Fredrick Moyo
Masvingo province on Wednesday April 20 launched the 2022 population and housing census that will run from April 21 up to 30 led by the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (ZIMSTATS).
The population and housing census is being done for the first time ever as they used to only carry out population census in previous years.
On April 20, Masvingo province held a census awareness march in the Central Business District (CBD) comprising of ZCC Mbungo brass band, drum majorettes and enumerators who will take part in the counting.
Speaking after the march, Masvingo Provincial Information Officer (PIO) Rodgers Irimayi said the march was meant to make people aware that census had begun, with the Census Night being held on the launch day where enumerators counted people living on the streets.
“The census march that we held in the CBD today was to remind people about the census and a mark that the census has begun.
“Our census is beginning on April 21 although there are a few people that will be counted today (April 20) that include people living on the streets and those staying in hotels but the rest will be counted from the 21st to April 30,” said Irimayi.
He also added that the 2022 census is different from the previously held ones as this time they will be counting people and houses as well.
“The census we are having this time around is different from those that we held in the previous years as this census is called population and housing census which means that we are counting people and also households,” added Irimayi.
He also encouraged people to stay put where they are based the most so that they are counted.
“We are encouraging people to be in the areas they frequently stay most of the time and make sure they are counted as we will be asking the number of people who slept at the place we would have arrived,” he said.
The 2022 Population Census is the fourth such exercise to be undertaken by the Government of Zimbabwe since Independence in 1980. It is carried out exactly 10 years after the third census in 2012.
Planning for the 2022 Population Census started in 2017 and the census is going to be done according to international recommendations.
The population of Zimbabwe on August 18, 2012 was 12 973 808. Of that population, 6 234 931 were males and 6 738 877 females. This means that the overall sex ratio was 93 males per every 100 females. The population constituted 3 076 222 households, leading to an average of 4,2 persons per household.
With an area of 390 757 square kilometers, Zimbabwe has a population density of 33 persons per square kilometer. In 2002 the population of Zimbabwe was 11, 6 million, consisting of 5, 6 million males and 6 million females and the sex ratio was 95 males per 100 females. From the above figures the average annual inter-censual population growth rate between 2002 and 2012 is nearly 1.1 percent. With such a growth rate the population will double in roughly 70 years.
