Africa-Press – Zimbabwe. Zimbabwe’s Total Fertility Rate (TFR) has declined over the past three decades, dropping from 4.3 children per woman in 1994 to 3.8 in 2005–2006.
The latest Zimbabwe Demographic and Health Survey (ZDHS) for 2023–2024 shows a slight increase to 3.9, but the overall trend remains downward.
Although still above the population replacement level of 2.1, the figures point to significant social and economic changes influencing family size.
Factors such as economic hardship, rising infertility, and shifting attitudes toward marriage and childbearing are contributing to the trend.
This mirrors global patterns. According to the 2024 State of the World Population report by the UN Population Fund (UNFPA), more people worldwide are unable to meet their reproductive goals – having the number of children they want, when they want, or with whom they want.
Health and Child Care Minister Douglas Mombeshora, speaking at the launch of the 2025 State of the World Population report, said fertility rates in Zimbabwe are being affected by structural, cultural, and economic challenges. Said Mombeshora:
Our journey is far from complete. The report reveals that many young people wish to start families but are constrained by structural, cultural and economic challenges.
Zimbabwe has a uniquely youthful population with 66 percent under the age of 30. This presents immense potential for development, but unmet need for contraception and gender-based violence remain significant barriers, particularly for young people and marginalised communities.
Edwin Mpeta, UNFPA Zimbabwe’s Programme Specialist for Reproductive Health, said that although many people across countries still want to have children, various barriers prevent them from doing so.
He referred to findings from a 14-country study by UNFPA and the UK Foreign Office, which revealed that over 40 percent of people aged 50 had not reached their desired family size.
Among younger respondents, 20 percent do not expect to achieve their fertility goals, while 45 percent are unsure if they will. He said:
One in four were unable to conceive when they wanted a child, and one in three had an unintended pregnancy. Around 15 percent experienced both.
This shows the crisis is not one of overpopulation or underpopulation, but rather a crisis of unmet reproductive goals.
He said the economy was the main barrier, with 40 percent of respondents citing financial constraints as the reason they were unable to have the number of children they wanted.
Other reported obstacles included infertility, chronic illness, political instability, and the absence of a suitable partner. Said Mpeta:
In Zimbabwe, infertility services are almost nonexistent in the public sector and prohibitively expensive in private facilities.
This creates a paradox. We are among the best in the region for family planning, yet we are doing poorly on infertility care.
UNFPA Zimbabwe Country Representative Miranda Tabifore said the agency is working to address the complex barriers to fertility through its integrated Eight-Country Programme. Said Tabifore:
The programme focuses on four outcomes: zero maternal deaths, zero unmet need for family planning, zero gender-based violence, and zero new HIV infections.
These are being addressed within a framework that targets adolescents and young people through a combination of health, education, and economic empowerment initiatives.
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