What is the difference in paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region between South Africa and Zimbabwe?

1.11 cases, with Zimbabwe ahead.

How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Zimbabwe?

44 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2023.

Where does this data come from?

World Health Organization (2019); World Health Organization (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

South Africa vs Zimbabwe: Paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region

South Africa

0 cases

in 2023

Zimbabwe

1.11 cases

in 2023

South Africa rank

26th

Zimbabwe rank

23rd

Paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region over time

South Africa
Zimbabwe

How they compare

Zimbabwe currently reports 1.11 cases against 0 cases in South Africa, a difference of 1.11 cases.

The two have swapped places 5 times across 44 shared years of data; in 1980 it was South Africa ahead.

South Africa ranks 26th and Zimbabwe ranks 23rd of 199 countries.

Across the 5 decades both report, South Africa averaged higher in 2 and Zimbabwe in 1.

Head to head by decade

Decade	South Africa	Zimbabwe	Difference	Ahead
1980s	846.3 cases	172.9 cases	673.4 cases	South Africa
1990s	79.1 cases	20.3 cases	58.8 cases	South Africa
2000s	0 cases	0 cases	0 cases	—
2010s	0 cases	0 cases	0 cases	—
2020s	0 cases	0.2775 cases	0.2775 cases	Zimbabwe

Averages of every year both report within each decade.

Frequently asked questions

Which has higher paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region, South Africa or Zimbabwe?: Zimbabwe, at 1.11 cases against 0 cases in South Africa as of 2023.
What is the difference in paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region between South Africa and Zimbabwe?: 1.11 cases, with Zimbabwe ahead.
How many years of comparable data are there for South Africa and Zimbabwe?: 44 years are reported by both, from 1980 to 2023.
How do South Africa and Zimbabwe rank globally for paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region?: South Africa ranks 26th and Zimbabwe ranks 23rd of 199 countries.
Where does this data come from?: World Health Organization (2019); World Health Organization (2024) – processed by Our World in Data, published as Paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region. Statizoid refreshes it automatically from the source and publishes the full history for both places.

Individual pages

Share, cite or embed this page

Cite this page

South Africa vs Zimbabwe: Paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region. Statizoid, drawing on World Health Organization (2019); World Health Organization (2024) – processed by Our World in Data. Retrieved 08 September 2026, from https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/number-of-estimated-paralytic-polio-cases-by-world-region/south-africa/zimbabwe/

Embed or link this data

Paste this into a page to link back to these figures. The data itself is free to reuse under CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data); please keep the attribution.

<a href="https://reference.statizoid.com/compare/number-of-estimated-paralytic-polio-cases-by-world-region/south-africa/zimbabwe/">South Africa vs Zimbabwe: Paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region</a> — Statizoid

About this data

Indicator: Paralytic polio: estimated cases by world region
Unit: cases
Source: World Health Organization (2019); World Health Organization (2024) – processed by Our World in Data
Licence: CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage: 199 places, 7,608 data points, 1980–2023
Last refreshed: 28 August 2026

Total estimated number of polio cases.