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.