World Factbook
Zimbabwe
Republic of Zimbabwe
Last updated: 2026-03-28 (today)
Literacy
male
93.1% (2019 est.)
female
93.4% (2019 est.)
total population
93.2% (2019 est.)
Languages
Shona (official, most widely spoken) 80.9%, Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken) 11.5%, English (official, traditionally used for official business) 0.3%, 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa) 7%, other 0.3% (2022 est.)
note: data represent population by mother tongue
Religions
Apostolic Sect 40.3%, Pentecostal 17%, Protestant 13.8%, other Christian 7.8%, Roman Catholic 6.4%, African traditionalist 5%, other 1.5% (includes Muslim, Jewish, Hindu), none 8.3% (2022 est.)
Sex ratio
at birth
1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years
0.92 male(s)/female
total population
0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)
65 years and over
0.68 male(s)/female
Birth rate
28.18 births/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Death rate
6.4 deaths/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Median age
male
20.3 years
total
21.3 years (2025 est.)
female
22 years
Population
male
8,503,108
total
17,472,752 (2025 est.)
female
8,969,644
Nationality
noun
Zimbabwean(s)
adjective
Zimbabwean
Tobacco use
male
17.6% (2025 est.)
total
8.4% (2025 est.)
female
0.7% (2025 est.)
Urbanization
urban population
32.5% of total population (2023)
rate of urbanization
2.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)
Age structure
0-14 years
38.3% (male 3,315,075/female 3,254,643)
15-64 years
57.8% (male 4,758,120/female 5,152,773)
65 years and over
3.9% (2024 est.) (male 270,595/female 399,146)
Ethnic groups
African 99.6% (predominantly Shona; Ndebele is the second largest ethnic group), other (includes Caucasian, Asiatic, mixed race) 0.4% (2022 est.)
Child marriage
men married by age 18
1.9% (2019)
women married by age 15
5.4% (2019)
women married by age 18
33.7% (2019)
Dependency ratios
total dependency ratio
72.3 (2025 est.)
youth dependency ratio
65.5 (2025 est.)
potential support ratio
14.7 (2025 est.)
elderly dependency ratio
6.8 (2025 est.)
Physician density
0.14 physicians/1,000 population (2023)
Health expenditure
Health expenditure (as % of GDP)
2.8% of GDP (2021)
Health expenditure (as % of national budget)
5.2% of national budget (2022 est.)
Net migration rate
-3.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2025 est.)
Total fertility rate
3.42 children born/woman (2025 est.)
Drinking water source
improved: rural
rural: 47.7% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 62.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 92.8% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 52.3% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 37.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 7.2% of population (2022 est.)
Education expenditure
Education expenditure (% GDP)
0.4% of GDP (2023 est.)
Education expenditure (% national budget)
17.9% national budget (2025 est.)
Infant mortality rate
male
37 deaths/1,000 live births
total
32.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2025 est.)
female
29.6 deaths/1,000 live births
Population growth rate
1.82% (2025 est.)
Gross reproduction rate
1.68 (2025 est.)
Population distribution
aside from major urban agglomerations in Harare and Bulawayo, population distribution is fairly even, with slightly greater overall numbers in the eastern half, as shown in this population distribution map
Life expectancy at birth
male
65.6 years
female
68.8 years
total population
67.2 years (2024 est.)
Maternal mortality ratio
358 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)
Sanitation facility access
improved: rural
rural: 50.3% of population (2022 est.)
improved: total
total: 65.6% of population (2022 est.)
improved: urban
urban: 97.5% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: rural
rural: 49.7% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: total
total: 34.4% of population (2022 est.)
unimproved: urban
urban: 2.5% of population (2022 est.)
Alcohol consumption per capita
beer
1.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
wine
0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
total
3.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
spirits
0.39 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
other alcohols
1.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)
Major urban areas - population
1.578 million HARARE (capital) (2023)
Obesity - adult prevalence rate
15.5% (2016)
Mother's mean age at first birth
20.3 years (2015 est.)
note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49
Currently married women (ages 15-49)
62.2% (2022 est.)
Children under the age of 5 years underweight
9.6% (2024 est.)