Zimbabwe: People & Society#

Population14,546,961
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2016 est.)
Nationalitynoun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean
Ethnic groupsAfrican 99.4% (predominantly Shona; Ndebele is the second largest ethnic group), other 0.4%, unspecified 0.2% (2012 est.)
LanguagesShona (official; most widely spoken), Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken), English (official; traditionally used for official business), 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa)
ReligionsProtestant 75.9% (includes Apostolic 38%, Pentecostal 21.1%, other 16.8%), Roman Catholic 8.4%, other Christian 8.4%, other 1.2% (includes traditional, Muslim), none 6.1% (2011 est.)
Demographic profileZimbabwe’s progress in reproductive, maternal, and child health has stagnated in recent years. According to a 2010 Demographic and Health Survey, contraceptive use, the number of births attended by skilled practitioners, and child mortality have either stalled or somewhat deteriorated since the mid-2000s. Zimbabwe’s total fertility rate has remained fairly stable at about 4 children per woman for the last two decades, although an uptick in the urban birth rate in recent years has caused a slight rise in the country’s overall fertility rate. Zimbabwe’s HIV prevalence rate dropped from approximately 29% to 15% since 1997 but remains among the world’s highest and continues to suppress the country’s life expectancy rate. The proliferation of HIV/AIDS information and prevention programs and personal experience with those suffering or dying from the disease have helped to change sexual behavior and reduce the epidemic. Historically, the vast majority of Zimbabwe’s migration has been internal – a rural-urban flow. In terms of international migration, over the last 40 years Zimbabwe has gradually shifted from being a destination country to one of emigration and, to a lesser degree, one of transit (for East African illegal migrants traveling to South Africa). As a British colony, Zimbabwe attracted significant numbers of permanent immigrants from the UK and other European countries, as well as temporary economic migrants from Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. Although Zimbabweans have migrated to South Africa since the beginning of the 20th century to work as miners, the first major exodus from the country occurred in the years before and after independence in 1980. The outward migration was politically and racially influenced; a large share of the white population of European origin chose to leave rather than live under a new black-majority government. In the 1990s and 2000s, economic mismanagement and hyperinflation sparked a second, more diverse wave of emigration. This massive out migration – primarily to other southern African countries, the UK, and the US – has created a variety of challenges, including brain drain, illegal migration, and human smuggling and trafficking. Several factors have pushed highly skilled workers to go abroad, including unemployment, lower wages, a lack of resources, and few opportunities for career growth.
Age structure0-14 years: 37.8% (male 2,778,806/female 2,720,033)
15-24 years: 21.29% (male 1,560,833/female 1,536,110)
25-54 years: 33.86% (male 2,578,142/female 2,346,993)
55-64 years: 3.55% (male 188,851/female 327,483)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 194,933/female 314,777) (2016 est.)
Dependency ratiostotal dependency ratio: 80.4%
youth dependency ratio: 75%
elderly dependency ratio: 5.3%
potential support ratio: 18.7% (2015 est.)
Median agetotal: 20.6 years
male: 20.5 years
female: 20.8 years (2016 est.)
Population growth rate2.2% (2016 est.)
Birth rate31.9 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Death rate9.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Net migration rate0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
Urbanizationurban population: 32.4% of total population (2015)
rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
Major urban areas - populationHARARE (capital) 1.501 million (2015)
Sex ratioat birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
25-54 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
55-64 years: 0.58 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)
Mother's mean age at first birth20.5
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2010/11 est.)
Maternal mortality rate443 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
Infant mortality ratetotal: 25.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 28.1 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 23.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
Life expectancy at birthtotal population: 58 years
male: 57.3 years
female: 58.7 years (2016 est.)
Total fertility rate3.5 children born/woman (2016 est.)
Contraceptive prevalence rate58.5% (2010/11)
Health expenditures6.4% of GDP (2014)
Physicians density0.08 physicians/1,000 population (2011)
Hospital bed density1.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)
Drinking water sourceimproved:
urban: 97% of population
rural: 67.3% of population
total: 76.9% of population
unimproved:
urban: 3% of population
rural: 32.7% of population
total: 23.1% of population (2015 est.)
Sanitation facility accessimproved:
urban: 49.3% of population
rural: 30.8% of population
total: 36.8% of population
unimproved:
urban: 50.7% of population
rural: 69.2% of population
total: 63.2% of population (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate14.69% (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS1,425,800 (2015 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths29,400 (2015 est.)
Major infectious diseasesdegree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases: bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne diseases: malaria and dengue fever
water contact disease: schistosomiasis
animal contact disease: rabies (2016)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate8.4% (2014)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight11.2% (2014)
Education expenditures8.4% of GDP (2014)
Literacydefinition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 86.5%
male: 88.5%
female: 84.6% (2015 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)total: 10 years
male: 10 years
female: 10 years (2013)
Unemployment, youth ages 15-24total: 8.7%
male: 7.7%
female: 9.8% (2012 est.)