Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe: Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters was 7.60 million people in 2024. ◆ Volatile

Latest (2024)
7.60 million people
Change on year
up 16,203.4%
World rank
5th
of 78 countries
All-time high
7.60 million people
in 2024
All-time low
0 people
in 1982
Years of data
29
1982–2024

Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zimbabwe, 1982–2024

02.0M4.0M6.0M8.0M1982200320241982: 0 people1983: 0 people1984: 0 people1991: 792.0k people1992: 1.1M people1993: 1.1M people1994: 1.1M people1995: 1.1M people1998: 55.0k people2001: 1.8M people2002: 2.1M people2003: 2.1M people2007: 840.5k people2008: 840.5k people2009: 419.1k people2010: 304.7k people2011: 453.9k people2012: 453.9k people2013: 1.5M people2014: 1.1M people2015: 1.1M people2016: 1.1M people2017: 2.1M people2018: 2.2M people2019: 2.2M people2020: 543.6k people2021: 120.9k people2022: 46.6k people2024: 7.6M people

Source: EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data. Measured in people.

Analysis

In 2024, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zimbabwe stood at 7.60 million people. That is the highest value across all 29 years on record.

The figure is up 16,203.4% on the previous year and up 622.5% over ten years.

Over the whole period, annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zimbabwe peaked at 7.60 million people in 2024 and was at its lowest, 0 people, in 1982.

Zimbabwe ranks 5th of 78 countries on this measure, in the top 10%.

The series is highly variable year to year, so single readings are best treated with caution.

Averages by decade

DecadeAverage LowestHighest Years
1980s 0 people 0 people 0 people 3
1990s 842,502 people 55,000 people 1.05 million people 6
2000s 1.35 million people 419,080 people 2.11 million people 6
2010s 1.23 million people 304,672 people 2.18 million people 10
2020s 2.08 million people 46,616 people 7.60 million people 4

Countries ranked near Zimbabwe

  1. 2 Syria 16.20 million people compare
  2. 3 South Africa 12.00 million people compare
  3. 4 Sudan 11.84 million people compare
  4. 6 Somalia 5.60 million people compare
  5. 7 Ghana 5.56 million people compare
  6. 8 India 4.90 million people compare

See the full ranking of 78 places →

More reference data data for Zimbabwe

All data for Zimbabwe →

Frequently asked questions

What is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zimbabwe?
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters in Zimbabwe was 7.60 million people in 2024, according to EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data.
What is the highest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Zimbabwe?
The highest recorded value was 7.60 million people in 2024.
What is the lowest annual number of people affected by all natural disasters recorded in Zimbabwe?
The lowest recorded value was 0 people in 1982.
How does Zimbabwe rank for annual number of people affected by all natural disasters?
Zimbabwe ranks 5th out of 78 countries with data for 2024.
Is annual number of people affected by all natural disasters rising or falling in Zimbabwe?
Over the last ten years it is up 622.5%. The long-run trend across the full record is volatile.
Where does this Zimbabwe data come from?
The figures come from EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data, published as part of Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters. Statizoid updates them automatically from the source API.

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About this data

Indicator
Annual number of people affected by all natural disasters
Unit
people
Source
EM-DAT, CRED / UCLouvain (2026) – with major processing by Our World in Data
Licence
CC BY 4.0 (Our World in Data)
Coverage
78 places, 1,202 data points, 1900–2025
Last refreshed

Total number of people affected by a natural disaster.