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Zimstat releases final census results
Clemence Machadu, The Zimbabwean
November 29, 2013

http://www.thezimbabwean.co/news/zimbabwe/69582/zimstat-releases-final-census-results.html

The Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) has finally released the final results of the 2012 Population Census, after eleven months when it released preliminary results.

ZIMSTAT published preliminary results on the Census in December 2012, which only presented information on the sex and geographical distribution of the population. The final results now show detailed information on population size and structure, population distribution, ethnicity and citizenship, marital status, fertility, among other variables.

The final results indicate that the national population of Zimbabwe has increased by 10.9 percent over the past decade. Zimbabwe now has a total population of 13 061 239 people, compared to 11 634 663 in 2002, representing a marginal increase of 1 426 576 people.

There is also evidence of urban-rural migration, as the proportion of people living in urban areas has decreased whilst that of the rural areas has risen up. In 2002, 65 percent of people lived in rural areas whilst 35 percent lived in urban areas. However, the 2012 Census shows that 67 percent now live in the rural areas whilst 33 percent live in the urban areas. The change can be attributed to urban displacements due to things like the Operation Murambatsvina, which saw thousands of illegal shelter being destroyed in cities; as well as company closures which resulted in people losing jobs and moving to their rural areas.

Another interesting variable is the average size of households, whereby it has actually fallen down from 4.4 persons in 2002 to 4.2 persons in 2012. This is largely due to increased family planning awareness and the economic hardships which were experienced over the last decade, forcing families to reduce the number of children.

The levels of communal farmers have also fallen down from 47 percent in 2002 to 37 percent in 2012. Women still dominate the population, representing 51.9 percent with males taking the remainder.

ZIMSTAT will conduct provincial dissemination workshops to inform the public about the final results of the 2012 Census.

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