Demographics & population — Zimbabwe
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators.
Profile updated 2026-06-02
⚡ Demographics & population at a glance
Population size, age structure, migration, ethnicity, language, education, and health indicators. Key figure for Zimbabwe: 14,546,314
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Population overview
- Population
14,546,314
- Population - note
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
- Population Growth Rate
4.38%
- Urban Population
38.600000
- Population in Major Urban Areas
HARARE (capital) 1.542 million
Age & family
- Age Structure
37.800000
- Median Age
19.500000
- Birth Rate - births/1,000 population
32
- Death Rate - deaths/1,000 population
11.4
- Total Fertility Rate - children born/woman
3.58
- Contraceptive Prevalance Rate - female 12-49
58.5%
- Contraceptive Prevalence Rate - female 12-49
58.5%
- Mean Age for Mother's First Birth (age 25-49)
20.5
- Mother's mean age at first birth
20.5
- Sex Ratio at Birth - male/female
1.030000
Migration
- Net Migration Rate - migrant(s)/1,000 population
22.76
Ethnicity & language
- Ethnic Groups
African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1%
- Language Note
English is the official language of the republic and is spoken by most educated people. In rural areas English is less commonly spoken. Ndebele and Shona and are commonly spoken. People often speak more than one language and many mix parts of several languages in daily speech.
- Nationality Noun
Zimbabwean(s)
Education
- Literacy - total population
90.7%
- Literacy - male
94.2%
- Literacy - female
87.2%
- Literacy Definition
age 15 and over can read and write English
- Education Expenditures - percent of GDP
2.5%
- Total School Life Expectancy - (primary to tertiary)
9.000000
Health & living conditions
- Life Expectancy at Birth
53.860000
- Infant Mortality Rate
27.250000
- Infant Mortality Rate - total deaths/1,000 live births
27.250000
- Maternal Mortality Rate - deaths/100,000 live births
570
- Physicians Density - physicians/1,000 population
.06
- Hospital Bed Density - beds/1,000 population
1.7
- Major Infectious Diseases - degree of risk
very high
- Obesity - adult prevalence rate
7%
- Drinking Water Source - percent of urban population improved
97.300000
- Sanitation Facility Access - percent of urban population improved
51.600000
- Underweight - percent of children under five years
10.1%