The hunter-gatherer San people first inhabited the area that eventually became Zimbabwe. Farming communities migrated to the area around A.D. 500 during the Bantu expansion, and Shona-speaking societies began to develop in the Limpopo valley and Zimbabwean highlands around the 9th century. These societies traded with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast and organized under the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. A series of powerful trade-oriented Shona states succeeded Mapungubwe, including the Kingdom of Zimbabwe (ca. 1220-1450), Kingdom of Mutapa (ca. 1450-1760), and the Rozwi Empire. The Rozwi Empire expelled Portuguese colonists from the Zimbabwean plateau, but the Ndebele clan of Zulu King MZILIKAZI eventually conquered the area in 1838 during the era of conflict and population displacement known as the Mfecane.
In the 1880s, colonists arrived with the British South Africa Company (BSAC) and obtained a written concession for mining rights from Ndebele King LOBENGULA. The king later disavowed the concession and accused the BSAC agents of deceit. The BSAC annexed Mashonaland and then conquered Matabeleland during the First Matabele War of 1893-1894, establishing company rule over the territory. In 1923, the UK annexed BSAC holdings south of the Zambezi River, which became the British colony of Southern Rhodesia. The 1930 Land Apportionment Act restricted Black land ownership and established rules that would favor the White minority for decades. A new constitution in 1961 further cemented White minority rule.
In 1965, the government under White Prime Minister Ian SMITH unilaterally declared its independence from the UK. London did not recognize Rhodesia’s independence and demanded more voting rights for the Black majority in the country. International diplomacy and an uprising by Black Zimbabweans led to biracial elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, who led the uprising and became the nation's first prime minister, was the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) from independence until 2017. In the mid-1980s, the government tortured and killed thousands of civilians in a crackdown on dissent known as the Gukurahundi campaign. Economic mismanagement and chaotic implementation of land redistribution policies periodically crippled the economy. General elections in 2002, 2008, and 2013 were severely flawed and widely condemned but allowed MUGABE to remain president. In 2017, Vice President Emmerson MNANGAGWA became president after a military intervention that forced MUGABE to resign, and MNANGAGWA cemented power by sidelining rival Grace MUGABE (Robert MUGABE’s wife). In 2018, MNANGAGWA won the presidential election, and he has maintained the government's longstanding practice of violently disrupting protests and politicizing institutions. Economic conditions remain dire under MNANGAGWA.
Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s]), Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Limpopo (shared with South Africa [s], Botswana, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
Zimbabwe’s progress in reproductive, maternal, and child health has stagnated in recent years. According to a 2010 Demographic and Health Survey, contraceptive use, the number of births attended by skilled practitioners, and child mortality have either stalled or somewhat deteriorated since the mid-2000s. Zimbabwe’s total fertility rate has remained fairly stable at about 4 children per woman for the last two decades, although an uptick in the urban birth rate in recent years has caused a slight rise in the country’s overall fertility rate. Zimbabwe’s HIV prevalence rate dropped from approximately 29% to 15% since 1997 but remains among the world’s highest and continues to suppress the country’s life expectancy rate. The proliferation of HIV/AIDS information and prevention programs and personal experience with those suffering or dying from the disease have helped to change sexual behavior and reduce the epidemic.
Historically, the vast majority of Zimbabwe’s migration has been internal – a rural-urban flow. In terms of international migration, over the last 40 years Zimbabwe has gradually shifted from being a destination country to one of emigration and, to a lesser degree, one of transit (for East African illegal migrants traveling to South Africa). As a British colony, Zimbabwe attracted significant numbers of permanent immigrants from the UK and other European countries, as well as temporary economic migrants from Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia. Although Zimbabweans have migrated to South Africa since the beginning of the 20th century to work as miners, the first major exodus from the country occurred in the years before and after independence in 1980. The outward migration was politically and racially influenced; a large share of the white population of European origin chose to leave rather than live under a new black-majority government.
In the 1990s and 2000s, economic mismanagement and hyperinflation sparked a second, more diverse wave of emigration. This massive outmigration – primarily to other southern African countries, the UK, and the US – has created a variety of challenges, including brain drain, illegal migration, and human smuggling and trafficking. Several factors have pushed highly skilled workers to go abroad, including unemployment, lower wages, a lack of resources, and few opportunities for career growth.
