Demographics of Zimbabwe

features of the population of Zimbabwe include population density, ethnicity, education level, health of the populace, economic status, religious affiliations and other aspects of the population.

Population

The population of Zimbabwe has grown during the 20th century. This is in accordance with the model of a developing country with high birth rates and falling death rates, resulting in relatively high population growth rate. After a spurt in the period 1980–1983 following independence, a decline in birth rates set in. Since 1991, however, there has been a jump in death rates from a low of 10 per 1000 in 1985 to a high of 25 per 1000 in 2002/2003. It has since subsided to just under 22 per 1000 a little below the birth rate of around 27 per 1000.
ZimStat released the 2022 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Results which showed that Zimbabwe's population had increased by 16.2% and stood at 15.1 million people as of 20 April 2022.

Census data

Historical data of Southern Rhodesia

Year	Black	White
1890	700,000
1910	900,000	20,000
1927	922,000	38,200
1930	1,300,000
1945	1,400,000?	140,000
1946	1,640,000	80,500

Current estimates

Based on, the population of Zimbabwe was estimated by the United Nations at in. About 38.9% comprised youths under 15, while another 56.9% grouped persons aged between 15 and 65 years. Only around 4.2% of citizens were apparently over 65.

	Total population	Population aged 0–14	Population aged 15–64	Population aged 65+
1950	2 747 000	42.0	54.8	3.2
1955	3 204 000	43.8	52.9	3.3
1960	3 752 000	45.3	51.4	3.4
1965	4 422 000	47.7	49.0	3.3
1970	5 206 000	48.1	48.7	3.2
1975	6 170 000	48.4	48.5	3.1
1980	7 289 000	48.9	48.1	3.0
1985	8 855 000	47.9	49.1	3.0
1990	10 469 000	46.1	50.9	3.0
1995	11 685 000	44.3	52.5	3.2
2000	12 509 000	41.7	54.9	3.4
2005	12 710 000	40.1	56.1	3.8
2010	13 080 000	38.9	56.9	4.2

Population Estimates by Sex and Age Group :

Age group	Male	Female	Total	%
Total	7 287 922	7 891 035	15 178 957	100
0	220 711	221 948	442 659	2.9
1–4	815 889	817 766	1 633 655	10.7
5–9	1 032 460	1 037 226	2 069 686	13.6
10–14	992 173	994 369	1 986 542	13.1
15–19	603 279	791 914	1 573 123	10.4
20–24	603 279	676 121	1 279 400	8.4
25–29	478 758	559 313	1 038 071	6.8
30–34	434 810	510 887	945 697	6.2
35–39	463 676	533 369	997 045	6.6
40–44	385 120	410 155	795 275	5.2
45–49	328 502	332 942	661 444	4.4
50–54	224 187	226 417	450 604	3.0
55–59	128 893	180 111	309 004	2.0
60–64	117 633	177 522	295 155	1.9
65–69	103 166	151 151	254 317	1.7
70–74	67 666	103 527	171 193	1.1
75–79	44 665	65 358	110 023	0.7
80–84	31 067	45 038	76 105	0.5
85–89	17 048	26 442	43 490	0.3
90–94	8 620	15 692	24 312	0.16
95–99	2 454	5 311	7 765	0.05
100+	1 523	3 754	5 277	0.03
Age group	Male	Female	Total	Percent
0–14	2 837 556	2 918 635	6 132 546	40.4
15–64	4 361 627	4 778 499	8 344 818	54.97
65+	240 038	337 468	692 482	4.56

Vital statistics

United Nations estimates

Registration of vital events in Zimbabwe is not complete. The Population Department of the United Nations prepared the following estimates.

Demographic and Health Surveys

Total Fertility Rate and Crude Birth Rate :

Year	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR	CBR	TFR
1982–1984		6.66		5.33		7.28
1985–1988		5.31		3.86		6.06
1994	31.6	4.29	30.5	3.09	32.0	4.85
1999	30.8	3.96	31.3	2.96	30.5	4.57
2005–2006	31.0	3.8	28.5	2.6	32.0	4.6
2010–2011	34	4.1	34	3.1	34	4.8
2015	32.0	4.0	31.1	3.0	32.7	4.7
2023-24	28.9	3.9	28.4	3.1	29.4	4.6

Fertility data as of 2010–2011 :

Province	Total fertility rate	Percentage of women age 15–49 currently pregnant	Mean number of children ever born to women age 40–49
Manicaland	4.8	8.8	4.9
Mashonaland Central	4.5	9.1	5.0
Mashonaland East	4.5	7.3	4.2
Mashonaland West	4.5	8.5	5.0
Matabeleland North	4.1	7.7	5.2
Matabeleland South	4.2	6.6	4.6
Midlands	4.2	7.6	4.8
Masvingo	4.7	11.1	4.6
Harare	3.1	8.4	3.5
Bulawayo	2.8	4.8	3.2

Life expectancy at birth

from 1950 to 2021 :

Period	Life expectancy in Years
1950–1955	48.54
1955–1960	50.59
1960–1965	52.48
1965–1970	54.13
1970–1975	55.78
1975–1980	57.84
1980–1985	60.54
1985–1990	60.18
1990–1995	54.66
1995–2000	47.35
2000–2005	44.13
2005–2010	48.35
2010–2015	57.64
2020	61.12
2021	59.25

Ethnic groups

According to 2012 Census report, 99.6% of the population is of African origin.
Of the rest of the population, the great bulk—perhaps 30,000 persons—are White Zimbabweans of European ancestry, a minority which had diminished in size prior to independence.
The vast black majority has grown at a projected annual rate of 4.3% since 1980. Although present figures are difficult to ascertain, the white community once reproduced itself at an annual rate similar to that of most totals in developed nations. Of the two major ethnolinguistic categories, Shona speakers formed a decisive plurality at % and occupied the eastern two-thirds of Zimbabwe. Ndebele speakers constitute about 16%, and none of the other indigenous ethnic groups came to as much as 2% in recent decades. African speakers of nonindigenous languages included migrant workers from Malawi, Zambia, and Mozambique.
Over 90% of White Zimbabweans are of British or British diasporan origin; at various times, many emigrated from South Africa and elsewhere. After World War II, Zimbabwe received a substantial influx of emigrants from the United Kingdom—a handful previously resided in other colonies such as India, Pakistan and Kenya. Also represented on a much smaller scale were individuals of Afrikaner, Greek, and Portuguese origin. After Rhodesia's Unilateral Declaration of Independence in 1965, Ian Smith's administration removed technical obstacles to immigration from southern Europe.
A heavily urbanised Coloured population is descended, partially, from early unions between White Rhodesian settlers and local Black African females. Many, however, can also trace their ancestry to the Dutch/Khoisan mulatto clans of the Cape.
With the exception of a select few who were brought to Zimbabwe as railroad workers, most Asians in Zimbabwe arrived from India pursuing employment or entrepreneurship. An educated class, they have traditionally engaged in retail trade or manufacturing.