Map of Zimbabwe | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide19891990199119921993199419951996199719981999200020012002200320042005200620072008200920102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023 | More stats

top of page


Background: The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated to keep whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE the nation's first prime minister has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence.


top of page


Location: Southern Africa, northeast of Botswana

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S, 30 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 390,580 km²
Land: 386,670 km²
Water: 3,910 km²
Comparative: slightly larger than Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 3,066 km
Border countries: (4) Botswana 813 km; , Mozambique 1,231 km; , South Africa 225 km; , Zambia 797 km

Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)

Maritime claims: none (landlocked)

Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)

Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld; mountains in east

Elevation
Extremes lowest point: junction of the Lundi and Savi rivers 162 m
Extremes highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m

Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

Land use
Arable land: 7%
Permanent crops: 0%
Permanent pastures: 13%
Forests and woodland: 23%
Other: 57% (1993 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,930 km² (1993 est.)

Major rivers

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

Natural hazards: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare

Geography
Note: landlocked


top of page


Population: 11,423,175 (July 1997 est.)
Growth rate: 1.26% (1997 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Zimbabwean(s)
Adjective: Zimbabwean

Ethnic groups: African 98% (Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other 11%), white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%

Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects

Religions: syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 43% (male 2,507,219; female 2,471,357)
15-64 years: 54% (male 3,020,632; female 3,106,729)
65 years and over: 3% (male 154,231; female 163,007) (July 1997 est.)

Dependency ratios

Median age

Population growth rate: 1.26% (1997 est.)

Birth rate: 31.65 births/1000 population (1997 est.)

Death rate: 19.02 deaths/1000 population (1997 est.)

Net migration rate: NA migrant(s)/1000 population
Note: there is a small but steady flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa in search of better paid employment

Population distribution

Urbanization

Major urban areas

Environment
Current issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
Under 15 years: 1.01 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.97 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.95 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.99 male(s)/female (1997 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio

Infant mortality rate: 72.6 deaths/1000 live births (1997 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 40.84 years
Male: 40.85 years
Female: 40.83 years (1997 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.94 children born/woman (1997 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight

Education expenditures

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write in English
Total population: 85%
Male: 90%
Female: 80% (1995 est.)

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment


top of page


Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
Conventional short form: Zimbabwe
Former: Southern Rhodesia

Government type: parliamentary democracy

Capital: Harare

Administrative divisions: 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo (Victoria), Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands

Dependent areas

Independence: 18 April 1980 (from UK)

National holiday: Independence Day, 18 April (1980)

Constitution: 21 December 1979

Legal system: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law

International law organization participation

Citizenship

Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal

Executive branch
Chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and Joshua M. NKOMO (since 6 August 1990); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Head of government: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and Joshua M. NKOMO (since 6 August 1990); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the president; responsible to the House of Assembly
Elections: president nominated by the House of Assembly for a six-year term (if more than one nomination, an electoral college consisting of members of the House of Assembly elects the president); election last held 26-27 March 1996 (next to be held NA March 2002); co-vice presidents appointed by the president
Election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE elected president; percent of electoral college vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 92.7%, Abel MUZOREWA 4.8%; Ndabaningi SITHOLE 2.4%

Legislative branch: unicameral parliament, called House of Assembly (150 seats, 120 of which are directly elected by popular vote for six-year terms; of the other 30 seats, 12 are nominated by the president, 10 are occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and 8 by provincial governors)
Elections: last held 8-9 April 1995 (next to be held NA April 2001)
Election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - ZANU-PF 117, ZANU-Ndonga 2, independent 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, PCA, SADC, UN, UNAVEM III, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Amos Bernard Muvengwa MIDZI
In the us chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 332-7,100
In the us FAX: [1] (202) 483-9,326
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Johnnie CARSON
From the us embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare
From the us mailing address: P. O. Box 3,340, Harare
From the us telephone: [263] (4) 794,521
From the us FAX: [263] (4) 796,488

