Zimbabwe birth & fertility rate charts by year

Fertility rate in Zimbabwe chart

According to the latest birth rate data available, the fertility rate in Zimbabwe is 3.72, which is above the replacement level of 2.1 children per woman. In 1993, the fertility rate was 4.39 — a -15.2% decline in 30 years.

Check population clock for a dynamic visualization of the changing population.

The chart below showcases the historical changes in birth rates.

Table

Year	Fertility rate
	Zimbabwe	World
1960	7.2	4.69
1961	7.21	4.56
1962	7.23	5.02
1963	7.23	5.31
1964	7.23	5.13
1965	7.23	5.08
1966	7.2	4.97
1967	7.16	4.87
1968	7.11	4.98
1969	7.04	4.88
1970	6.98	4.84
1971	6.94	4.69
1972	6.94	4.55
1973	6.94	4.42
1974	6.88	4.26
1975	6.83	4.07
1976	6.77	3.97
1977	6.71	3.84
1978	6.66	3.77
1979	6.59	3.76
1980	6.52	3.73
1981	6.45	3.71
1982	6.33	3.72
1983	6.2	3.59
1984	6.04	3.57
1985	5.87	3.53
1986	5.69	3.51
1987	5.5	3.48
1988	5.28	3.39
1989	5.07	3.35
1990	4.88	3.31
1991	4.72	3.13
1992	4.57	3.04
1993	4.39	2.97
1994	4.28	2.92
1995	4.15	2.87
1996	4.11	2.82
1997	4.08	2.78
1998	4.07	2.75
1999	4.06	2.72
2000	4.01	2.73
2001	3.98	2.69
2002	3.93	2.66
2003	3.86	2.64
2004	3.78	2.63
2005	3.69	2.61
2006	3.64	2.61
2007	3.68	2.6
2008	3.78	2.6
2009	3.95	2.59
2010	4.04	2.57
2011	4.13	2.55
2012	4.13	2.56
2013	4.11	2.53
2014	4.01	2.52
2015	3.91	2.49
2016	3.83	2.49
2017	3.77	2.46
2018	3.74	2.39
2019	3.75	2.35
2020	3.75	2.28
2021	3.77	2.25
2022	3.77	2.22
2023	3.72	2.2
2024	3.67	2.19
2025	3.62	2.18
2026	3.57	2.18
2027	3.52	2.17
2028	3.47	2.16
2029	3.43	2.15
2030	3.38	2.14
2031	3.33	2.13
2032	3.29	2.12
2033	3.25	2.12
2034	3.21	2.11
2035	3.17	2.1
2036	3.13	2.09
2037	3.09	2.09
2038	3.06	2.08
2039	3.02	2.08
2040	2.99	2.08
2041	2.96	2.07
2042	2.93	2.07
2043	2.9	2.07
2044	2.87	2.07
2045	2.84	2.06
2046	2.81	2.06
2047	2.78	2.06
2048	2.75	2.05
2049	2.72	2.05
2050	2.69	2.05

Birth rates by women ages chart

In 2025, of all live births 18.2% were to women under 20 years old, 52.5% to women ages 20-29, and 29.3% to women ages 30 and above. In comparison, the percentages in 1990 were 17.2%, 50.6%, and 32.2% for the same age groups respectively. A chart displaying the historical birth rates in Zimbabwe by maternal age is provided below.

Annual births per 1,000 women ages

Children 0-14 years as share of population

Table

Year	Children 0-14 as share of population
	Zimbabwe	World
1960	47.3%	37.4%
1961	47.7%	37.5%
1962	48.1%	37.6%
1963	48.5%	37.8%
1964	48.8%	38%
1965	48.7%	38%
1966	48.6%	38%
1967	48.5%	38%
1968	48.5%	37.9%
1969	48.4%	37.8%
1970	48.3%	37.7%
1971	48.2%	37.6%
1972	48.2%	37.5%
1973	48.1%	37.3%
1974	48.1%	37.2%
1975	48.1%	37.1%
1976	48.2%	36.9%
1977	48.3%	36.7%
1978	48.5%	36.3%
1979	48.8%	35.9%
1980	48.7%	35.5%
1981	48.4%	35.2%
1982	48.3%	34.9%
1983	48.2%	34.6%
1984	48.1%	34.3%
1985	48%	34%
1986	47.9%	33.8%
1987	47.9%	33.6%
1988	47.9%	33.4%
1989	47.6%	33.2%
1990	47.1%	33%
1991	46.6%	32.9%
1992	46.8%	32.7%
1993	47.1%	32.5%
1994	46.6%	32.3%
1995	45.9%	32.1%
1996	45%	31.8%
1997	44%	31.5%
1998	43.1%	31.1%
1999	42.4%	30.8%
2000	41.9%	30.4%
2001	41.5%	30%
2002	41.4%	29.6%
2003	41.5%	29.2%
2004	41.7%	28.8%
2005	41.9%	28.5%
2006	42%	28.1%
2007	42.1%	27.9%
2008	42.4%	27.6%
2009	42.7%	27.5%
2010	43%	27.3%
2011	43.4%	27.1%
2012	43.7%	27%
2013	43.9%	26.9%
2014	43.9%	26.8%
2015	43.8%	26.6%
2016	43.6%	26.5%
2017	43.3%	26.4%
2018	42.9%	26.2%
2019	42.5%	26%
2020	42.2%	25.8%
2021	41.9%	25.6%
2022	41.6%	25.3%
2023	41.3%	25%
2024	40.9%	24.7%
2025	40.3%	24.4%
2026	39.6%	24.1%
2027	39%	23.8%
2028	38.4%	23.4%
2029	37.8%	23.1%
2030	37.4%	22.8%
2031	37%	22.6%
2032	36.8%	22.3%
2033	36.5%	22.1%
2034	36.3%	21.9%
2035	36.1%	21.7%
2036	35.8%	21.6%
2037	35.6%	21.5%
2038	35.3%	21.4%
2039	35.1%	21.3%
2040	34.8%	21.2%
2041	34.6%	21.1%
2042	34.3%	21%
2043	34.1%	21%
2044	33.8%	20.9%
2045	33.5%	20.8%
2046	33.2%	20.7%
2047	32.9%	20.7%
2048	32.6%	20.6%
2049	32.2%	20.5%
2050	31.9%	20.4%

