Almost Half Of Zimbabwe’s Urban Dwellers Are Lodgers

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Nearly half of Zimbabwe’s urban population of almost 5.7 million people live in rented accommodation.

This was revealed by Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) director-general Taguma Mahonde while presenting the 2022 housing and population census results at a Press conference in Harare on Wednesday. He said:

Rural areas reported the highest proportion of owner occupancy at 76.8%. Urban areas reported the highest proportion of lodger occupancy at 42.7%.

Zimbabwe’s population grew by 16.2% to 15 178 979 from 13.1 million in 2012, ZIMSTAT revealed in its 2022 census preliminary results released in July.

The population constituted 3 818 992 households, giving an average of four persons per household.

The 2022 National Housing and Population Census also captured data on living conditions and access to basic needs such as water and electricity.

Said Mahonde:

In terms of access to amenities, the majority of households, at 38%, did not have any source of electricity, 34% used grid electricity while 28% used off-grid electricity like solar and other means.

Of the households that indicated the use of grid electricity, 84% were in urban areas. Of the households that did not have electricity, 83.7% were in rural areas.

Nationally, 83% of the dwelling units were modern. About 16% of the dwelling units were traditional. Traditional dwelling units were mostly in rural areas (97.6%).

Zimbabwe reportedly has a housing backlog of around two million and thousands of urban dwellers have resorted to buying residential stands from traditional leaders in peri-urban areas.

–Pindula