Masvingo: population, jobs, cost of living, poverty, health, schooling, water and housing
Masvingo is a province of Zimbabwe, number 6 of 10 by population. The 2022 Population and Housing Census counted 1,638,528 people in Masvingo province (763,413 men and boys, 875,115 women and girls), 10.8% of Zimbabwe's 15,178,957; 5th smallest of the 10 provinces.
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in Masvingo: 16.7% of the labour force aged 15 and over in Masvingo was unemployed at the 2022 census (strict definition: without work and looking for it), joint 3rd highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 14.8%); the rate was 20.9% for women and 13.7% for men.
- Health in Masvingo: The 2022 census recorded an under-five mortality rate of 41.5 deaths per 1,000 live births in Masvingo and an infant mortality rate of 25.2; the under-five rate is 5th highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 39.7 and 24.2).
- Education in Masvingo: 53.6% of secondary-school-age children in Masvingo were attending secondary school in 2023-24 (net attendance ratio), 5th highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 53.5%).
- Poverty and living standards in Masvingo: 75.0% of people in Masvingo lived below the total consumption poverty line in 2017, ZIMSTAT's latest provincial poverty measurement (PICES 2017), 4th lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 70.5%).
Is the population of Masvingo growing?
Masvingo's population grew from 1,485,090 in the 2012 census to 1,638,528 in 2022, an average of 1.0% a year, joint 2nd slowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 1.5% a year).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyHow many people in Masvingo live in towns?
12.6% of Masvingo's people lived in urban areas at the 2022 census (206,658 urban, 1,431,870 rural), the least urban of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 38.6%). The province had 29 people per square kilometre (Zimbabwe: 39).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyHow many children do women in Masvingo have?
Women in Masvingo had 3.9 children each on average according to the 2022 census, 5th lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 3.7).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyAre births registered in Masvingo?
49.7% of children under five in Masvingo had their birth registered with the civil authorities in 2023-24, 2nd lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 56.6%); 39.0% 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
- Mashonaland Central 1,384,891
- 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.