Zimbabwe’s urban population rose to 40.5% of population in 2025.

Neither way is good in itself. A higher share can reflect people moving to towns for work and services, or leaving the countryside because farming has become harder, and a lower share can have either cause in reverse. The share alone cannot separate these, so it needs reading alongside jobs and housing. The latest figure is 40.5% of population for 2025, up from 39.9% of population a year earlier, a rise of 0.6 percentage points. Since 2016 the share has climbed from a low of 34.1% of population, and the 2025 figure is the highest in that span.

Why it matters. With 40.5% of population living in urban areas, a large and growing group of Zimbabweans depends on town water supply, rental housing, transport and urban wage or informal work. Councils and national agencies have to extend services and infrastructure to keep pace with that growth. Farming households in the countryside make up the remainder, and their output supplies much of the food that reaches town markets.