'Zimbabwe under populated'

ZIMBABWE is struggling to achieve considerable economic development because the country is under populated, Health and Child Care Minister Dr David Parirenyatwa has said.
Under population is a situation where the population is too small for the resources available in an area.
In a recent interview, Dr Parirenyatwa said the country's growth rate was 1,1 percent annually. The final 2012 census results from the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) indicate that the national population of Zimbabwe has increased by 10,9 percent over the past decade.
Zimbabwe has a total population of 13 061 239 people, compared to 11 634 663 in 2002, representing a marginal increase of 1 426 576 people.
"In terms of population and development, Zimbabwe is under populated. Our population growth rate is 1,1 percent meaning every year we grow by 1,1 percent. Essentially as a country my feeling is that we are still under populated," he said.
Dr Parirenyatwa, however, said there was no need to grow the population when the economy was not growing.
"However, the population should grow with the economy and that is the argument of the Partners in Population and Development. But there is always an optimal population of the country. If we are too few, then we can't optimise markets or optimise manpower," he said.
According to Zimstat, there is evidence  of urban-rural migration, as the proportion of people living in urban areas has decreased while that of the rural areas has risen.
In 2002, 65 percent of people lived in rural areas while 35 percent lived in urban areas. However, the 2012 Census shows that 67 percent now live in the rural areas while 33 percent live in the urban areas.
The change can be attributed to urban displacements as well as company closures which resulted in people losing jobs and moving to their rural areas.