Demographic indicators recently published on Wednesday by the United Nations Population Fund reveal that if Mozambique maintains the current birth rate, the national population could double every 25 years.

According to the study "Eight billion lives, infinite possibilities", which assessed the world population, the Mozambican population is estimated at 33.9 million and by 2048 it should reach 67.8 million.

Mozambique's population density growth will be higher than the average for poor countries, which, on average, will take 30 years to double their population.

The biggest contribution of the birth rate in Mozambique lies in the fact that each woman has an average of four or five children, which reflects a mostly young age pyramid. In the country, 43% are under 15 years old. Around 73% of births are attended by someone with experience, but around a quarter of women receive no assistance in labor, and for every 100,000 births, 127 women lose their lives.

Mozambique also has a small number of women - less than a third of the total - between the ages of 19 and 49 who use contraceptive methods. The country is the fifth in the world with the highest rates of early marriage. The study, quoted by NewsAccording to the report, between 2006 and 2022, 53% of women between the ages of 20 and 24 were already married by the age of 18. In this respect, Mozambique is second only to the Central African Republic, Chad, Mali and Niger.

The United Nations Population Fund says, however, that despite these figures, Mozambique is in a better situation than the average for poor nations.

There are 12 countries whose population growth is equal to that of Mozambique, namely Angola, which will double its population every 23 years; 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); Zambia (25).