UNDP: Mozambique in the “Low Human Development” Group

In the Human Development Index, published every two years by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Mozambique ranks 183rd in the world out of 193 countries. With a score slightly above the last report, but below the average for sub-Saharan Africa, the country is part of the group of nations with low human development.

The document launched by the UNDP is based on three main dimensions of analysis. The first is health, measured by life expectancy at birth. The second is education, based on the expected number of years of schooling and the actual average number of years of schooling for people over 25. The third is quality of life, which results from Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita, i.e. dividing GDP at purchasing power parity by the number of inhabitants.

The weighted sum of these three dimensions generates a final score ranging from zero to one. Countries with scores above 0.8 have an excellent degree of human development; between 0.7 and 0.8 they have a high level; between 0.55 and 0.7 a medium level; and below 0.55 a low level.

In the 2024 report, Mozambique occupies a modest 183rd place in the world ranking, out of 193 countries, maintaining its position compared to the last edition, published in 2022. The overall score is 0.461 – slightly above the 0.459 of the previous report, but clearly below the average for the sub-Saharan African region of 0.549 – which places the country in the group of nations with a low level of human development.

In terms of health, life expectancy at birth for Mozambicans is 59.6 years (below the regional average of 64.9 years). In education, the expected schooling is 10.7 years (above the region’s 10.3 years), but the average number of actual years of study is only 3.9 years (in sub-Saharan Africa it is 6). Finally, GDP per capita is 1219 dollars (for an estimated population of 23.9 million), while the regional average is 3666 dollars.

Mozambique performing well in terms of gender inequality

The good news is that, in historical terms, the overall score has improved, having grown by 92.9 per cent since 1990 (it was 0.239 that year and almost doubled to 0.461 in 2024). Mozambique’s evolution followed an ever upward trajectory, except in 2020, when it registered a drop, common to most countries in the world, due to the pandemic crisis. In terms of health, average life expectancy at birth has also increased by 15.2 years; expected schooling has risen by 15.2 years, while the actual average number of years of study has only increased by 2.3 years; and finally, GDP per capita has increased by 174.8 per cent since 1990.

The report also presents other interesting indicators. For example, the analysts point out that Mozambique has a very high level of social inequality (the score is only 0.270), while in gender inequality it performs well (score of 0.477, which is equivalent to 118th in the world ranking).

With a score slightly above the last report, but below the average for sub-Saharan Africa, the country is part of the group of nations with low human development.

Switzerland is the world champion in human development, followed by Norway, Iceland, Hong Kong and Denmark. In the Sub-Saharan Africa region, the top five is made up of the Seychelles (67th in the world ranking), Mauritius (72nd), South Africa (110th), Botswana (114th) and Gabon (123rd).

Among Portuguese-speaking countries, the best is Cape Verde (131st), followed by São Tomé and Príncipe (141st), Angola (150th), East Timor (155th) and Guinea-Bissau (179th). There are only ten nations with scores below Mozambique, namely Sierra Leone, Burkina Faso, Yemen, Burundi, Mali, Chad, Niger, Central African Republic, South Sudan and Somalia.