More than one million Zimbabweans who had left the country returned to settle home permanently during the first half of 2023, the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (ZimStat) has said.
According to the ZimStat’s Quarterly International Migration Statistics report seen by <a href="https://www.sundaymail.co.zw/one-million-zimbos-return-home">The Sunday Mail</a>, 1.03 million Zimbabweans “who had declared themselves as emigrants when they left the country” had returned home between January and June.
The report states that about 378 000 locals relocated back to Zimbabwe during the first three months of the year, while 655 377 citizens returned home between April and June.
ZimStat classifies returning expatriates as “returning former residents who had declared themselves as emigrants when leaving the country but, nevertheless, remained away for more than one year”.
However, the immigration figures do not account for Zimbabwean expatriates who did not move to foreign countries on a permanent basis.
The report also noted a significant rise in the number of visitors from abroad who came to Zimbabwe. It says:
<blockquote>
There were 331 982 visitors from abroad who came to Zimbabwe during the second quarter of 2023, compared to 231 107 in the second quarter of 2022, representing an increase of 43.6 percent.
There were 655 377 residents returning from abroad, compared to 250 147 in the second quarter of 2022. This indicates an increase of almost 162 percent.
</blockquote>
The proportion of visitors who came for holiday was 51.4 percent, while 26.2 percent came for business purposes. Reads the report:
<blockquote>
Visitors who came to Zimbabwe for educational purposes in the second quarter of 2023 decreased by 172,2 percent from the second quarter of 2022.
There were 6 382 education visitors in the quarter ending June 2023, compared to 2 345 in the quarter ending June 2022.
The number of holiday visitors in the second quarter of 2023 increased from a figure of 133 427 in the second quarter of 2022 to 170 474 in the quarter ending June 2023, showing an increase of 27.8 percent.
</blockquote>
Department of Immigration spokesperson Memory Mugwagwa told The Sunday Mail that the rise in the number of visitors coming into the country is attributed to “the policies of ZimBho and other tourism promotion activities”.
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