Zambezi River Basin

Population

of the total, with urbanization steadily increasing. The basin’s population is expected to increase modestly, at the same rate as the national populations, as no substantial immigration into the Zambezi basin is anticipated. Population growth in the region has been moderate because the AIDS pandemic has had some impact on the reproductive age group (SADC and ZRA 2007). However, the situation is changing as the impact of HIV and AIDS is declining in most Zambezi basin states.

The population of the Zambezi River Basin was almost 31.7 million in 1998. This represented about one-third of the total population of 100 million in the eight basin countries at the time. Ten years later, in 2008, the basin population reached 40 million, with 7.5 million living in the urban centres (SADC and ZRA 2007). The total population of the eight countries of the Zambezi basin is expected to reach 168 million by 2025. The basin population is projected at 47 million, about 30 per cent

Table 1.1. Area and Population of the Zambezi Basin

Area of country in Basin  (sqkm)

Total National Population 2000 13 399 000 1 651 000 10 475 000 17 240 000 1 900 000 31 900 000 9 886 000 11 696 000 98 147 000

Projected National Population 2025 25 940 000 2 270 000 18 695 000 26 730 000 2 460 000 56 090 000 18 285 000 17 395 000 167 865 000

Popu- lation in the  Basin 1998*

2025 popu- lation (000) UNmedium projection 950 080 16 500 18 071 955 6 187 455 82 438 2 200 420 11 979 610 11 674 065 51 161 960

% of  National Population in Basin

Total area of country (sqkm) 1 246 700 581 730 118 484 799 390 824 290 945 087 752 614 390 759 5 659 054

As%of total area of country

As % of total area of Basin

Country

Angola Botswana Malawi Mozambique Namibia Tanzania Zambia Zimbabwe Total

256 500 19 100 110 700 163 800 17 100 27 300

20.5 3.3 93.4 20.5

18.47 1.38 7.97 11.8 1.23 1.97 41.63 15.55 100

487 200 12 000

36.63 .073 96.67 23.15

9 821 400 3 991 870 60 890 1 271 920 7  046 250 9 050 000 31 741 530

2.1 2.9

3.35 3.92

577 900 215 800 1 388 200

76.8 55.2 24.5

65.52 67.11

Sources: Spatial data from Hirji et al. 2002, Deconsult 1998, SADC and SARDC 2008.

© ZACPRO

The livelihood of riverine communities is largely dependent on fishing.

Fishing village, Cahora Bassa.

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