Largest Cities and Urban Localities by Population in Mozambique

Most of these figures are from the 2007 census, 19 years old.

91 cities and urban localities in Mozambique, ranked by population at the census of September 16, 2007 (by National Statistics Institute, Mozambique). 11 places have a newer figure, from the 2017 census.

Rank	City or Urban Locality	Population
1	Maputo	1,080,277(2017 census)
2	Matola	1,032,197(2017 census)
3	Nampula	663,212(2017 census)
4	Beira	592,090(2017 census)
5	Chimoio	363,336(2017 census)
6	Tete	307,338(2017 census)
7	Quelimane	246,915(2017 census)
8	Lichinga	242,204(2017 census)
9	Nacala Portoincl. Maiaia/Mutiva & Muanona	206,449
10	Pemba	200,529(2017 census)
11	Mocuba	168,736
12	Gurué	145,466
13	Xai-Xai	132,884(2017 census)
14	Maxixe	108,824
15	Angoche	89,998
16	Inhambane	82,119(2017 census)
17	Cuamba	79,013
18	Montepuez	76,139
19	Dondo	70,817
20	Chibuto	63,184
21	Manhiça	56,165
22	Chókwè	53,062
23	Moçambique	48,063
24	NametilMogovolas	45,160
25	Monapo	43,160
26	Alto Molócuè	42,200
27	Marromeu	39,409
28	Mocímboa da Praia	39,010
29	Moatize	38,924
30	Vilankulo (Vilanculos)	37,176
31	Manica	36,124
32	Gondola	33,877
33	Chiúre	32,603
34	Namialo	32,048
35	Milange	30,257
36	Mutuáli	28,342
37	MaciaBilene Macia	27,795
38	SongoCahora-Bassa	26,775
39	Ribáuè	26,035
40	Nhamatanda	25,902
41	Moma (Macone)	25,557
42	Boane	23,524
43	Mueda	23,480
44	Namapa-Eráti	22,713
45	CatandicaBárue	22,271
46	Massinga	20,930
47	Mossuril	20,730
48	Morrumbala	20,727
49	Xilembene	20,440
50	Malema	20,277
51	Macomia	19,997
52	Namacurra	19,497
53	Gorongosa	18,761
54	Caia	18,233
55	Iapala	17,344
56	Murrupula	16,791
57	Mandimba	16,323
58	Nacala-a-Velha	15,691
59	Maganja da Costa	15,410
60	Chinde	15,116
61	Pebane	14,779
62	Búzi	14,092
63	Machipanda	13,742
64	Messica	13,695
65	UlonguéAngónia	13,620
66	Moamba	12,862
67	MetangulaLago	12,772
68	Namaacha	12,725
69	Inhassoro	11,297
70	Marracuene	11,236
71	Morrumbene	10,789
72	Magude	10,692
73	QuissicoZavala	10,391
74	Mandlacaze	10,317
75	InhamingaCheringoma	9,956
76	Xinavane	9,930
77	Meconta	9,376
78	NhamayabuéMutarara	8,685
79	Chicualacuala (Vila Eduardo Mondlane)	8,321
80	Marrupa	8,235
81	Inharrime	8,106
82	Bilene (Praia do Bilene)	7,951
83	Ressano Garcia	7,689
84	Homoíne	7,272
85	Luabo	6,112
86	InsacaMecanhelas	5,741
87	CaniçadoGuijá	5,689
88	Vila do Ibo (Ibo)	4,908
89	SangaUnango	3,602
90	Bela VistaMatutuíne	2,588
91	Nova MamboneGovuro	2,137

Source: National Statistics Institute, Mozambique (2007 census), via City Population by Thomas Brinkhoff.

Why don't these match official city populations?Official figures typically count only the population within administrative boundaries. UN urban area figures cover the entire built-up area, which can include multiple cities and towns.Show moreShow less

Tokyo

33,338,852

Urban area

9,953,160

23 wards

Essen

2,709,375

Urban area

573,618

City of Essen

Ankara

3,630,865

Urban area

5,186,002

Metropolitan municipality

What counts as an urban area? The UN uses satellite imagery to map built-up land, and treats each continuous stretch of built-up land as an urban area. This means that urban areas can extend beyond official city boundaries, and may include multiple cities and towns within a single urban area.

Can an urban area be smaller than its city? Yes. While most cities have urban areas larger than their administrative boundaries, some cities have extensive administrative limits that include sparsely populated areas.

48 urban areas in Mozambique with 50,000 or more inhabitants, ranked by the UN's population estimates for 2026.

