Rural population growth in Zimbabwe
Zimbabwe: Rural population growth was 0.9% in 2025. ◆ Volatile
Rural population growth in Zimbabwe, 1961–2025
Source: World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN). Measured in annual %.
Analysis
The most recent figure for rural population growth in Zimbabwe is 0.9%, measured in 2025.
Compared with earlier readings it is up 11.9% on the previous year and up 18.3% over ten years.
Over the whole period, rural population growth in Zimbabwe peaked at 5.6% in 1981 and was at its lowest, -0.3%, in 1994.
Zimbabwe ranks 58th of 207 countries on this measure, in the middle of the range.
The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.
Averages by decade
| Decade | Average | Lowest | Highest | Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1960s | 2.6% | 2.4% | 2.8% | 9 |
| 1970s | 2.1% | 0.8% | 2.6% | 10 |
| 1980s | 3.0% | 1.8% | 5.6% | 10 |
| 1990s | 1.3% | -0.3% | 2.2% | 10 |
| 2000s | 1.0% | 0.5% | 1.4% | 10 |
| 2010s | 1.0% | 0.4% | 1.7% | 10 |
| 2020s | 0.6% | 0.4% | 0.9% | 6 |
Countries ranked near Zimbabwe
More agriculture & rural data for Zimbabwe
- Agricultural raw materials exports 0.9% (2024)
- Agricultural raw materials imports 0.3% (2024)
- Rural population 59.5% (2025)
- Rural population 10.09 million (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 9.5% (2025)
- Agriculture, forestry, and fishing, value added 4.85 billion current US$ (2025)
- Land under cereal production 1.57 million hectares (2023)
- Cereal yield 743.9 kg per hectare (2023)
- Cereal production 1.17 million metric tons (2023)
- Fertilizer consumption 26.21 kilograms per hectare of arable land (2023)
Frequently asked questions
- What is rural population growth in Zimbabwe?
- Rural population growth in Zimbabwe was 0.9% in 2025, according to World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN).
- What is the highest rural population growth recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The highest recorded value was 5.6% in 1981.
- What is the lowest rural population growth recorded in Zimbabwe?
- The lowest recorded value was -0.3% in 1994.
- How does Zimbabwe rank for rural population growth?
- Zimbabwe ranks 58th out of 207 countries with data for 2025.
- Is rural population growth rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
- Over the last ten years it is up 18.3%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
- Where does this Zimbabwe data come from?
- The figures come from World Urbanization Prospects, United Nations (UN), published as part of Rural population growth (annual %). Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.
Download this data
CSV · JSON — 65 observations, free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (World Bank Open Data).
About this data
Annual rural population growth rate for year t is the exponential rate of growth of midyear rural population from year t-1 to t, expressed as a percentage. Rural population refers to people living in rural areas as defined by national statistical offices. It is calculated as the difference between total population and urban population.