By Charles Mangwiro

MAPUTO, Aug 21 (Reuters) - Zimbabweans fleeing the country's worsening economic and political crisis must be treated fairly when they apply for asylum, the head of the United Nations refugee agency said on Tuesday.

Only a political solution can stem the exodus of Zimbabweans to neighbouring southern African countries, U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees Antonio Guterres told Reuters.

"We know ... there has been a recent meaningful influx ... but the large majority are not asking for asylum, they are looking for food security and some kind of economic activity that they are not able to find in their own country," Guterres said in an interview in the Mozambican capital.

Aid agencies say there are more than three million displaced Zimbabweans, most of them in South Africa. Each day thousands more brave crocodile-infested rivers to sneak through the border fence to their southern neighbour, Africa's economic powerhouse.

Several hundred migrants are caught and sent back every day, while the rest are left to fend for themselves, sometimes finding help from church or aid groups or local communities. Few embark on the lengthy process of claiming asylum.

"People asking for asylum when leaving their country should have fair treatment of their claims, and whenever (the claim is justified), should be considered as a refugee," he said.

Guterres said the global humanitarian community had to act together to help alleviate the plight of refugees from Zimbabwe.

"Our wishes are that the situation in Zimbabwe can improve, and flows of displacements can be reduced, of course the solution of the problem is not humanitarian, it's a political solution ... we hope that the political solution is found and Zimbabwe can return to a situation of normality".

Zimbabwe has the world's highest inflation rate, severe food, fuel and foreign currency shortages, and largescale unemployment.

Critics say President Robert Mugabe's controversial policies, including the seizure of white-owned farms for redistribution to blacks, have destroyed the economy. Mugabe blames Western powers, especially Britain and the United States.

Guterres wound up a four-day tour of Mozambique and Zambia on Tuesday and will visit South Africa next to assess the refugee situation there.

He said the refugee situation in South Africa was complex, with a growing number of refugees from the Great Lakes region and the horn of Africa, in addition to those from Zimbabwe.

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