Household economy in fragile state

This household care burden survey commissioned by the Zimbabwe Council of Churches (ZCC) intends to collect quarterly household data on household incomes, expenditures and expenditure patterns, livelihoods options, copying strategies and gender disparities, among others. ZCC plans to carry out this survey on a quarterly basis in order to trace changes in household living standards and how these changes relate to government policies. This is the first time the survey has been carried out hence the findings presented in this report are baseline findings. The findings provide information about the current state of household incomes, livelihoods and expenditure patterns which is crucial for the assessment of changes in living standards in the succeeding quarters. The survey findings suggest the existence of severe livelihoods challenges amongst households in Zimbabwe. Majority of households are living below the poverty datum line of at least $600. Over 50% of the households have average monthly incomes below $250. The formal labour market is depressed hence most households are relying on the informal sector. Informal sector activities with low returns such as cross border trading, vending, artisanal mining and local informal trading are some of the most common livelihoods options available for households. Rural households mainly rely on incomes from agricultural produce while cross border trading and vending are more dominant among urban households. Self-employment is also dominant among both rural and urban households.