8 Billion Lives
Be born

Where you could be born / Africa / Eastern Africa

Born in Zimbabwe

About 1 in 266 people born in 2023 started life in Zimbabwe. A boy can expect to live 60 years and a girl 65, up from 47 and 52 in 1950. Fewer than half of people live in cities, and 67% have basic drinking water.

1 in 266
odds of being born here
496,900 births · Ranked 55th of 230
60 / 65
years of life, boys / girls
Was 47 / 52 in 1950
$1,970
income per person a year
2021 dollars · Ranked 170th of 203 · extrapolated
39%
live in a city
Most live in villages

Life and health

Life lasts about 13 years longer than in 1950. Child deaths fell from 185 in every 1,000 births to 46.

How long a life lasts

GirlsBoys

020406080195019852023

Years a baby born that year could expect to live.

Children who die before age 5
050100150200195019852023

In every 1,000 births.

Life expectancy at birth60.2 years for boys, 65.0 for girlsUN WPP 2024
Children who die before age 545.7 in every 1,000 birthsUN WPP 2024
Deaths a year124,000UN WPP 2024
Doctors per 1,000 people0.1World Bank WDI
Children immunized against measles90%World Bank WDI
Adults living with HIV10.3%World Bank WDI
New tuberculosis cases a year209 per 100,000 peopleWorld Bank WDI
Malaria cases a year49 per 1,000 people at riskWorld Bank WDI

Family

Women had 7.0 children on average in 1950. Now it is 3.7.

Children per woman
02468195019852023

Average over a lifetime.

Children per woman3.72UN WPP 2024
Average age of mothers at birth28.1 yearsUN WPP 2024

Money and work

If every 100 coins of income were shared out, the richest fifth would hold 56 and the poorest fifth 5.

Who gets the income
Share of all income by fifth of the population, 2019
5%Poorest fifth
8%Second
12%Middle
19%Fourth
56%Richest fifth
Income per personabout $1,970 a year (2021 dollars, adjusted for prices)World Bank PIP, scaled between survey years Extrapolated
Share of income going to the richest fifth / poorest fifth56% / 5% (2019)World Bank PIP
Unemployment9.3% of the workforce (2023)World Bank WDI
Price rises104.7% a year (2022)World Bank WDI
Growth in output per person3.6% (2023)World Bank WDI
Jobs in farming55% of jobsWorld Bank WDI
Self-employed71% of jobs (2025)World Bank WDI
Secondary school enrolment52% (can pass 100 when older students are counted)World Bank WDI

Daily life

The largest city is Harare, with 1.5 million people.

39%
live in cities
62%
have electricity at home
67%
have basic drinking water
Largest cities
People living there
Harare1.5 million
Bulawayo665,952
Chitungwiza371,246
Mutare224,802
Gweru158,200
Languages
Share of people who can use each
Shona81%
English42%
North Ndebele12%
Nyanja2%
Shona, English, North Ndebele is official.

Cities and regions

Every state, province and large city with a page.

Largest regions

Harare1.9 million
Bulawayo665,952
Mashonaland West441,740
Midlands Province375,966
Manicaland297,667
Masvingo Province190,103
Mashonaland East Province160,287
Matabeleland South Province85,274
Matabeleland North74,965
Mashonaland Central66,046

Sourced: GeoNames Population of each state, province or region.

Large cities

Sourced: GeoNames Cities with a page: a million people or more.

People on the move

About 9.1% as many people born here live abroad as live here. The most common destinations are South Africa, United Kingdom, Mozambique.

Where people born here live abroad
By country of residence, 2024
South Africa1,072,620
United Kingdom132,869
Mozambique101,486
Residents born abroad2.6% (2024)World Bank WDI
People born here who live abroadequal to 9.1% of the people who live hereUN DESA migrant stock
Where they go mostSouth Africa (1.1 million), United Kingdom (132,869), Mozambique (101,486)UN DESA migrant stock
Money sent home from abroadabout $3.5 billion a year (2024)World Bank WDI

Safety nets

20% of older people receive a pension. Help for someone who loses a job reaches 0%.

20%
of older people receive a pension (2021)
0%
of unemployed people receive a benefit (2022)

Events in the data

The game draws real events from these records, so a life lived here can meet them.

Reported COVID-19 deaths, 2020 to 20245,740Our World in Data, from WHO
Hurricane-strength storms since 19802NOAA IBTrACS
Deaths in organized violence290 between 1989 and 2008UCDP

Now live it.

Born in Zimbabwe, to a family drawn from these numbers. Every life replays exactly from its seed.

Be born in Zimbabwe

Elsewhere in Africa

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How to read the sources. Every figure is sourced to a named dataset, shown beside it. A figure marked "Extrapolated" is estimated by a model because no survey covers the year. UN figures are for 2023, the latest year of UN estimates; other figures are the latest year their dataset has. Rank 1 is the highest figure among 230 countries and territories. All sources and licences