Population and Demographics
- Population: 12,236,805
- Age Structure:
- 0-14 years: 37.4% (male 2,307,170/female 2,265,298)
- 15-64 years: 59.1% (male 3,616,528/female 3,621,190)
- 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 199,468/female 227,151)
- Median Age:
- Total: 19.9 years
- Male: 19.7 years
- Female: 20 years
- Population Growth Rate: 0.62%
- Birth Rate: 28.01 births/1,000 population
- Death Rate: 21.84 deaths/1,000 population
- Net Migration Rate: 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
- Sex Ratio:
- At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
- Under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
- 15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
- 65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
- Total population: 1 male(s)/female
- Infant Mortality Rate:
- Total: 51.71 deaths/1,000 live births
- Male: 54.5 deaths/1,000 live births
- Female: 48.83 deaths/1,000 live births
- Life Expectancy at Birth:
- Total population: 39.29 years
- Male: 40.39 years
- Female: 38.16 years
- Total Fertility Rate: 3.13 children born/woman
- HIV/AIDS:
- Adult prevalence rate: 24.6%
- People living with HIV/AIDS: 1.8 million
- Ethnic Groups:
- African 98%
- Shona 82%
The ruling party is linked to the Shona majority ethnic group. - Ndebele 14%
The Ndebele are descended from Zulu migrations in the nineteenth century and the other tribes with which they mixed. Support for the opposition is particularly strong both from the Ndebele. Up to 1 million Ndebele may have left the country, mainly for South Africa, over the last five years. - other 2%
- Shona 82%
- Mixed and Asian 1%
Mostly Indian and Chinese. Zimbabwe is now experiencing a surge of Asian immigrates who run businesses. - White, less than 1%
These are mostly of British origin, but some are of Afrikaner, Portuguese or Dutch. The white population dropped from a peak of 275,000 in 1970 to possibly 120,000 in 1999, and was estimated at no more than 60,000 in 2006, possibly much less. Most emigration has been to the UK, South Africa, Zambia and Australia.
- African 98%
- Religions:
- Syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%
- Christian 25%
- Indigenous beliefs 24%
- Muslim and other 1%
- Languages:
- English (official)
- Shona
- Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele)
- Numerous but minor tribal dialects
- Literacy:
- Total population: 90.7%
- Male: 94.2%
- Female: 87.2%
