Zimbabwe Population 2024 (Live)

16,921,107

According to current projections, Zimbabwe’s population is expected to continue growing throughout the rest of the century. At the end of 2020, the population is estimated to be 14.86 million people and is expected to reach 30.96 million by 2099, more than double its current population.

Zimbabwe’s population growth rate is 1.48%, which is expected to slow significantly towards the end of the century, causing the population growth curve to flatten. Zimbabwe has a relatively high fertility rate of 3.63 children per woman. Despite a negative net migration, the fertility rate helps the population grow by 200,000 each year. The fertility rate also plays a huge role in keep Zimbabwe’s population young with a median age of 18.7 years old.

The population projecting to double in Zimbabwe exacerbates the country’s struggles, especially concerning poverty and unemployment, which are both significantly high.

Zimbabwe Population Growth

The rate of population growth has been consistently on the rise since 2005, and it has been having positive impacts on Zimbabwe economically and politically. Although difficult to prove causation, foreign domestic investment, exports, inflation rate, and interest rate have all been moving in a healthy direction since the population has been growing at a healthy rate. The birth rate in Zimbabwe is roughly 3.75 children born per woman, which is a much more sustainable number than many surrounding nations- accounting for the 2019 annual growth rate of 2.27% and a population of 17,297,495.

Zimbabwe Population Projections

The rate of growth in Zimbabwe is expected to decrease by roughly one percentage point over the next 30 years, although the population will still be growing substantially during that time. Current projections estimate that the growth rate will peak in 2020 at 2.3%, before gradually declining toward 1.39% in 2050. These predictions estimate that the population will be 17,680,465 in 2020, 21,526,861 in 2030, 25,625,981 in 2040, and 29,658,750 in 2050.

Population Rank
Growth Rate
2024 World Percentage
Land Area
386,850
The current population of Zimbabwe is 16,921,107 based on projections of the latest United Nations data. The UN estimates the July 1, 2024 population at 17,020,321.

Zimbabwe Growth Rate

Zimbabwe Population 2024 (Live)

Zimbabwe Population Clock

Zimbabwe Population (as of 3/20/2024)16,921,107
Next UN Estimate (July 1, 2024)17,020,321
Births per Day1,360
Deaths per Day360
Migrations per Day-27
Net Change per Day973
Population Change Since Jan. 177,840

Components of Population Change

One birth every 1.07 minutes
One death every 4 minutes
One emigrant every 53.33 minutes
Net gain of one person every 1.48 minutes

Zimbabwe Population Clock

City
2024 Population
Harare1,542,813
Bulawayo699,385
Chitungwiza340,360
Mutare184,205
Gweru146,073
Epworth123,250
Kwekwe99,149
Kadoma79,174
Masvingo76,290
Chinhoyi61,739

Zimbabwe Area and Population Density

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa with a surface area of 150,872 square miles (390,757 square kilometers). In combination with its relatively small size, its also relatively sparsely populated. When calculated with the 2019 population of 14.65 million people, the population density of Zimbabwe is 97.1 people per square mile (37.5 people per square kilometer), which ranks 142nd in the world.

Largest Cities in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has a few significantly sized cities, with roughly 32% of the population living in urban areas. Two cities have populations over one million: Harare and Bulawayo with populations of 1,606,000 and 1,200,337, respectively. Harare is the capital of Zimbabwe and is also the cultural center of the country. Bulawayo, on the other hand, serves as the industrial center of Zimbabwe. Other much smaller cities with populations over 100,000 include Chitungwiza, Mutare, Epworth, and Gweru.

Zimbabwe Population Density Map

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
202417,020,3212.08%4474169
202316,665,4092.06%4374171
202015,669,6662.05%4174171
201915,354,6082.01%4074170
201815,052,1842.04%3974170
201714,751,1012.07%3874171
201514,154,9371.97%3772171
201012,839,7710.99%3371173
200512,224,7530.65%3270173
200011,834,6761.49%3166170
199510,994,0411.68%2864168
199010,113,8933.08%2669166
19858,690,5154.27%2272168
19807,049,9262.95%1876171
19756,097,0833.22%1680173
19705,202,9183.19%1381175
19654,447,1493.16%1184177
19603,806,3103.12%1087176
19553,263,6253.18%889179

Zimbabwe Population by Year (Historical)

Download Table Data

Enter your email below, and you'll receive this table's data in your inbox momentarily.

