Bulawayo: population, jobs, cost of living, poverty, health, schooling, water and housing
Bulawayo is a metropolitan province of Zimbabwe, number 10 of 10 by population. The 2022 Population and Housing Census counted 665,952 people in Bulawayo (307,871 men and boys, 358,081 women and girls), 4.4% of Zimbabwe's 15,178,957; the smallest of the 10 provinces.
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in Bulawayo: 14.5% of the labour force aged 15 and over in Bulawayo was unemployed at the 2022 census (strict definition: without work and looking for it), 4th lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 14.8%); the rate was 18.2% for women and 11.4% for men.
- Health in Bulawayo: The 2022 census recorded an under-five mortality rate of 27.8 deaths per 1,000 live births in Bulawayo and an infant mortality rate of 17.4; the under-five rate is 2nd lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 39.7 and 24.2).
- Education in Bulawayo: 67.4% of secondary-school-age children in Bulawayo were attending secondary school in 2023-24 (net attendance ratio), the highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 53.5%).
- Poverty and living standards in Bulawayo: 29.9% of people in Bulawayo lived below the total consumption poverty line in 2017, ZIMSTAT's latest provincial poverty measurement (PICES 2017), the lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 70.5%).
Is the population of Bulawayo growing?
Bulawayo's population grew from 653,337 in the 2012 census to 665,952 in 2022, an average of 0.2% a year, the slowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 1.5% a year).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyHow crowded is Bulawayo?
Bulawayo is a metropolitan province, counted as urban by the census, and had 1,390 people per square kilometre at the 2022 census, on 479 square kilometres (Zimbabwe: 39).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyHow many children do women in Bulawayo have?
Women in Bulawayo had 2.4 children each on average according to the 2022 census, the lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 3.7).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyAre births registered in Bulawayo?
81.9% of children under five in Bulawayo had their birth registered with the civil authorities in 2023-24, the highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 56.6%); 62.5% had a birth certificate.
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) and Ministry of Health and Child Care, with ICF (The DHS Program) · saved copyHow metropolitan provinces are governed in Zimbabwe
Provinces (8) and metropolitan provinces (2: Harare, Bulawayo). In practice a Minister of State for Provincial Affairs and Devolution appointed by the President; constitutional provincial/metropolitan councils not yet in operation. Coordinates government programmes in the province.
Every tier of government in Zimbabwe
Other metropolitan provinces of Zimbabwe
- Harare 2,427,231
- Manicaland 2,037,703
- Mashonaland West 1,893,584
- Midlands 1,811,905
- Mashonaland East 1,731,173
- Masvingo 1,638,528
- Mashonaland Central 1,384,891
- Matabeleland North 827,645
- Matabeleland South 760,345
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Sources
- Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT): 2022 Population and Housing Census Report (Volume 1): appendix tables by province, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 bdebd23be87e…)
- Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) and Ministry of Health and Child Care, with ICF (The DHS Program): Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey 2023-24: Final Report (province rows of the tables), read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 0a74a171032f…)
- Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT): Poverty Datum Lines: Food and Total Consumption Poverty Lines per person per month by province, April 2024 to October 2026, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 49b9d5ceb7eb…)
- Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT): Zimbabwe Poverty Report 2017 (PICES 2017), Tables 2.7 and 2.8: poverty by province, read 27 October 2026 · saved copy (SHA-256 2aeb02bbf4c7…)
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