" }, "Age structure": { "0-14 years": { "text": "38.3% (male 3,315,075/female 3,254,643)" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "57.8% (male 4,758,120/female 5,152,773)" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "3.9% (2024 est.) (male 270,595/female 399,146)" } }, "Dependency ratios": { "total dependency ratio": { "text": "79.4" }, "youth dependency ratio": { "text": "73.4" }, "elderly dependency ratio": { "text": "6" }, "potential support ratio": { "text": "16.6 (2021 est.)" } }, "Median age": { "total": { "text": "21.2 years (2024 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "20.3 years" }, "female": { "text": "22 years" } }, "Population growth rate": { "text": "1.91% (2024 est.)" }, "Birth rate": { "text": "28.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)" }, "Death rate": { "text": "6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)" }, "Net migration rate": { "text": "-3.2 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2024 est.)" }, "Population distribution": { "text": "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" }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "32.5% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "2.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Major urban areas - population": { "text": "1.578 million HARARE (capital) (2023)" }, "Sex ratio": { "at birth": { "text": "1.03 male(s)/female" }, "0-14 years": { "text": "1.02 male(s)/female" }, "15-64 years": { "text": "0.92 male(s)/female" }, "65 years and over": { "text": "0.68 male(s)/female" }, "total population": { "text": "0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)" } }, "Mother's mean age at first birth": { "text": "20.3 years (2015 est.)", "note": "note: data represents median age at first birth among women 25-49" }, "Maternal mortality ratio": { "text": "357 deaths/100,000 live births (2020 est.)" }, "Infant mortality rate": { "total": { "text": "33.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "37 deaths/1,000 live births" }, "female": { "text": "29.6 deaths/1,000 live births" } }, "Life expectancy at birth": { "total population": { "text": "67.2 years (2024 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "65.6 years" }, "female": { "text": "68.8 years" } }, "Total fertility rate": { "text": "3.47 children born/woman (2024 est.)" }, "Gross reproduction rate": { "text": "1.71 (2024 est.)" }, "Contraceptive prevalence rate": { "text": "66.8% (2015)" }, "Drinking water source": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 97.9% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 66.9% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 76.9% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 2.1% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 33.1% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 23.1% of population (2020 est.)" } }, "Current health expenditure": { "text": "3.4% of GDP (2020)" }, "Physician density": { "text": "0.2 physicians/1,000 population (2020)" }, "Hospital bed density": { "text": "1.7 beds/1,000 population (2011)" }, "Sanitation facility access": { "improved: urban": { "text": "urban: 96.1% of population" }, "improved: rural": { "text": "rural: 49% of population" }, "improved: total": { "text": "total: 64.2% of population" }, "unimproved: urban": { "text": "urban: 3.9% of population" }, "unimproved: rural": { "text": "rural: 51% of population" }, "unimproved: total": { "text": "total: 35.8% of population (2017 est.)" } }, "Obesity - adult prevalence rate": { "text": "15.5% (2016)" }, "Alcohol consumption per capita": { "total": { "text": "3.11 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "beer": { "text": "1.2 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "wine": { "text": "0.05 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "spirits": { "text": "0.39 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" }, "other alcohols": { "text": "1.47 liters of pure alcohol (2019 est.)" } }, "Tobacco use": { "total": { "text": "11.7% (2020 est.)" }, "male": { "text": "21.8% (2020 est.)" }, "female": { "text": "1.5% (2020 est.)" } }, "Children under the age of 5 years underweight": { "text": "9.7% (2019)" }, "Currently married women (ages 15-49)": { "text": "61.6% (2023 est.)" }, "Child marriage": { "women married by age 15": { "text": "5.4%" }, "women married by age 18": { "text": "33.7%" }, "men married by age 18": { "text": "1.9% (2019 est.)" } }, "Education expenditures": { "text": "3.9% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Literacy": { "definition": { "text": "any person age 15 and above who completed at least grade 3 of primary education" }, "total population": { "text": "89.7%" }, "male": { "text": "88.3%" }, "female": { "text": "90.9% (2021)" } }, "School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education)": { "total": { "text": "11 years" }, "male": { "text": "12 years" }, "female": { "text": "11 years (2013)" } } }, "Environment": { "Environment - current issues": { "text": "deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution" }, "Environment - international agreements": { "party to": { "text": "Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Climate Change-Paris Agreement, Comprehensive Nuclear Test Ban, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Wetlands" }, "signed, but not ratified": { "text": "none of the selected agreements" } }, "Climate": { "text": "tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)" }, "Land use": { "agricultural land": { "text": "42.5% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: arable land": { "text": "arable land: 10.9% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent crops": { "text": "permanent crops: 0.3% (2018 est.)" }, "agricultural land: permanent pasture": { "text": "permanent pasture: 31.3% (2018 est.)" }, "forest": { "text": "39.5% (2018 est.)" }, "other": { "text": "18% (2018 est.)" } }, "Urbanization": { "urban population": { "text": "32.5% of total population (2023)" }, "rate of urbanization": { "text": "2.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)" } }, "Food insecurity": { "widespread lack of access": { "text": "due to high food prices - based on a government assessment, an estimated 3.8 million people are expected to be in need of humanitarian assistance between January and March 2023; this number is higher than the level estimated in the first quarter of 2022; the downturn in food security conditions is largely on account of poor food access resulting from prevailing high food prices and reduced incomes owing to the effects of an economic downturn; a decline in cereal production in 2022 has also aggravated conditions (2023)" } }, "Revenue from forest resources": { "text": "1.61% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Revenue from coal": { "text": "0.4% of GDP (2018 est.)" }, "Air pollutants": { "particulate matter emissions": { "text": "13.08 micrograms per cubic meter (2019 est.)" }, "carbon dioxide emissions": { "text": "10.98 megatons (2016 est.)" }, "methane emissions": { "text": "12.1 megatons (2020 est.)" } }, "Waste and recycling": { "municipal solid waste generated annually": { "text": "1,449,752 tons (2015 est.)" }, "municipal solid waste recycled annually": { "text": "231,960 tons (2005 est.)" }, "percent of municipal solid waste recycled": { "text": "16% (2005 est.)" } }, "Major rivers (by length in km)": { "text": "Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s]), Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Limpopo (shared with South Africa [s], Botswana, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km
note – [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth
transit point for cannabis and South Asian heroin, methaqualone, and methamphetamines en route to South Africa
" } } }