Page last updated on January 12, 2017

Population:
14,546,961
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.)
country comparison to the world: 72
[see also: Population country ranks ]

Nationality:
noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean

Ethnic groups:
African 99.4% (predominantly Shona; Ndebele is the second largest ethnic group), other 0.4%, unspecified 0.2% (2012 est.)

Languages:
Shona (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)

Religions:
Protestant 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 profile:
Zimbabwe’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 structure:
0-14 years: 37.8% (male 2,778,806/female 2,720,033)
[see also: Age structure 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 21.29% (male 1,560,833/female 1,536,110)
[see also: Age structure 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 33.86% (male 2,578,142/female 2,346,993)
[see also: Age structure 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 3.55% (male 188,851/female 327,483)
[see also: Age structure 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 194,933/female 314,777) (2016 est.)
[see also: Age structure 65 years and over country ranks ]
population pyramid:
A population pyramid illustrates the age and sex structure of a country's population and may provide insights about political and social stability, as well as economic development. The population is distributed along the horizontal axis, with males shown on the left and females on the right. The male and female populations are broken down into 5-year age groups represented as horizontal bars along the vertical axis, with the youngest age groups at the bottom and the oldest at the top. The shape of the population pyramid gradually evolves over time based on fertility, mortality, and international migration trends.

For additional information, please see the entry for Population pyramid on the Definitions and Notes page under the References tab.

Dependency ratios:
total dependency ratio: 80.4%
[see also: Dependency ratios - total dependency ratio country ranks ]
youth dependency ratio: 75%
[see also: Dependency ratios - youth dependency ratio country ranks ]
elderly dependency ratio: 5.3%
[see also: Dependency ratios - elderly dependency ratio country ranks ]
potential support ratio: 18.7% (2015 est.)
[see also: Dependency ratios - potential support ratio country ranks ]

Median age:
total: 20.6 years
[see also: Median age - total country ranks ]
male: 20.5 years
[see also: Median age - male country ranks ]
female: 20.8 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Median age - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 188

Population growth rate:
2.2% (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 37
[see also: Population growth rate country ranks ]

Birth rate:
31.9 births/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 35
[see also: Birth rate country ranks ]

Death rate:
9.9 deaths/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
[see also: Death rate country ranks ]

Net migration rate:
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 73
[see also: Net migration rate country ranks ]

Urbanization:
urban population: 32.4% of total population (2015)
[see also: Urbanization - urban population country ranks ]
rate of urbanization: 2.3% annual rate of change (2010-15 est.)
[see also: Urbanization - rate of urbanization country ranks ]

Major urban areas - population:
HARARE (capital) 1.501 million (2015)

Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - at birth country ranks ]
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 0-14 years country ranks ]
15-24 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 15-24 years country ranks ]
25-54 years: 1.1 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 25-54 years country ranks ]
55-64 years: 0.58 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 55-64 years country ranks ]
65 years and over: 0.64 male(s)/female
[see also: Sex ratio - 65 years and over country ranks ]
total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2016 est.)

Mother's mean age at first birth:
20.5
note: median age at first birth among women 25-29 (2010/11 est.)
[see also: Mother's mean age at first birth country ranks ]

Maternal mortality rate:
443 deaths/100,000 live births (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 15
[see also: Maternal mortality rate country ranks ]

Infant mortality rate:
total: 25.9 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - total country ranks ]
male: 28.1 deaths/1,000 live births
[see also: Infant mortality rate - male country ranks ]
female: 23.6 deaths/1,000 live births (2016 est.)
[see also: Infant mortality rate - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 68

Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 58 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - total country ranks ]
male: 57.3 years
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - male country ranks ]
female: 58.7 years (2016 est.)
[see also: Life expectancy at birth - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 206

Total fertility rate:
3.5 children born/woman (2016 est.)
country comparison to the world: 44
[see also: Total fertility rate country ranks ]

Contraceptive prevalence rate:
58.5% (2010/11)
[see also: Contraceptive prevalence rate country ranks ]

Health expenditures:
6.4% of GDP (2014)
[see also: Health expenditures country ranks ]

Physicians density:
0.08 physicians/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Physicians density country ranks ]

Hospital bed density:
1.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)
[see also: Hospital bed density country ranks ]

Drinking water source:
improved: urban: 97% of population rural: 67.3% of population total: 76.9% of population
[see also: Drinking water source - Improved - total country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 3% of population rural: 32.7% of population total: 23.1% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Drinking water source - Unimproved - total country ranks ]

Sanitation facility access:
improved: urban: 49.3% of population rural: 30.8% of population total: 36.8% of population
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total Improved country ranks ]
unimproved: urban: 50.7% of population rural: 69.2% of population total: 63.2% of population (2015 est.)
[see also: Sanitation facility access - Total UnImproved country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
14.69% (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
[see also: HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1,425,800 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 4
[see also: HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS country ranks ]

HIV/AIDS - deaths:
29,400 (2015 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
[see also: HIV/AIDS - deaths country ranks ]

Major infectious diseases:
degree 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 rate:
8.4% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 143
[see also: Obesity - adult prevalence rate country ranks ]

Children under the age of 5 years underweight:
11.2% (2014)
country comparison to the world: 69
[see also: Children under the age of 5 years underweight country ranks ]

Education expenditures:
8.4% of GDP (2014)
country comparison to the world: 155
[see also: Education expenditures - percent of GDP country ranks ]

Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 86.5%
[see also: Literacy - total country ranks ]
male: 88.5%
[see also: Literacy - male country ranks ]
female: 84.6% (2015 est.)
[see also: Literacy - female country ranks ]

School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 10 years
[see also: School life expectancy - total country ranks ]
male: 10 years
[see also: School life expectancy - male country ranks ]
female: 10 years (2013)
[see also: School life expectancy - female country ranks ]

Unemployment, youth ages 15-24
total: 8.7%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - total country ranks ]
male: 7.7%
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - male country ranks ]
female: 9.8% (2012 est.)
[see also: Unemployment, youth ages 15-24 - female country ranks ]
country comparison to the world: 116