Migration and aging:the case of Zimbabwe

This paper is based on a study in Zimbabwe of older people over age 60 living in Harare, Mutare, and villages up to 50 km from these two cities. The major areas studied were the types of migrants, preferred residence, and their overall life satisfaction. Interviews were carried out by unemployed school dropouts from the two cities, especially trained for the job. The results showed that the rural-urban migrants constituted the largest group, while returnee migrants were the smallest. Among the respondents were also foreign, rural-rural, and non-migrants. There were significant differences by location and gender. Three-quarters of the respondents preferred to live in a village than in a city. Returnee migrants were consistently the most satisfied, and those who had not migrated, the least. Policy implications are discussed.