Harare, (New Ziana) – At least 51.9 percent of new prisoners admitted during the second quarter of this year 2026 had been employed before their incarceration, with most males being jailed for theft, assault, burglary, unlawful acts involving controlled drugs and robbery without firearm, the Zimbabwe Statistics Agency (ZimStat) has found.
The findings are contained in the 2026 Second Quarter Prison Admissions and Discharges Statistics Report, which provides an overview of the prison population, including the number and profile of people admitted to and discharged from prison facilities throughout the country.
“A total of 8 383 new prisoners reported that they were employed before their incarceration, while 7 763 were unemployed. Reported unemployment rates varied by sex. 46.9 percent of newly admitted male prisoners were unemployed, compared to 62.9 percent of female prisoners. Females were admitted mostly for theft, assault and unlawful acts involving alcohol, tobacco or other controlled substances,” it said.
ZimStat said the country had 25 990 prisoners in its correctional facilities at the end of the second quarter of this year, an increase from 24 072 in the first quarter.
“During the same period, the population of male prisoners increased from 23 250 to 25 057 and female prisoners, too, increased from 822 in the first quarter of 2026 to 933 in the second quarter,” ZimStat said.
It said 16 146 new prisoners were admitted during the period under review, representing a decline from the 17 391 admissions recorded in the first quarter of the year while across both sexes, prisoners aged between 25 and 29 constituted the largest proportion of new admissions.
The report also showed that most new prisoners were residents of Harare, accounting for 21.8 percent of admissions, with Manicaland followingh at 14.5 percent, while the Midlands and Mashonaland West orovinces accounted for 12.4 percent and 9.8 percent, respectively.
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