A person working in Government and Defence in Zimbabwe typically earns around 237,000 ZWD per month. Salaries range from 126,000 ZWD (lowest average) to 371,000 ZWD (highest average, actual maximum salary is higher).
This is the average monthly salary including housing, transport, and other benefits. Salaries vary drastically between different Government and Defence careers. If you are interested in the salary of a particular job, see below for salaries for specific job titles.
Salaries for specific jobs
| Job Title | Average Salary |
| Armed Forces Officer | 176,000 ZWD |
| Army Officer | 170,000 ZWD |
| Cartographer | 148,000 ZWD |
| Customs Officer | 139,000 ZWD |
| Defense Officer | 236,000 ZWD |
The median, the maximum, the minimum, and the range
- Salary RangeGovernment and Defence salaries in Zimbabwe range from 126,000 ZWD per month (minimum average salary) to 371,000 ZWD per month (maximum average salary, actual maximum is higher).
- Median SalaryThe median salary is 256,000 ZWD per month, which means that half (50%) of people working in Government and Defence are earning less than 256,000 ZWD while the other half are earning more than 256,000 ZWD. The median represents the middle salary value. Generally speaking, you would want to be on the right side of the graph with the group earning more than the median salary.
- PercentilesClosely related to the median are two values: the 25th and the 75th percentiles. Reading from the salary distribution diagram, 25% of people working in Government and Defence are earning less than 172,000 ZWD while 75% of them are earning more than 172,000 ZWD. Also from the diagram, 75% of people working in Government and Defence are earning less than 339,000 ZWD while 25% are earning more than 339,000 ZWD.
What is the difference between the median and the average salary?
Both are indicators. If your salary is higher than both of the average and the median then you are doing very well. If your salary is lower than both, then many people are earning more than you and there is plenty of room for improvement. If your wage is between the average and the median, then things can be a bit complicated. We wrote a guide to explain all about the different scenarios. How to compare your salary
Generally speaking, employees having experience from two to five years earn on average 32% more than freshers and juniors across all industries and disciplines.
Professionals with experience of more than five years tend to earn on average 36% more than those with five years or less of work experience.
Change in salary based on experience varies drastically from one location to another and depends hugely on the career field as well. The data displayed here is the combined average of many different jobs. To view accurate figures, choose a specific job title.
As you hit the ten years mark, the salary increases by 21% and an additional 14% for those who have crossed the 15 years mark.
Those figures are presented as guidelines only. The numbers become more significant if you consider one job title at a time.
The Zimbabwe government has announced a massive pay raise for crucial public-service employees, mainly for security services and education. Zimbabwe inflation is nearly 1,000 percent a year, the highest in the world.
Zimbabwe Police Commissioner Augustine Chihuri and top soldier General Constantine Chiwenga were among officials making the announcement of increased salaries of up to 300 percent.
The increases will be paid out next week and will affect about 80,000 members of the security services, including the army, and about 110,000 teachers.
Their monthly pay will go up to between $272 and $330 a month.
All public servants had a pay raise in January of about 230 percent. Mid-year increases are usually awarded before elections, but Zimbabwe’s next national poll is only due in 2008.
In the past few months, President Robert Mugabe has put the security forces, including army generals, in charge of much of the country. For example General Chiwenga now has oversight of tax collection.
Economist Daniel Ndlela, said the increases would make a difference for a month or two, but would then be overtaken by inflation. He said the inflationary spiral is out of control, and the government had awarded the pay increases because it is panicking.
He said the government feared, for example, that without the immediate pay increase, a growing number of teachers would choose to stay at home rather than report for work because of the cost of transport.
He also said the inflationary impact of the increases would be felt immediately.
Apart from inflation, which most economists say will reach more than 1,000 percent in April, more than 70 percent of Zimbabweans are unemployed.
Prices of basic commodities go up every day and commerce and industry are shedding jobs continuously according to a range of employers in the main urban areas.
Many political analysts and commentators say that Zimbabweans are moving to a point when spontaneous reaction to the spiraling cost of living cannot ignored.
Nine years ago several people were killed in central Harare during demonstrations against sudden hikes in the price of food.