Staff Reporter
GWERU – The two Gokwe Districts have the largest population in the province with Gokwe South recording 317 553 persons, while Gokwe North has 249 723. Shurugwu Urban has the least people in the province.
Preliminary figures for the 2022 Population and Housing Census released by the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency last week also revealed that the majority of people in the country were in rural areas at 61.4 per cent, with the remaining 38.6 per cent in urban centres.
After the two Gokwe Districts, another rural district Mberengwa is third with 208 458 people, while Kwekwe Rural has 197 063 people.
Gweru Urban however has more people than some rural districts with 161 292 people.
Gweru Rural has 121 712 people, while Kwekwe Urban recorded 119 863.
Shurugwi Rural has 98 315 people while Chirumanzu District has 95 272, with Zvishavane Rural close behind with 85 035 people.
Zvishavane Urban recorded 59 717, Redcliff 41 526 and Gokwe Urban 33 075 people respectively.
Shurugwi Urban has the least number of people with 23 304.
The province like other provinces has more females than males with the male population at 870 664, while the female population at 941 244 of the total 1 811 908 people in the province giving a sex ratio of 93 males per every 100 females. Nationally women constitute 52 per cent of the total population, while the sex ratio is 92 males for every 100.
The number of households in the Midlands as of 20 April 2022 stood at 440 250 out of the national 3 818 992, giving an average household size of 4,2 people.
The province has a growth rate of 1,2 per cent as 2012 had 1 614 941, while 2022 has 1 811 908 thereby constituting 11,9 per cent of the total population. Given a land area of 390,757 square kilometres, the resultant population density stood at 39 persons per square kilometre.
The population of Zimbabwe as of 20 April 2022 was 15 178 979 and given that the 2012 population size was 13 061329, the annual population growth rate is 1,5 per cent.
The distribution of the population by province for the year 2022 indicates that Harare Province
constituted 16 per cent of the total population, followed by Manicaland and Mashonaland West
Provinces with 13.4 and 12.5 per cent respectively.
Population density which is the number of persons per square kilometre in the Midlands is 37 while the national is 39.
