8 Billion Lives
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Where you could be born / Africa / Eastern Africa

Born in Mozambique

About 1 in 105 people born in 2023 started life in Mozambique. A boy can expect to live 60 years and a girl 67, up from 36 and 39 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 65% have basic drinking water.

1 in 105
odds of being born here
1.3 million births · Ranked 23rd of 230
60 / 67
years of life, boys / girls
Was 36 / 39 in 1950
$890
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 201st of 203 · extrapolated
36%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 26 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 330 in every 1,000 births to 64.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
0100200300400195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth60.3 years for boys, 66.5 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 564.3 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year236,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.2World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles65%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV11.8%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year361 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year304 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 6.0 children on average in 1950. Now it is 4.8.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman4.76UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.4 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 56 and the poorest fifth 5.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2022
5%Poorest fifth
9%Second
12%Middle
19%Fourth
56%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $890 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth56% / 5% (2022)World Bank PIP
Unemployment6.7% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises7.1% a year (2023)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person2.4% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming73% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed85% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment37% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Maputo, with 1.3 million people.

36%
live in cities
36%
have electricity at home
65%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Maputo1.3 million
Matola1.2 million
Nampula770,379
Beira687,764
Chimoio422,046
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Portuguese27%
Makhuwa13%
Tsonga8%
Sena5%
Makhuwa-Meetto5%
Portuguese is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Nampula1.5 million
Maputo Province1.4 million
Maputo City1.3 million
Sofala905,228
Zambezia Province898,327
Manica561,096
Niassa Province492,043
Cabo Delgado Province482,969
Tete449,134
Gaza Province347,472

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

All 11 regions
  • Nampula1.5 million
  • Maputo Province1.4 million
  • Maputo City1.3 million
  • Sofala905,228
  • Zambezia Province898,327
  • Manica561,096
  • Niassa Province492,043
  • Cabo Delgado Province482,969
  • Tete449,134
  • Gaza Province347,472
  • Inhambane Province289,291

People on the move

About 2.0% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are South Africa, Zimbabwe, Portugal.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
South Africa412,058
Zimbabwe126,753
Portugal90,640
Residents born abroad1.0% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 2.0% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostSouth Africa (412,058), Zimbabwe (126,753), Portugal (90,640)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $265.4 million a year (2025)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

42% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

42%
of older people receive a pension (2022)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20242,252Our World in Data, from WHO
Significant earthquakes recorded since 19501NOAA NCEI
Hurricane-strength storms since 198021NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence11,762 between 1989 and 2024UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Mozambique, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Mozambique

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences