Back Blanke Zimbabwiërs Afrikaans Бели хора в Зимбабве Bulgarian Zimbabvaj blankuloj Esperanto Blancos en Zimbabue Spanish Blancs zimbabwéens French Orang kulit putih di Zimbabwe ID 백인 짐바브웨인 Korean Zimbabveanët e bardhë Albanian Người da trắng ở Zimbabwe Vietnamese 津巴布韦白人 Chinese
 | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
|---|---|
 Zimbabwe 24,888 (2022 census)[1]0.16% of the population | |
 South Africa | 64,261 (2002)[2] |
 Australia New Zealand | 12,086 (2006)[note 1] |
| Languages | |
| English (majority), Afrikaans, Greek, Portuguese, Italian,[4] others (minority) | |
| Religion | |
| Christianity[5] and Judaism[6] | |
| Related ethnic groups | |
| White South Africans, White Namibians, Afrikaners, Coloureds, other White Africans, Jews in Africa[citation needed] | |
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1891 | 1,500 | — |
| 1895 | 5,000 | +233.3% |
| 1900 | 12,000 | +140.0% |
| 1904 | 12,596 | +5.0% |
| 1911 | 23,606 | +87.4% |
| 1914 | 28,000 | +18.6% |
| 1920 | 32,620 | +16.5% |
| 1924 | 39,174 | +20.1% |
| 1930 | 47,910 | +22.3% |
| 1935 | 55,419 | +15.7% |
| 1940 | 65,000 | +17.3% |
| 1945 | 82,000 | +26.2% |
| 1950 | 125,000 | +52.4% |
| 1953 | 157,000 | +25.6% |
| 1960 | 218,000 | +38.9% |
| 1965 | 208,000 | −4.6% |
| 1970 | 237,000 | +13.9% |
| 1975 | 300,000 | +26.6% |
| 1979 | 242,000 | −19.3% |
| 1985 | 100,000 | −58.7% |
| 1990 | 80,000 | −20.0% |
| 1995 | 70,000 | −12.5% |
| 2002 | 46,743 | −33.2% |
| 2012 | 28,732 | −38.5% |
| 2017 | 16,998 | −40.8% |
| 2022 | 24,888 | +46.4% |
White Zimbabweans (formerly White Rhodesians) are an ethno-cultural Southern African people of European descent.
In linguistic, cultural, and historical terms, a majority of white Zimbabweans of European ethnic origin are mostly English-speaking descendants of British settlers. A small minority are either Afrikaans-speaking descendants of Afrikaners from South Africa or those descended from Greek, Irish, Portuguese, Italian, and Jewish immigrants.[2]
Following the establishment of the colony of Southern Rhodesia by Britain, white settlers began to move to the territory and slowly developed rural and urban communities. From 1923, the settlers concentrated on developing rich mineral resources and agricultural land in the area. In the aftermath of the Second World War, the number of white people emigrating to Rhodesia from Britain, Europe and other parts of Africa increased, almost doubling the white population, with white Rhodesians playing an integral role in the nation's strong economic development throughout the 1950s and early 1960s.[7] At its height, the number of white people in the region was the highest in Africa outside of South Africa and Kenya and by the early 1970s had peaked just around 300,000 people.[8]
Various social, economic and political disparities between the black majority and smaller white population were factors behind the Rhodesian Bush War after the government under white Prime Minister Ian Smith declared the UDI which established Rhodesia as a de facto independent state in 1965. Following the independence of Zimbabwe in 1980, the white population saw a reduction in number while others chose to remain. White Zimbabweans continued to represent a majority of the country's middle and upper classes during the 1980s and 1990s, but after 2000 the population number decreased further as a result of violence, economic instability and controversial land reform policies enacted by the government of Robert Mugabe in which white-owned farmland was forcibly seized.[9][10] White Zimbabweans have reportedly faced increased levels of poverty following the deterioration of the Zimbabwean economy during the 2000s.[11]
Communities of white Zimbabweans continue to be concentrated in larger towns and cities such as Bulawayo, Kariba and the Harare metropolitan area, with the Harare suburbs of Avondale, Mount Pleasant, Emerald Hill, Alexandra Park and Borrowdale all hosting significant white populations. According to the 2022 census, white people in Zimbabwe represent 0.16% of the Zimbabwean population and number at around 24,888.[1][12][13]
- ^ a b "Zimbabwe 2022 Population and Housing Census Report, vol. 2" (PDF). ZimStat. Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency. 2022. Retrieved 8 February 2025.
- ^ a b Crush, Jonathan. Zimbabwe's Exodus: Crisis, Migration, Survival. pp. 5, 25.
- ^ a b David Lucas; Monica Jamali; Barbara Edgar (2011). "Zimbabwe's Exodus to Australia" (PDF). 34th AFSAAP Conference, The Australian National University. Archived from the original (PDF) on 28 January 2015.
- ^ Salawu, Abiodun; Molale, Tshepang Bright; Uribe-Jongbloed, Enrique; Ullah, Mohammad Sahid (23 November 2022). Indigenous Language for Development Communication in the Global South. Rowman & Littlefield. ISBN 978-1-6669-1202-9.
- ^ Togarasei, Lovemore (13 July 2018). Aspects of Pentecostal Christianity in Zimbabwe. Springer. ISBN 978-3-319-78565-3.
- ^ "Rhodesian Jews – A Brief History". Zimbabwe Jewish Community. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
- ^ "Zimbabwe (01/05)". Retrieved 9 July 2025.
- ^ "Ethnic composition". Retrieved 9 July 2025.
- ^ "Conflict in and around Zimbabwe". Retrieved 9 July 2025.
- ^ "White and Black farmers still bear the scars of Zimbabwe's land grabs". Retrieved 9 July 2025.
- ^ "'Racist' land polices: At least 1 000 white farmers 'poverty-stricken' in Zim". Retrieved 9 July 2025.
- ^ "Zimbabwe's White Minority Speaks". Retrieved 9 July 2025.
- ^ Current Africanist Research: International Bulletin. La Recherche Africaniste en Cours; Bulletin International - International African Institute. Research Information Liaison Unit - pg. 367
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