Matabeleland North: population, jobs, cost of living, poverty, health, schooling, water and housing
Matabeleland North is a province of Zimbabwe, number 8 of 10 by population. The 2022 Population and Housing Census counted 827,645 people in Matabeleland North province (400,013 men and boys, 427,632 women and girls), 5.5% of Zimbabwe's 15,178,957; 3rd smallest of the 10 provinces.
In depth
- Economy, jobs and prices in Matabeleland North: 22.7% of the labour force aged 15 and over in Matabeleland North was unemployed at the 2022 census (strict definition: without work and looking for it), the highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 14.8%); the rate was 31.6% for women and 17.9% for men.
- Health in Matabeleland North: The 2022 census recorded an under-five mortality rate of 30.2 deaths per 1,000 live births in Matabeleland North and an infant mortality rate of 16.0; the under-five rate is 3rd lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 39.7 and 24.2).
- Education in Matabeleland North: 46.5% of secondary-school-age children in Matabeleland North were attending secondary school in 2023-24 (net attendance ratio), 3rd lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 53.5%).
- Poverty and living standards in Matabeleland North: 85.3% of people in Matabeleland North lived below the total consumption poverty line in 2017, ZIMSTAT's latest provincial poverty measurement (PICES 2017), 2nd highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 70.5%).
Is the population of Matabeleland North growing?
Matabeleland North's population grew from 749,017 in the 2012 census to 827,645 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 Matabeleland North live in towns?
16.5% of Matabeleland North's people lived in urban areas at the 2022 census (136,749 urban, 690,896 rural), 3rd least urban of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 38.6%). The province had 11 people per square kilometre (Zimbabwe: 39).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyHow many children do women in Matabeleland North have?
Women in Matabeleland North had 3.7 children each on average according to the 2022 census, 4th lowest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 3.7).
Source: Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT) · saved copyAre births registered in Matabeleland North?
65.5% of children under five in Matabeleland North had their birth registered with the civil authorities in 2023-24, 3rd highest of the 10 provinces (Zimbabwe: 56.6%); 59.1% 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
- Mashonaland Central 1,384,891
- Matabeleland South 760,345
- Bulawayo 665,952
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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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