Rank	Urban Area	Population Estimate (2026)	Yearly Change	Land Area (km²)	Density (P/km²)	World Rank	Projections (2030)	Projections (2050)
1	Maputo	3,233,347	+2.07%	493	6,556	152	3,501,423	4,323,235
2	Nampula	902,421	+1.84%	125	7,196	578	968,983	1,234,642
3	Beira	622,432	+2.30%	114	5,441	874	679,773	938,178
4	Chimoio	465,265	+2.52%	70	6,685	1,214	512,239	688,483
5	Quelimane	452,015	+2.98%	45	9,956	1,247	505,861	693,964
6	Tete	436,896	+3.60%	74	5,920	1,293	499,786	800,094
7	Lichinga	306,879	+4.09%	45	6,850	1,899	357,127	631,150
8	Nacala	279,292	+1.99%	52	5,371	2,095	301,531	413,340
9	Pemba	269,408	+2.98%	71	3,794	2,188	301,518	399,397
10	Xai-Xai	214,206	+2.57%	54	3,982	2,795	236,218	324,946
11	Mocuba	197,426	+2.93%	32	6,208	3,071	220,591	325,316
12	Moatize	159,570	+3.41%	22	7,188	3,840	181,312	283,041
13	Milange	152,343	+4.00%	15	10,434	4,033	176,733	277,620
14	Gurue	146,652	+3.81%	13	11,110	4,200	169,014	320,256
15	Morrumbala	125,337	+3.02%	18	6,963	4,952	140,495	224,631
16	Montepuez	116,504	+2.07%	27	4,315	5,347	126,161	165,538
17	Catandica	112,023	+3.02%	18	6,155	5,578	125,567	203,061
18	Dondo	109,079	+2.77%	27	4,040	5,734	121,183	183,377
19	Cuamba	108,700	+8.76%	17	6,320	5,755	146,786	300,221
20	Marromeu	106,452	+2.76%	17	6,262	5,877	118,183	194,737
21	Maxixe	96,817	+3.47%	38	2,548	6,467	110,249	156,565
22	Chibuto	93,463	+2.35%	26	3,540	6,702	102,258	148,379
23	Nhamatanda	91,983	+3.25%	11	8,069	6,825	103,950	168,052
24	Mandimba	82,956	+4.60%	8.40	9,876	7,618	98,222	170,414
25	Massinga	81,496	+2.91%	25	3,313	7,751	90,989	125,591
26	Vilanculos	80,869	+3.07%	29	2,789	7,804	90,807	123,965
27	Zóbue	80,645	+3.89%	7.40	10,898	7,829	93,195	156,585
28	Nicoadala	79,144	+4.14%	17	4,768	7,986	92,234	170,335
29	Monapo	77,114	+2.31%	12	6,426	8,199	84,247	117,662
30	Maganja	76,394	+4.23%	15	5,232	8,259	89,318	156,260
31	Caia	70,201	+3.97%	14	5,162	8,950	81,359	117,883
32	Mocímboa da Praia	68,755	+2.39%	15	4,523	9,123	75,321	104,285
33	Mopeia	68,274	+2.91%	10	6,827	9,192	76,216	115,296
34	Muala	67,936	+2.97%	11	6,176	9,233	75,998	123,662
35	Chiure-Sede	67,763	+3.61%	14	4,983	9,258	77,542	115,356
36	Inhambane	67,388	+2.07%	29	2,324	9,305	72,977	104,100
37	Namacurra	58,325	+5.91%	9.00	6,481	10,698	72,101	129,674
38	Namialo	57,957	+2.21%	11	5,269	10,759	63,091	86,645
39	Gondola	57,846	+2.58%	12	4,821	10,777	63,814	98,783
40	Moma	56,994	+2.24%	8.00	7,124	10,956	62,096	85,009
41	Pebane	56,953	+2.94%	13	4,381	10,968	63,639	95,809
42	Alto Molócue	56,668	+3.82%	15	3,778	11,006	65,318	115,802
43	Nametil	56,641	+2.64%	9.20	6,157	11,012	62,628	96,781
44	Gorongosa	56,269	+4.41%	11	5,210	11,082	66,203	114,179
45	Chókwè	55,700	+2.56%	16	3,396	11,198	61,414	84,144
46	Manica	54,391	+3.19%	17	3,162	11,445	61,340	95,446
47	Insaca (Mecanhelas)	54,341	+4.25%	8.00	6,793	11,456	63,571	128,088
48	Miézi	51,651	+2.02%	4.00	12,913	11,951	55,817	74,978

Source: United Nations, Department of Economic and Social Affairs, Population Division (2025). World Urbanization Prospects: The 2025 Revision, Online Edition.

Data topics

Reference

Tools

Largest Cities and Urban Localities by Population in Mozambique

See also