This article argues that the population explosion in Zimbabwe can be traced to three causes: the country's economic prosperity during the period of the Central African Federation (1953–63), and its successful food policy, both before and after independence; the success of the health system, also in both periods; and the fact that women have not been incorporated into the economy as wage‐earners, which has contributed to a high birth rate.
Notes
Respectively Professor of African History, Lander University, South Carolina; and Research Fellow, Department of Population Dynamics, Johns Hopkins University.