Zimbabweans who move: perspectives on international migration in Zimbabwe

What are the characteristics of migration into and out of Zimbabwe, and are they changing? This paper contains an overview of the major migration trends in Zimbabwe since independence, and presents the results of two national surveys of Zimbabwean citizens carried out by SAMP, the 1997 Public Opinion Survey and the 2001 National Immigration Policy Survey.

An overview of international migration in Zimbabwe is first presented. The cross-border movements from Zimbabwe to South Africa are then analysed in greater detail. Finally, Zimbabwean attitudes to immigrants, migrants and refugees are then considered.

The paper finds that:

• within the Southern African region, Zimbabwe’s migration history is unusual as whilst historically, Southern African countries were either recipient or sending countries for migrants, Zimbabwe was both
• Zimbabweans are a nation of migrants although international migration accounts for only a very small proportion of the total Zimbabwean population movements in any one year
• Zimbabwe has become a significant brain exporter
• there are indications that undocumented and unauthorized cross-border migration from Zimbabwe into neighbouring countries has increased markedly since the 1980s
• economic crisis and decline in Zimbabwe have prompted a diversification of household survival strategies including cross-border migration, including growing numbers of women
• Zimbabweans believe that the central criterion for Zimbabwean identity is not colour or language but being born in Zimbabwe
• Zimbabweans are generally accepting of people from other African countries and feel they have benefited from their interactions with them

The paper concludes that there is a lack of information about the numbers of foreign migrants currently working in the country. The paper recommends that the Zimbabwean public needs to be educated about the contribution of foreign migrants towards the economic development of the country.