
| 1999 | 3.0% | -5.7% |
| 2000 | 2.9% | -5.2% |
| 2001 | 2.8% | -2.2% |
| 2002 | 2.8% | -1.5% |
| 2003 | 2.8% | -0.4% |
| 2004 | 2.8% | +0.4% |
| 2005 | 2.8% | +1.7% |
| 2006 | 2.9% | +2.8% |
| 2007 | 3.0% | +3.4% |
| 2008 | 3.1% | +4.6% |
| 2009 | 3.3% | +4.5% |
| 2010 | 3.4% | +3.0% |
| 2011 | 3.5% | +3.6% |
| 2012 | 3.6% | +2.8% |
| 2013 | 3.6% | +0.8% |
| 2014 | 3.6% | +0.5% |
| 2015 | 3.7% | +0.3% |
| 2016 | 3.7% | +1.0% |
| 2017 | 3.7% | +1.5% |
| 2018 | 4.1% | +9.2% |
| 2019 | 4.2% | +3.4% |
| 2020 | 4.4% | +4.3% |
| 2021 | 4.6% | +3.2% |
| 2022 | 4.7% | +2.9% |
| 2023 | 4.8% | +2.9% |
| 2024 | 4.9% | +1.8% |
| 2025 | 4.9% | +0.8% |
Mozambique compared with similar countries
- Mozambique's 4.9% is above the median for low income countries, which is 4.0%, 1.2× the median. (25 countries reporting)
- Mozambique's 4.9% is above the median for Sub-Saharan Africa, which is 3.4%, 1.5× the median. (48 countries reporting)
Biggest year-on-year movements
Years where Urban population growth (annual %) in Mozambique changed far more than this series normally does. A large move can be a real event or a change in how the figure was measured — the source note below says who published it.
| Year | Change | From | To |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | +46.2% | 6.7% | 9.8% |
| 1996 | -38.4% | 8.5% | 5.2% |
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 9.0% | 7.3% | 9.5% | 9 |
| 1970s | 9.3% | 8.9% | 9.5% | 10 |
| 1980s | 7.3% | 5.4% | 8.2% | 10 |
| 1990s | 5.9% | 3.0% | 9.8% | 10 |
| 2000s | 2.9% | 2.8% | 3.3% | 10 |
| 2010s | 3.7% | 3.4% | 4.2% | 10 |
| 2020s | 4.7% | 4.4% | 4.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Mozambique
More climate change data for Mozambique
- Nutrient nitrogen N (total) — Synthetic fertilizers (Agricultural) 81.74 million kg (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) 12,495 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 6,629 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 5,867 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 25.01 kt (2050)
- Emissions from livestock — Emissions 209.52 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) 2,596 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from N2O 923.79 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions (CO2eq) from CH4 1,672 kt (2050)
- Emissions from crops — Emissions 3.49 kt (2050)
Frequently asked questions
- What is urban population growth in Mozambique?
- Urban population growth in Mozambique was 4.9% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest urban population growth recorded in Mozambique?
- The highest recorded value was 9.8% in 1994.
- What is the lowest urban population growth recorded in Mozambique?
- The lowest recorded value was 2.8% in 2003.
- How does Mozambique rank for urban population growth?
- Mozambique ranks 5th out of 218 countries with data for 2025.
- Is urban population growth rising or falling in Mozambique?
- Over the last ten years it is up 35.6%. The long-run trend across the full record is falling.
- Where does this Mozambique data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Urban population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual urban population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear urban population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Urban population refers to people living in urban areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated using World Bank total population estimates and urban ratios from the United Nations World Urbanization Prospects.