By
Ndumiso
Tshuma
The
country
scored
67.8%
on
Quality
of
Life
when
assessed
against
an
income-adjusted
benchmark.
HRMI
described
this
as
close
to
the
Sub-Saharan
Africa
regional
average.
“Zimbabwe
scores
67.8%
on
Quality
of
Life
when
scored
against
the
‘income-adjusted’
benchmark.
Compared
with
the
other
countries
in
Sub-Saharan
Africa,
Zimbabwe
is
performing
close
to
average
on
Quality
of
Life
rights,”
the
report
stated.
In
economic
and
social
rights,
Zimbabwe
recorded
strong
results
in
key
areas.
The
right
to
education
scored
85.6%,
the
right
to
food
84.6%,
and
the
right
to
health
85.0%.
These
figures
indicate
notable
progress
in
the
provision
of
basic
services.
However,
the
country
performed
poorly
in
other
essential
areas.
The
right
to
housing
was
rated
at
38.3%,
while
the
right
to
work
received
a
score
of
45.4%,
highlighting
ongoing
challenges
in
access
to
adequate
shelter
and
employment
opportunities.
Zimbabwe
also
fell
short
on
civil
and
political
rights.
The
nation
was
awarded
a
score
of
5.7
out
of
10
for
“Safety
from
the
State”,
a
measure
reflecting
risks
such
as
arbitrary
arrest,
torture,
forced
disappearance
and
extrajudicial
killing.
“Zimbabwe’s
Safety
from
the
State
score
of
5.7
out
of
10
suggests
that
many
people
are
not
safe
from
one
or
more
of
the
following:
arbitrary
arrest,
torture
and
ill-treatment,
forced
disappearance,
execution,
or
extrajudicial
killing,”
HRMI
said.
The
breakdown
of
these
results
shows
Zimbabwe
scored
3.8
for
protection
from
arbitrary
arrest,
4.5
for
freedom
from
torture
and
ill-treatment,
6.4
for
protection
from
enforced
disappearance,
7.3
for
protection
from
extrajudicial
execution,
and
a
full
10.0
for
the
death
penalty.
On
empowerment
rights
which
include
freedoms
of
speech,
assembly
and
political
participation,
Zimbabwe
received
an
overall
score
of
3.7
out
of
10,
described
by
HRMI
as
“below
average”.
“Zimbabwe’s
Empowerment
score
of
3.7
out
of
10
suggests
that
many
people
are
not
enjoying
their
civil
liberties
and
political
freedoms,
including
freedom
of
speech,
assembly
and
association,
democratic
rights,
and
religion
and
belief,”
the
report
stated.
Individual
scores
for
empowerment
rights
were
low,
with
3.6
for
freedom
of
assembly
and
association,
3.8
for
freedom
of
opinion
and
expression,
4.1
for
participation
in
government,
and
9.0
for
freedom
of
religion
and
belief.
HRMI
noted
that
while
there
is
insufficient
data
to
enable
regional
comparisons
on
civil
and
political
rights
across
Sub-Saharan
Africa,
Zimbabwe
is
performing
worse
than
average
when
compared
with
other
countries
in
the
global
sample.
“For
civil
and
political
rights,
we
don’t
have
sufficient
data
across
Sub-Saharan
African
countries
to
allow
for
a
regional
comparison.
However,
when
compared
to
the
other
countries
in
our
sample,
Zimbabwe
is
performing
lower
than
average
on
empowerment
rights,”
HRMI
said.
Zimbabwe’s
population
stands
at
16.3
million,
with
a
GDP
per
capita
of
$2,156,
according
to
2023
estimates.
The
full
HRMI
report
on
Zimbabwe
is
available
at rightstracker.org.