A quarter of Zimbabwe’s adult population has not made any plans on how they will meet their expenses in old age while 78% have not made any funeral provisions, according to a survey released by the country’s central bank today.
The Finscope Consumer survey for the year ending December 2022,also showed that:
- 9% of women are formally employed compared to 17% of men.
- 73% of the adult population earn US$100 or less per month, up from 65% in 2014, the majority of whom are women in rural areas (82%).
- The majority of the population (72%) reside in rural areas and agriculture is the main source of income.
- However, 65% of rural population face challenges in terms of agricultural inputs, while 24% lack capital investment into their enterprises , and 20% face water challenges which is key to their productivity.
- The majority of the adult population relies on the informal sector as a source of employment and income. The informal services sector forms an important part of household income.
- Agriculture plays a critical role and any financial inclusion initiatives excluding the rural communities and smallholder farmers is sub-optimal.
