Matabeleland North households dominate in the use of charcoal

Matabeleland North is outstanding in the use of charcoal energy while the city of Bulawayo is ranked at the top of all urban areas in Zimbabwe that have more households using electricity for cooking.

Zimbabwe Vulnerability Assessment Committee (ZimVAC) 2023 latest report reveals that the proportion of households using electricity increased to 50.7% from 46.6% in 2020.

"The proportion of households using non-renewable energy sources decreased. The proportion of households using wood decreased to 21.5% from 36.5% in 2020," the report reads.

"Masvingo (52%) had the highest proportion of households using wood for cooking, followed by Midlands (35.8%). Bulawayo (87.1%) had the highest proportion of households using electricity for cooking. Charcoal was mainly used in Matabeleland North (2.7%), while sawdust was used by 2.5% of households in Harare," it said.

The majority of households (62.8%) used electricity for lighting while the proportion of households using solar increased from 6% in 2020 to 14.6%.

"Bulawayo (84.7%) had the highest proportion of households using electricity for lighting. Mashonaland East had the highest proportion of households using solar (25%)," the report says.