The share of children aged 0-14 in Zimbabwe was 47.3% in 1960, 47.1% in 1993, and 40.9% as of the latest data in 2025.

More about the demographics of Zimbabwe.

Natural population change by year

For the past 10 years, the natural population change in Zimbabwe, excluding migration, has been +2.34% annually. On average, 355,848 more people were born each year than died.

Table

Year	Population change due to births and deaths
	Zimbabwe
1960	126,959
1961	131,531
1962	136,317
1963	140,984
1964	145,848
1965	151,164
1966	156,014
1967	161,205
1968	166,865
1969	172,626
1970	178,979
1971	185,427
1972	193,725
1973	201,885
1974	208,806
1975	216,947
1976	221,419
1977	225,139
1978	222,979
1979	223,657
1980	241,179
1981	271,361
1982	279,934
1983	286,545
1984	290,052
1985	290,756
1986	289,894
1987	286,766
1988	277,498
1989	270,838
1990	265,444
1991	260,943
1992	255,291
1993	228,045
1994	216,343
1995	206,695
1996	205,269
1997	216,288
1998	225,614
1999	232,393
2000	236,343
2001	227,909
2002	244,170
2003	243,057
2004	248,307
2005	248,545
2006	248,963
2007	261,805
2008	280,527
2009	309,316
2010	335,570
2011	359,572
2012	371,135
2013	374,757
2014	366,350
2015	356,203
2016	348,772
2017	344,035
2018	345,883
2019	348,798
2020	354,790
2021	349,908
2022	371,243
2023	372,505

Maternal mortality chart

The maternal mortality rate in Zimbabwe was 358 deaths per 100,000 live births in 2023 — a 0.36% chance of dying during childbirth or within 42 days of pregnancy termination. This is a -11.6% decrease compared to the year 2000.

Table

Year	Maternal mortality per 100K births
	Zimbabwe	World
1985	573	460
1986	525	438
1987	480	429
1988	431	414
1989	382	401
1990	353	391
1991	332	395
1992	333	395
1993	331	389
1994	332	382
1995	332	371
1996	352	366
1997	357	358
1998	368	360
1999	399	340
2000	405	328
2001	467	321
2002	418	311
2003	455	301
2004	451	291
2005	454	283
2006	480	276
2007	519	269
2008	526	264
2009	540	258
2010	567	253
2011	564	247
2012	558	239
2013	525	235
2014	468	231
2015	428	228
2016	411	220
2017	389	215
2018	386	211
2019	388	207
2020	380	211
2021	446	242
2022	368	203
2023	358	197

Under-five mortality rate chart

The under-5 mortality rate in Zimbabwe was 44.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2023 — a 4.42% chance that a newborn baby will die before reaching age five. This is down from 98.3 deaths per 1,000 live births in 2000.

Table

Year	Mortality rate before reaching 5 years of age, per 1,000 live births
	Zimbabwe	World
1960	15.2%	18.5%
1961	14.8%	18.1%
1962	14.4%	17.8%
1963	14%	17.5%
1964	13.5%	17.7%
1965	13.1%	17.5%
1966	12.7%	17.3%
1967	12.4%	17%
1968	12.1%	16.5%
1969	11.8%	15.5%
1970	11.7%	15.2%
1971	11.5%	15.1%
1972	11.5%	14.4%
1973	11.4%	14.1%
1974	11.4%	13.7%
1975	11.4%	13.4%
1976	11.5%	13%
1977	11.5%	12.5%
1978	11.5%	12.1%
1979	11.3%	11.7%
1980	11.1%	11.4%
1981	10.7%	11%
1982	10.1%	10.8%
1983	9.5%	10.6%
1984	8.87%	10.4%
1985	8.31%	10.1%
1986	7.86%	9.81%
1987	7.61%	9.47%
1988	7.55%	9.31%
1989	7.69%	9.02%
1990	7.97%	8.81%
1991	8.33%	8.66%
1992	8.73%	8.46%
1993	9.16%	8.19%
1994	9.52%	7.98%
1995	9.83%	7.76%
1996	10%	7.52%
1997	10.1%	7.28%
1998	10%	7.05%
1999	9.92%	6.76%
2000	9.83%	6.48%
2001	9.79%	6.21%
2002	8.48%	5.94%
2003	8.85%	5.65%
2004	9.17%	5.43%
2005	9.23%	5.16%
2006	9.4%	4.92%
2007	9.47%	4.7%
2008	9.34%	4.5%
2009	9.03%	4.31%
2010	8.5%	4.11%
2011	7.88%	3.97%
2012	7.14%	3.77%
2013	6.55%	3.61%
2014	6.18%	3.48%
2015	5.98%	3.35%
2016	5.69%	3.23%
2017	5.5%	3.11%
2018	5.23%	2.97%
2019	5.11%	2.86%
2020	5.01%	2.75%
2021	4.76%	2.66%
2022	4.6%	2.59%
2023	4.42%	2.49%