ActionAid International Southern Africa Partnership Programme (SAPP-Zimbabwe) into a category that had lost three or more aspects that were being investigated by the study (livelihood, shelter, health services, disruption of family unit, education and food security). Harare had 82% followed by Mutare with 75% and Victoria Falls (71%) households that fell into three or more categories affected by the operation. Beitbridge, Kariba and Bulawayo had fewer households that were in three or more categories (48%, 40% and 38%, respectively). The preceding paragraphs clearly highlight the impact of the operation at town and city level. It is important also important to profile these households. The following section characterises the household demographics of the affected communities with special emphasises towards the traditional vulnerable groups. 3.2 Socio-demographic data of the sampled affected wards in Zimbabwe Table 3: Sample sizes for selected strata Strata/Category Overall Population Total number of households visited Gender of respondent Sub-strata Male Female Male Female Gender of HH Head Total number affected by the operation13 Sample Size (number of HHs) 127,587 23,511 12,460 (53%) 11,051 (47%) 13,401 (57%) 10,110 (43%) 20,690 (88%) The table 3 above categorises the respondent’s details that were sampled in the survey. Average age of the head of household is 40.7 years, with the youngest reported as 12 years old and the oldest as 90 years old. Female household heads are slightly younger than male household heads, 40 and 41 years old, respectively. The average size of sampled households is 5.5. Children aged 0 - 17 years made up 71,691 members (or 56.1%) of the total study population. The proportion of male and female children was roughly equal (51% vs. 49%). An average of 2.1 children was found per household interviewed. Additional observations are detailed below (disaggregated data is shown in Appendix 6.8). - A consistent variation in the size of households in all four districts was maintained in both surveys. The proportion sex of household head was also different across the four districts. The proportion of children in the study population did not vary across sampled areas. Mutare still had the largest household size (6.1) and mean number of children (2.6) compared to other areas surveyed. Bulawayo also had the largest number of female-headed households (54%), whilst Mutare had the least (36%). Table 4: Marital status of respondents Affected means 1) demolished structures at homesteads, lost shelter, lost livelihood and children not attending school. 13 Zimbabwe Operation Murambatsvina/Restore Order National Survey Report 10