Population: 18 641 469 (July 1998 est.)

Age structure:
0-14 years: 45% (male 4 129 779; female 4 232 091)
15-64 years: 53% (male 4 807 742; female 5 043 299)
65 years and over: 2% (male 177 895; female 250 663) (July 1998 est.)

Population growth rate: 2.57% (1998 est.)

Birth rate: 43.52 births/1 000 population (1998 est.)

Death rate: 17.81 deaths/1 000 population (1998 est.)

Net migration rate: 0 migrant(s)/1 000 population (1998 est.)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.95 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.7 male(s)/female (1998 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 120.26 deaths/1 000 live births (1998 est.)

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 45.37 years
male: 44.22 years
female: 46.55 years (1998 est.)

Total fertility rate: 6 children born/woman (1998 est.)

Nationality:
noun: Mozambican(s)
adjective: Mozambican

Ethnic groups: indigenous tribal groups 99.66% (Shangaan Chokwe Manyika Sena Makua and others) Europeans 0.06% Euro-Africans 0.2% Indians 0.08%

Religions: indigenous beliefs 50% Christian 30% Muslim 20%

Languages: Portuguese (official) indigenous dialects

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 40.1%
male: 57.7%
female: 23.3% (1995 est.)