Changing patterns of population distribution in Zimbabwe

This paper critically evaluates the causes and consequences of changes in population distribution in Zimbabwe during the colonial period and since independence in 1980. Five main aspects of population geography are examined. Firstly, by way on background on contemporary patterns of settlement and land use, the history of tenure policies is outlined. Secondly, the distribution of the African population as revealed in the 1982 census is described and major changes between the census years of 1962, 1969 and 1982 are discussed. Thirdly, changing patterns of settlement and land use within the peasant farming areas (Communal Lands) are examined in the context of increasing population pressures. Fourthly, trends in the growth of the main urban centres and the process of urbanisation of the African population are described. Fifthly, post-independence development policies directed at effecting changes in the distribution of population are discussed with particular reference to the land resettlement programme. The present distribution of population is seen as the product of interacting political, economic and environmental factors, knowledge of which is essential in devising appropriate development strategies to achieve a more equable balance of population and resources.