A total of 47,1% of youths in Zimbabwe are unemployed the Zimbabwe National Statistics Agency (Zimstat) has revealed.

The Fourth Quarter Labour Force Survey published by the statistics agency says for youth between ages 15 and 35 years the expanded unemployment rate for the respective category stood at 47,1%.

The study shows that between 15 to 24 years, the expanded unemployment rate stood at 58, 7%.

Institutions like the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) have since raised the red flag on Zimbabwe warning that the country is missing the opportunity to reap the benefits of the Demographic Dividend (DD).

In population studies, Demographic Dividend refers to the temporary economic benefits that can arise from a significant increase in the ratio of working-age adults as a result of rapid fertility decline.

Statistics by UNFPA say that the country's population has almost doubled over three decades, rising from 7, 5 million in 1982 to an estimated 16,5 million which, if properly tapped into, can boost the country's economy.

"The country's window of opportunity for harnessing the first demographic dividend opened before 1990 and peaked in 2013 and is now in the diminishing returns phase," a UNFPA report observed.

The 4th Quarter Labour Force Survey also established that the unemployment rate for Mashonaland Central Province was 14, 9%.

The female unemployment rate for the province was 18, 2% while the male unemployment rate was 12,8%. The unemployment rate for persons with at least one functional disability was 6, 8%.

Employed males in Harare province constituted 25,2% of all employed males, as 26% percent of all employed females were also in the same province.

Of all employed persons, 0.8 % had at least one functional disability.