Year
Population
Growth Rate
Density (/km²)
Population Rank
Density Rank
202417,020,3212.08%4474169
202517,375,2852.09%4573169
203019,179,3931.99%5071166
203521,044,2971.87%5469164
204022,912,3691.72%5967160
204524,723,9111.53%6465156
205026,438,5891.35%6864155
205528,035,1461.18%7264154
206029,499,2141.02%7665150
206530,816,5440.88%8064147
207031,990,1380.75%8363145
207533,021,4460.64%8564144
208033,877,4340.51%8863137
208534,553,8130.4%8962135
209035,065,4110.29%9162132
209535,416,8700.2%9261130

Zimbabwe Population by Year (Projections)

Zimbabwe Population Pyramid 2024

Zimbabwe Median Age

20.5

Total

20.3

Male

20.6

Female

Zimbabwe Population by Age

There are people over age 18 in Zimbabwe.

Census Years

Year
Date
2022August 2022
201227 August 2012
200227 August 2002
199218 August 1992

Zimbabwe Population Pyramid

Zimbabwe Demographics

Bantu-speaking ethnic groups account for 98% of Zimbabwe's population. The largest group is the Shona, comprising 70%, followed by the Ndebele at 20%. The Ndebele are descendants of the Zulu migrations during the 19th century and the tribes with which they intermarried. It's estimated that about 1 million Ndebele have left Zimbabwe in the last 5 years. There are also other Bantu ethnic groups, including Venda, Tonga, Shangaan, Nambya and Kalanga.

White Zimbabweans account for less than 1% of the country's population, and most are of British origin with small numbers of Greek, Portuguese, French and Dutch. In 1975, the white population reached a peak of 4.3%. Mixed race people account for 0.5% of the population.

Zimbabwe Religion, Economy and Politics

Christianity is by far the dominant religion in Zimbabwe, with 69.2% professing to be Protestant, and 8.0% practicing Catholicism, and 6.9% nondenominational Christian- totaling 84.1% of the population. The next most common belief in Zimbabwe is no belief at all- with 10.2% of the population declaring themselves Atheist or agnostic. The remaining 5.7% of the population either practice a traditional African religion or are Muslim.

In 2006, Zimbabwe had the lowest life expectancy in the world, and an alarming HIV rate. It's estimated 14% of people between 15-49 are infected, with 21% of women infected with HIV. The access to clean drinking water has been improved for 96.1% of the population. In terms of improved sanitation facility access, only 85.2% has improved access. 94.5% of the population is literate, with a national expenditure of 5.3% of the GDP. 37.9% of the population in Zimbabwe lives in extreme poverty.

Zimbabwe Population History

What we know as Zimbabwe today, began its formation when refugees fleeing Zulu violence or migrating from Boer moved to the land from the south in the 1830s. Around the same time, Europeans began exploring and expressing interest in the region. Zimbabwe was declared a British colony in 1889, bringing an influx of European settlers. Zimbabwe became an independent country under the rule of the white minority in 1965 causing civil and international outrage. Zimbabwe gained full independence in 1980.

The people of Zimbabwe have long experienced poverty, and it came to a head in the early 2000s when a state of disaster was declared due to food shortages. In 2005, the government lead an initiative to "clean up" the country, by destroying the dwellings of its poorest citizens, leaving 700,000 people homeless in 2005.

Zimbabwe Population Rank 2024
Area (km²)
390,757
2024 Growth Rate
Capital
GDP (IMF '23)
$32.42
GDP (UN '22)
$26.42 Bn

Zimbabwe - General Info

Sources