Mashonaland Central: population, jobs, cost of living, poverty, health, schooling, water and housing
Mashonaland Central is a province of Zimbabwe, number 7 of 10 by population. The 2022 Population and Housing Census counted 1,384,891 people in Mashonaland Central province (681,246 men and boys, 703,645 women and girls), 9.1% of Zimbabwe's 15,178,957; 4th smallest of the 10 provinces.
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in Mashonaland Central: 13.4% of the labour force aged 15 and over in Mashonaland Central was unemployed at the 2022 census (strict definition: without work and looking for it), 2nd lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 14.8%); the rate was 17.1% for women and 11.1% for men.
- Health in Mashonaland Central: The 2022 census recorded an under-five mortality rate of 41.6 deaths per 1,000 live births in Mashonaland Central and an infant mortality rate of 26.7; the under-five rate is 4th highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 39.7 and 24.2).
- Education in Mashonaland Central: 45.4% of secondary-school-age children in Mashonaland Central were attending secondary school in 2023-24 (net attendance ratio), 2nd lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 53.5%).
- Poverty and living standards in Mashonaland Central: 87.9% of people in Mashonaland Central lived below the total consumption poverty line in 2017, ZIMSTAT's latest provincial poverty measurement (PICES 2017), the highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 70.5%).
Is the population of Mashonaland Central growing?
Mashonaland Central's population grew from 1,152,520 in the 2012 census to 1,384,891 in 2022, an average of 1.8% a year, 3rd fastest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 1.5% a year).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyHow many people in Mashonaland Central live in towns?
14.7% of Mashonaland Central's people lived in urban areas at the 2022 census (203,537 urban, 1,181,354 rural), 2nd least urban of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 38.6%). The province had 49 people per square kilometre (Zimbabwe: 39).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyHow many children do women in Mashonaland Central have?
Women in Mashonaland Central had 4.4 children each on average according to the 2022 census, the highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 3.7).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyAre births registered in Mashonaland Central?
58.5% of children under five in Mashonaland Central had their birth registered with the civil authorities in 2023-24, 4th highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 56.6%); 44.0% had a birth certificate.
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) and Ministry of Health and Child Care, with ICF (The DHS Program) · saved copyHow 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 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
- Matabeleland North 827,645
- Matabeleland South 760,345
- Bulawayo 665,952
Up a level: Zimbabwe · government and power in Zimbabwe · cities
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…)
Each saved copy is the file exactly as downloaded, kept so the figures can be checked even if the source changes. Report an error.