PEOPLE OF THE ZAMBEZI BASIN
The Zambezi Basin is home to about 38.4 million people, mainly concentrated in
Malawi, Zambia and Zimbabwe. About 22 percent of these people are in Zambia and 29 percent
in Zimbabwe, meaning more than half of the basin population is in these two countries.
About 90 percent of the people in Malawi live in the basin, representing 31 percent of the
total basin population. More than 70 percent of Zambia's population and 72 percent of
Zimbabwe's population live within the basin. Almost 33 percent of the total population of
the basin states lives in the basin.
THE PEOPLE
About 30 ethnic groups are found in the basin with at least a third located in Zambia.
The people have a rich heritage of managing and living with their environment. Some of the
communities in the region have contributed immensely to modern science and to knowledge of
the environment. Their knowledge of nature's indicators, for example, has been used for
generations to locate groundwater supplies before digging shallow wells. The people have
for generations depended on their environment for materials to make appropriate tools and
equipment to catch fish. For example, they weave from reed baskets, which they use as
traps to catch fish from the falling waters of floodplains, lagoons and backwaters. From
trees, they make dugout canoes, some of which can last up to 30 years, eliminating the
need to continue cutting down trees and contributing to deforestation. Strong beliefs in
the edibility of certain species of fish or lack of it, and the ability to abide by
traditional laws help to control overfishing.
Population growth
The basin's population is growing rapidly. The average population growth rate for the
basin is about 2.9 percent annually, although rates for individual countries vary. In most
of the countries, over 40 percent of the population is under 14 years of age, implying a
high dependency ratio. Population growth rates are quite high for Malawi, Mozambique,
Namibia, Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe. If the present growth rates of population are
sustained, the population will double within the next generation.
Three major population dynamics are evident in the basin countries, the:
- population will double in less than 25 years;
- demographic structure of societies will place a great burden on national economies
because of the youthful population; and
- greatest urban growth is taking place in small urban centres where people are dependent
on agriculture and agro-based industries.
Population density and distribution
Population density in the basin states averages about 28 people per sq km but that
masks serious problems of overpopulation in Malawi, the most densely populated country in
the basin, with 105 persons per sq km. Malawi is followed by Tanzania with 36; Zambia, 13;
and Zimbabwe, 29-people/sq km. About 69 percent of the total population of the riparian
countries lives in the rural areas. The present distribution of land rights in the basin
indicates that some areas are highly utilised while others are underutilised in relation
to potentials. The evident trends are rural overcrowding in areas with communal land
tenure in virtually all the states and higher densities around regional transportation
routes, as is the case along Zambia's main railway line.
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