Zimbabwe Population
Zimbabwe had an estimated population of 16,950,795 in mid-2025 (World Bank), making it the 73rd most populous of 217 countries and territories, with 0.21% of everyone alive. The counter above projects that figure forward at the current growth rate of +1.88% a year.
Zimbabwe at a glance
How Zimbabwe's population is changing
Zimbabwe's population is growing fast: +1.88% a year, which works out to about +319,413 people per year, or +875 a day. Births (29.9 per 1,000) and deaths (7.5 per 1,000) alone would give +2.24% a year; net migration removes about 54,555 people a year (−0.32%). Roughly one in every 485 people on Earth lives in Zimbabwe.
Population of Zimbabwe since 1960
In 1960, Zimbabwe had 3,809,389 people. By 2025 that was 16,950,795 — 4.4× larger. The fastest growth came between 1979 and 1989, when the population rose by 48%.
| Year | Population | Change vs previous row |
|---|---|---|
| 1960 | 3,809,389 | — |
| 1970 | 5,215,918 | +36.9% |
| 1980 | 7,041,303 | +35.0% |
| 1990 | 10,137,281 | +44.0% |
| 2000 | 11,892,055 | +17.3% |
| 2010 | 13,356,548 | +12.3% |
| 2020 | 15,526,888 | +16.2% |
| 2025 | 16,950,795 | +9.2% |
Zimbabwe from 1800 to 2100
Modelled estimates put Zimbabwe at about 1,085,814 people in 1800; the UN estimates 16,950,798 in 2025 (16× 1800) and projects 37,166,574 for 2100 in its medium scenario. That is still 119% growth over the rest of this century.
| Year | Population | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| 1800 | 1,085,814 | modelled estimate |
| 1850 | 676,370 | modelled estimate |
| 1900 | 1,111,376 | modelled estimate |
| 1950 | 2,790,908 | UN estimate |
| 2000 | 11,892,055 | UN estimate |
| 2025 | 16,950,798 | UN projection |
| 2050 | 25,866,386 | UN projection |
| 2075 | 33,302,299 | UN projection |
| 2100 | 37,166,574 | UN projection |
Country live/base figures use World Bank estimates; this historical/future chart uses a separate UN series and need not match the World Bank base in overlapping years. Before 1950: HYDE 3.3 / Gapminder reconstructions via Our World in Data — historical modelling, not censuses. 1950–2023: UN World Population Prospects 2024. 2024–2100: UN medium projection. Open the time machine to see the whole map in any year.
Largest listed places in Zimbabwe
10 records sorted by displayed base population. Definitions vary (province/administrative unit, UN urban centre or GeoNames settlement); this is not a harmonised city ranking. Shares use World Bank 2025 country population 16,950,795. Dates and boundaries may differ. Overlapping entities are not summed.
| # | Place | Population | Definition | Share | Source / reference |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Harare | 2,117,195 | UN urban centre | 12.49% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 2 | Bulawayo | 492,771 | UN urban centre | 2.91% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 3 | Chitungwiza | 371,246 | GeoNames settlement | 2.19% | GeoNames settlement record; Population reference date not supplied in local record |
| 4 | Ruwa | 185,224 | UN urban centre | 1.09% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 5 | Mutare | 149,231 | UN urban centre | 0.88% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 6 | Kwekwe | 135,991 | UN urban centre | 0.80% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 7 | Masvingo | 122,019 | UN urban centre | 0.72% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 8 | Chinhoyi | 97,159 | UN urban centre | 0.57% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 9 | Norton | 90,287 | UN urban centre | 0.53% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
| 10 | Kadoma | 88,029 | UN urban centre | 0.52% | UN DESA, World Urbanization Prospects 2025; 2025 annual estimate |
How Zimbabwe compares
Zimbabwe has almost the same population as Cambodia (17,847,982).
| Rank | Country | Population | vs Zimbabwe | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #71 |  Netherlands | 18,087,633 | +7% | compare → |
| #72 |  Cambodia | 17,847,982 | +5% | compare → |
| #74 |  Guinea | 15,099,727 | −11% | compare → |
| #75 |  Benin | 14,814,460 | −13% | compare → |
Compare Zimbabwe with any country →
Same region (Sub-Saharan Africa): Nigeria, Ethiopia, DR Congo, Tanzania, South Africa, Kenya.
Explore around Zimbabwe
Land neighbours (4)
South Africa 64,747,319 · 3.8× the population · compare
Mozambique 35,631,653 · 2.1× the population · compare
Zambia 21,913,874 · 1.3× the population · compare
Botswana 2,562,122 · 6.6× smaller · compare
Zimbabwe's 4 neighbours together hold 124,854,968 people — 7.4× Zimbabwe's population. The most populous is South Africa (64,747,319).
In its region
Zimbabwe is the 23rd most populous of the 48 economies in Sub-Saharan Africa, holding 1.3% of the region's 1,321,654,217 people.
Rankings featuring Zimbabwe
Cities
Harare, Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Ruwa, Mutare, Kwekwe, Masvingo, Chinhoyi — all Zimbabwe's cities on the map.
World population history · The world when you were born · Zimbabwe when you were born · Time machine · Embed this live counter on your site
About these numbers
Population, growth, birth and death rates, migration, density, age structure, life expectancy, fertility and GDP per capita come from the World Bank Indicators API (latest available year shown beside each figure). The live counter applies the annual growth rate continuously from 1 July 2025 — a model, not a measurement. City populations are the latest census or official estimate held by GeoNames and are not projected. Sub-city units are folded into their parent city.
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Read this country carefully
This page is a structured reference entry. Its sources, geographic definition and reference dates determine what the figures mean; it is not independent reporting about the causes of change. Read the accompanying explanation before comparing different places or vintages.