Indicator	Value
Total population	16,600,000 peopleUN DESA WPP [2024] 16,630,000 people·World Bank WDI [2024] 16,630,000 people
Median age	18 yearsUN DESA WPP [2024]
Life expectancy	62.8–63.1 yearsWorld Bank WDI [2024] 63.06 years·UNDP HDI [2023] 62.78 years
Ethnic groups	African 99.6% (predominantly Shona; Ndebele is the second largest ethnic group), other (includes Caucasian, Asiatic, mixed race) 0.4% (2022 est.)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Languages	Shona (official, most widely spoken) 80.9%, Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken) 11.5%, English (official, traditionally used for official business) 0.3%, 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa) 7%, other 0.3% (2022 est.); note: data represent population by mother tongueCIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Religions	Apostolic Sect 40.3%, Pentecostal 17%, Protestant 13.8%, other Christian 7.8%, Roman Catholic 6.4%, African traditionalist 5%, other 1.5% (includes Muslim, Jewish, Hindu), none 8.3% (2022 est.)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Urbanization	32.5% of total population (2023)CIA World Factbook [2025] · 2026 archive
Population growth	1.78 %World Bank WDI [2024]
Birth rate	29.9 per 1,000World Bank WDI [2024]
Death rate	7.5 per 1,000World Bank WDI [2024]
Urban population	39.9 %World Bank WDI [2024]
Languages (structured)	Afrikaans / American Sign Language / Birwa / Chikunda / Fanagalo / Holoholo / Kalanga / Lozi / Manyika / Nambya / Ndau / Northern Tshwa / Nsenga / Nyanja / Nyungwe / Shona / Shua / Subiya / Tawara / Toka-Leya-Dombe / Tonga (Zambia) / Tsonga / Tswa / Tswana / Venda / Zimbabwe Sign Language / Zimbabwean NdebeleGlottolog [2026]