Flag description: seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white equilateral triangle edged in black based on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle

National symbols

National anthem

National heritage


top of page


Economy overview: Agriculture employs 70% of the labor force of this landlocked nation and supplies almost 40% of exports. Mining accounts for only 5% of both GDP and employment, but minerals and metals account for about 40% of exports. Severe drought caused GDP to drop 8% in 1992, with growth rebounding to 2% in 1993 and 4.5% in 1994, only to drop by 2.4% in 1995. The government is continuing to push its IMF/World Bank structural adjustment program aimed at encouraging exports and foreign investment. Officials face the difficult task of restraining expenditures in their effort to keep inflation within bounds.

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 5.5% (1996 est.)

Real gdp per capita ppp

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 18.3%
Industry: 35.3%
Services: 46.4% (1993 est.)

Agriculture products: corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs

Industries: mining (coal, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), copper, steel, nickel, tin, wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages

Industrial production growth rate: 10% (1994)

Labor force
Total: 4.228 million (1993 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 70%
By occupation transport and services: 22%
By occupation industry: 8%

Unemployment rate: at least 45% (1994 est.)

Youth unemployment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $2.5 billion
Expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $29 million (FY96/97 est.)

Public debt

Taxes and other revenues

Revenue

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Current account balance

Inflation rate consumer prices

Central bank discount rate

Commercial bank prime lending rate

Stock of narrow money

Stock of broad money

Stock of domestic credit

Market value of publicly traded shares

Current account balance

Exports
Total value: $2.4 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
Commodities: agricultural 47% (tobacco 31%), manufactures 27%, gold 12%, textiles 8%, ferrochrome 6% (1994 est.)
Partners: South Africa 14%, UK 10%, Germany 8%, Japan 8%, (1995 est.)

Imports
Total value: $2.2 billion (f.o.b., 1996 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transportation equipment 41%, other manufactures 16%, chemicals 16%, fuels 10% (1994 est.)
Partners: South Africa 41%, UK 7%, US 6%, Japan 6% (1995 est.)

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external: $4.4 billion (1994)

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates: Zimbabwean dollars (Z$) per US$1 - 10.8696 (January 1997), 9.9206 (1996), 8.6580 (1995), 8.1500 (1994), 6.4725 (1993), 5.0942 (1992)


top of page


Electricity access

Electricity production: 7.33 billion kWh (1994)

Electricity consumption
Per capita: 747 kWh (1995 est.)

Electricity exports

Electricity imports

Electricity installed generating capacity

Electricity transmission distribution losses

Electricity generation sources

Petroleum

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions

Energy consumption per capita


top of page


Telephones fixed lines

Telephones mobile cellular

Telephone system: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance
Domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, and radiotelephone communication stations
International: satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean)

Broadcast media

Internet country code

Internet users

Broadband fixed subscriptions


top of page


Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $236 million (FY95/96)
Percent of gdp: 3.4% (FY95/96)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


top of page


National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 402 (1996 est.)
With paved runways total: 203
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 6
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 8
With paved runways under 914 m: 184 (1996 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 199
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 1
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 198 (1996 est.)

Airports with paved runways
Total: 203
Over 3047 m: 3
2438 to 3047 m: 2
15-24 to 2437 m: 6
914 to 1523 m: 8
Under 914 m: 184 (1996 est.)

Airports with unpaved runways
Total: 199
15-24 to 2437 m: 1
914 to 1523 m: 198 (1996 est.)

Heliports

Pipelines: petroleum products 212 km

Railways
Total: 2,759 km (1995)
Narrow gauge: 2,759 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified; 42 km double track) (1995 est.)

Roadways

Waterways: the Mazoe and Zambezi rivers are used for transporting chrome ore from Harare to Mozambique

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


top of page


Disputes international: quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia is in disagreement

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs: significant transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets