Population and Demographics of Zimbabwe
A very young population · 40.87% under age 15 in 2024
In Zimbabwe, the 2024 age structure includes 40.87% children and 3.60% older adults, while annual population change stands at +1.80%. The medium projection reaches 25.87 million in 2050, placing the mid-century total 55.5% above 2024.
Population Over Time in Zimbabwe
Since 2000, Zimbabwe's population has grown from 11.892M to 16.634M, a net shift of about 4.74 million. For 2050, the medium projection is 25.866M. That is a difference of about 9.23 million people from the 2024 estimate. The chart connects dated reference points only and should not be read as an annual interpolated series.
Age Structure and Sex Balance
The age distribution adds important context to Zimbabwe's 2024 population total and points to a very young profile. At 40.87%, the under-15 group is larger than the 3.60% aged 65+, while ages 15 to 64 account for 55.53%. The age balance is weighted toward younger residents.
Population by broad age group
In the World Bank 2024 series, females account for 52.3% of Zimbabwe's population and males 47.7%. Females exceed males by 4.6 percentage points.
Female and male population share
Females made up 52.3% of the population in the World Bank's 2024 series, compared with 47.7% males.
What Is Shaping Population Change
In the latest harmonized estimates, Zimbabwe shows +1.80% population change and fertility of 3.7, while the 15-to-64 share is 55.53% and the under-15 share is 40.87%.
Zimbabwe's longer population series shows +39.9% change across 2000 to 2024, whereas the medium projection changes the population +55.5% by 2050; that contrast is reported without assigning unsupported causes.
2024 estimate for Zimbabwe. The world comparison value is 2.25 children per woman.
Zimbabwe vs. World
The comparison puts Zimbabwe's +1.80% annual change beside a world rate of +0.87%, a fertility rate of 3.7 beside 2.25, and a median age of 18 years beside 30.6 globally.
| Indicator | Zimbabwe | World | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| Annual population change | +1.8% | +0.87% | 2024 |
| Total fertility rate | 3.7 | 2.25 | 2024 |
| Median age | 18 | 30.6 | 2024 |
All three comparison rows use 2024 values from the same harmonized country table. That table attributes its demographic series to UN World Population Prospects 2024, so no different-year values are mixed into this comparison.
Key Takeaways
Zimbabwe has 16,634,373 people in the 2024 estimate, with the population changing +1.80% over the year.
Age structure is a key feature of the profile: 40.87% are under 15 and 3.60% are 65 or older.
The 2024 female and male shares are 52.3% and 47.7% respectively.
On the medium path, 2050 reaches 25.866M, a +55.5% shift from the 2024 level.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is the population of Zimbabwe?
The 2024 harmonized population estimate for Zimbabwe is 16,634,373 people.
Is the population of Zimbabwe growing or declining?
In the 2024 estimate, Zimbabwe's population is growing, with annual change of +1.80%.
What percentage of the population of Zimbabwe is aged 65 or older?
People aged 65 or older account for 3.60% of Zimbabwe's 2024 population in the UN WPP-based broad age data.
What is the projected population of Zimbabwe in 2050?
The UN World Population Prospects 2024 medium projection puts Zimbabwe's 2050 population at 25,866,385.
What is the fertility rate in Zimbabwe?
The 2024 harmonized fertility estimate for Zimbabwe is 3.7 children per woman.
Sources & methodology
This profile uses United Nations World Population Prospects 2024 as the primary framework for globally comparable population, age, fertility and projection data. The World Bank is the primary source for the female population share. Some country values were accessed through secondary retrieval interfaces that republish or organize UN data; those interfaces are identified below as secondary and are not treated as the original statistical publishers.
View sources used for this page
Primary global framework for the population estimates and projections.
Harmonized 2024 country table based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized broad age shares based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Harmonized reference for the 2000 population point.
Harmonized 2050 country projection based on UN World Population Prospects 2024.
Used for the 2024 female share; the male share is calculated as the remainder to 100%.