Michael Gwarisa
More Zimbabwean men are dying than women, with males accounting for the majority of registered deaths in both 2023 and 2024, according to findings contained in the Zimbabwe Vital Statistics Report 2023–2024.
The report, released by the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZIMSTAT), shows that men accounted for 53 percent of all registered deaths in 2023 compared to 47 percent for women, while in 2024 males accounted for 52.5 percent of deaths against 47.5 percent for females.
Presenting the findings, ZIMSTAT Statistician Mr Perfect Makumbe said the mortality gap was evident across most age groups, with injuries, road traffic accidents and non-communicable diseases emerging as major contributors to male deaths.
“In 2023, we had 56,018 deaths and in 2024, 54,256 deaths. In bother years, registered deaths were consistently higher among males than females,” he said.
The report shows that the mortality disparity begins early in life, with boys under the age of five consistently recording more deaths than girls. In 2023, Zimbabwe registered 5,076 deaths among boys under five compared to 4,192 among girls, while 2024 recorded 4,639 deaths among boys and 3,677 among girls.
“Under five deaths declined from 55.8 percent in 2023 to 44.2 percent in 2024, with males consistently accounting for the majority of the deaths in both years.”
The majority of these deaths occurred during the first week of life, with early neonatal deaths accounting for 47 percent of all under-five deaths in 2023 and 46.5 percent in 2024. Deaths among infants aged one to 11 months accounted for about a quarter of all under-five deaths, while children aged between one and four years represented 18.5 percent and 17.4 percent of under-five deaths in 2023 and 2024 respectively, underscoring the continued vulnerability of children during their earliest years of life.
Male deaths also exceeded female deaths across most provinces and age groups. The report found that mortality among men was particularly high between the ages of 20 and 59 years, peaking in the 40-44 age group. Women only recorded higher mortality rates at older ages, particularly from 60 years and above.
Analysis of medically certified deaths further showed that non-communicable diseases remain the leading cause of death for both sexes. However, injuries accounted for a significantly larger share of male deaths, representing 12.7 percent of deaths among men compared to 4.8 percent among women.
Road traffic accidents were among the leading causes of injury-related deaths, alongside other preventable causes, while hypertension, diabetes and cancers remained major contributors to mortality among men.
