Section II MAIN SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT INDICATORS AND ICT STATUS IN ZIMBABWE 2 Key Demographic and Socio Economic Indicators Zimbabwe is a land locked country with a land area of three hundred and ninety thousand eight hundred (390 800) sq. km and bordered on the South by the Republic of South Africa; on the east by Mozambique; on the north by Zambia and on the west by Botswana. The capital and largest city is Harare. The population growth rate for Zimbabwe is currently estimated at 1.1 %. Zimbabwe has an estimated population of 13 million and a relatively youthful population with close to 40.6% of the population under the age of 15 years and only 3.8% of the population over 65 years old. (Census 2012 National Report). The national policy will therefore address this, as the youthfulness of the population has social and economic implications. Whilst this presents a human resource-base to be tapped from to facilitate socio-economic development efforts, this could also present a strain on the resources in terms of providing for education, health, social services and other amenities. The negative impact of HIV/AIDS continues to pose a serious threat to the labour market due to the prevalence in the most productive age groups of 14 to 49 years. This has affected labour intensive industry productivity especially in the agricultural sector, the main source of economic and social activity. Table 1: Basic Demographic Indicators Indicator Total population (millions) Growth rate (annual %) Sex Ratio (Males/ 100 Females) Male population Female population Measurement 13 061 239 1.1 % 93 6 280 539 6 780 700 Age Distribution of Population Under 15 years (%) 15 to 64 years (%) 65 years and over (%) Literacy % (as at 2011) Life expectancy at birth (years) 41 % 55 % 4% 97 % 38 Source: Census 2012 National Report 12