The Sunday Mail
Online Reporter
About 16,2 percent of women between the ages of 20 and 24 years were married before the legal age of 18 years, while one percent were married before the age of 15 years, according to the new 2022 Population and Housing Census Preliminary Report on Fertility.
Presenting the results on Tuesday, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) director-general, Mr Taguma Mahonde, said child marriages were more common in rural areas than urban areas.
“133 455 women aged 20-24 years, representing 16,2 percent of the total, were in union before attaining the age of 18 years,” he said.
“The proportion was higher at 22,7 percent in rural areas as compared to 7,2 percent in urban areas.
“One percent of women aged 20-24 years were in union before the age of 15 years. The proportion was higher at 1,6 percent in rural areas as compared to 0,3 percent in urban areas.”
The report also showed that early pregnancies were more common in rural areas than in urban areas.
“The median age at first live birth for urban women was higher at 21 years as compared to 19 years for rural women,” said Mr Mahonde.
Women in rural areas were, however, more fertile than their peers in urban areas.
“The total fertility rate was 3,7 at the national level.
“It was higher in rural areas at 4,2 as compared to urban areas where it stood at 2,8.”
The census results show that 435 735 live births were recorded in the last 12 months preceding the census.
