New census shows nearly 17 million people

Mozambique’s population has reached almost 17 million official statistics published on Wednesday said. According to news reports the census physically counted 16.278 million people, with an omission rate of about 5.1 percent. The census figures showed that 52 percent of the population were male, with 48 percent female. It also showed that 44.8 percent of the total population were under the age of 14, with 52.3 percent between the ages of 15 and 64. Less than 3 percent were 65 and older. Statistics also indicated that Mozambique’s population was largely rural with 71.4 percent living in the countryside and only 28.6 percent in urban areas. Average life expectancy was 42 years, 40 years for men and 44 years for women, and the infant mortality rate 147 for every 1,000 live births. The National Statistics Institute calculated that by the year 2000 the population would reach 17.2 million and 28 million by the year 2020.