The diaspora traces their origin to several waves of emigration, starting with the exodus that followed the 1965, unilateral declaration of independence in Rhodesia, but significantly since the sociopolitical crisis that began in 2000.

A 2002 survey by the Southern African Migration Project show that almost 25% of adult Zimbabweans' parents or grandparents had worked in South Africa at some point in their lives.

However, refugees and less skilled migrants tend to reside legally or illegally in nearby South Africa, due to the fall of the standard of living and economic conditions in Zimbabwe.

In December 2017 the website Zimbabwe News and Gettysburg College, calculated the cost of the Mugabe era using various statistics, noting that at during the 1980s, the country was growing economically at about seven per cent a year, and had done so since independence.

If this rate of growth had been maintained for the next 40 years, Zimbabwe would have in 2019 a GDP of US$102 billion making it an upper middle income economy or newly industrialised country.

The discrepancies were believed to be caused widespread emigration as well as premature deaths from political violence, starvation and disease, and partly due to a notable fertility decline.

Indeed, some 78 per cent of Zimbabwean Aussie adults hold a tertiary degree, making them the best educated group in the country[26][30][31] Along with their fellow South African immigrants, the Zimbabwean Australian community has become something of an invisible model minority in Australia, in part because they are represented as having a high degree of integration within the Australian society as well as economic and academic success.

[33] More than half of Zimbabwean migrant workers are employed in agricultural and mining occupations, while others work in construction, real estate, finance, retail, education, health and manufacturing.

As a result, a disproportionate number of Zimbabweans form part of Botswanas skilled workers, boosting the country's economy at the expense of Zimbabwe itself.

[17] Zimbabwean immigration has accompanied the ups and downs suffered by the country in recent decades in terms of political and economic instability.

However, Zimbabweans still face significant challenges in South Africa, with working class and poorer migrants disproportionately suffering from discrimination and xenophobic violence.

Most educated workers who can afford to, now believe it is better to emigrate to other countries such as the United Kingdom; Australia; Canada; New Zealand and Ireland, which offer greater economic opportunities, less discrimination and crime than remain in South Africa.

[41] In addition many Zimbabweans have family or ancestral ties to the UK or have studied and spent time there, making it easier for them to settle in Britain than other immigrants.

Studies have pointed to the higher rate of English use among Zimbabweans, their willingness to marry non-Zimbabweans, and their eagerness to become naturalised citizens as factors that contribute to their rapid assimilation, as well as their interactions with the greater British-born community.

[44] Many Zimbabweans who emigrate, particularly those with British, Malawian, Portuguese, Greek, and Mozambiquean ancestry hold or are eligible for dual citizenship, which makes determining their exact numbers difficult.

The emergence of serious economic and political problems beginning in the 1990s, led to a significant wave of emigration, which included large numbers of well-educated professionals, particularly in the medical field and students who began to seek out the US as an alternative destination.

[42] Indeed, South Africans and Zimbabweans are among the most skilled and professionally employed immigrants in the US today, with nearly 60 per cent of them holding a bachelor's degree or higher based on a 2005 study.

[46] More recently, a small but educated class of Zimbabweans, particularly those in finance, hospitality and international trade have been trending emigration toward such far-flung cities such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Dubai and, to a lesser extent, Japan and, Malaysia.

[47] Joining them are a small number of students seeking a cheaper alternative to Western universities as well as corrupt ZANU-PF officials with properties in the region.

[49] Many people of Zimbabwean descent have proved very successful, across various sectors and contexts, particularly those in Great Britain; South Africa; Australia; Canada and the United States, producing businesspeople such as Strive Masiyiwa; Paul Maritz; Trevor Ncube and Sir John Collins amongst others.

However, the intense and near universal opposition towards the ZANU-PF government by members of the diaspora doomed Homelink to failure, as Zimbabweans abroad used unofficial channels to send money to family members within the country or invested in secure assets such as real estate or the stock market, dampening hopes of securing vital foreign exchange.

Many Zimbabweans accuse the current government of widescale corruption, nepotism and ineptitude, evidenced by the looting of the Marange diamond fields, which has led to near economic collapse, high unemployment and for unleashing violence against the opposition.

Foreign direct investment remains low by international standards, with most expatriates strongly opposed to engaging with the current ZANU-PF government.

[50] With 4 to 7 million people abroad, the Zimbabwean government increasingly sees the diaspora as a critical resource for investment, foreign exchange and remittances.

Government officials such as Gideon Gono and Mthuli Ncube have sought to entice Zimbabweans abroad to invest and improve the standard of living.

[54] However, many Zimbabweans abroad, have criticised the government for its high tax rates and anti-competitive policies which have made the costs and ease of doing business difficult, as well as long standing corruption by the ruling party.

Indeed, Zimbabwean embassies abroad have long been the scene of anti-government protest, with Zimbabwean Britons in particular becoming a very influential lobby group within the country, lobbying the British Labour Party, Liberal Democrats and the UK Conservatives, to withhold any support for the current Mnagagwa government, press for democratic reform and respect for the rule of law, while vigorously supporting the opposition, MDC party.