Map of Zimbabwe | Geography | People | Government | Economy | Energy | Communication
Military | Transportation | Transnational Issues | Year: Guide1989199019911992199319941995199619971998199920002001200220032004200520062007200820092010201120122013201420152016201720182019202020212022202320242025 | More stats

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Background: The hunter-gatherer San people first inhabited the area that eventually became Zimbabwe. Farming communities migrated to the area around A.D. 500 during the Bantu expansion, and Shona-speaking societies began to develop in the Limpopo valley and Zimbabwean highlands around the 9th century. These societies traded with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast and organized under the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. A series of powerful trade-oriented Shona states succeeded Mapungubwe, including the Kingdom of Zimbabwe (ca. 1220-1450), Kingdom of Mutapa (ca. 1450-1760), and the Rozwi Empire. The Rozwi Empire expelled Portuguese colonists from the Zimbabwean plateau, but the Ndebele clan of Zulu King MZILIKAZI eventually conquered the area in 1838 during the era of conflict and population displacement known as the Mfecane. In the 1880s, colonists arrived with the British South Africa Company (BSAC) and obtained a written concession for mining rights from Ndebele King LOBENGULA. The king later disavowed the concession and accused the BSAC agents of deceit. The BSAC annexed Mashonaland and then conquered Matabeleland during the First Matabele War of 1893-1894, establishing company rule over the territory. In 1923, the UK annexed BSAC holdings south of the Zambezi River, which became the British colony of Southern Rhodesia. The 1930 Land Apportionment Act restricted Black land ownership and established rules that would favor the White minority for decades. A new constitution in 1961 further cemented White minority rule. In 1965, the government under White Prime Minister Ian SMITH unilaterally declared its independence from the UK. London did not recognize Rhodesia’s independence and demanded more voting rights for the Black majority in the country. International diplomacy and an uprising by Black Zimbabweans led to biracial elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, who led the uprising and became the nation's first prime minister, was the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) from independence until 2017. In the mid-1980s, the government tortured and killed thousands of civilians in a crackdown on dissent known as the Gukurahundi campaign. Economic mismanagement and chaotic implementation of land redistribution policies periodically crippled the economy. General elections in 2002, 2008, and 2013 were severely flawed and widely condemned but allowed MUGABE to remain president. In 2017, Vice President Emmerson MNANGAGWA became president after a military intervention that forced MUGABE to resign, and MNANGAGWA cemented power by sidelining rival Grace MUGABE (Robert MUGABE’s wife). In 2018, MNANGAGWA won the presidential election, and he has maintained the government's longstanding practice of violently disrupting protests and politicizing institutions. Economic conditions remain dire under MNANGAGWA.


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Location

Geographic coordinates

Map reference

Area
Total: 390,757 km²
Land: 386,847 km²
Water: 3,910 km²
Comparative: about four times the size of Indiana; slightly larger than Montana

Land boundaries
Total: 3,229 km
Border countries (4): (4) Botswana 834 km; Mozambique 1,402 km; South Africa 230 km; Zambia 763 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
Highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m
Lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save Rivers 162 m
Mean elevation: 961 m

Natural resources

Land use
Agricultural land: 41.8% (2023 est.)
Arable land: 10.4% (2023 est.)
Permanent crops: 0.1% (2023 est.)
Permanent pasture: 31.3% (2023 est.)
Forest: 35.9% (2023 est.)
Other: 22.3% (2023 est.)

Irrigated land: 1,740 km² (2012)

Major rivers: Zambezi (shared with Zambia [s]), Angola, Namibia, Botswana, and Mozambique [m]) - 2,740 km; Limpopo (shared with South Africa [s], Botswana, and Mozambique [m]) - 1,800 km
Note: [s] after country name indicates river source; [m] after country name indicates river mouth

Major watersheds area km²

Total water withdrawal

Total renewable water resources

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

Geography
Note: landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural river boundary with Zambia; in full flood (February-April), the massive Victoria Falls on the river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water; Lake Kariba on the Zambia-Zimbabwe border forms the world's largest reservoir by volume (180 cu km; 43 m³i)


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Population
Total: 17,150,352 (2024 est.)
Male: 8,343,790
Female: 8,806,562
Distribution: aside from major urban agglomerations in Harare and Bulawayo, population distribution is fairly even, with slightly greater overall numbers in the eastern half, as shown in this population distribution map
Growth rate: 1.91% (2024 est.)

Nationality

Ethnic groups

Languages: Shona (official, most widely spoken) 80.9%, Ndebele (official, second most widely spoken) 11.5%, English (official, traditionally used for official business) 0.3%, 13 minority languages (official; includes Chewa, Chibarwe, Kalanga, Koisan, Nambya, Ndau, Shangani, sign language, Sotho, Tonga, Tswana, Venda, and Xhosa) 7%, other 0.3% (2022 est.)
Note: data represent population by mother tongue

Religions: Apostolic Sect 40.3%, Pentecostal 17%, Protestant 13.8%, other Christian 7.8%, Roman Catholic 6.4%, African traditionalist 5%, other 1.5% (includes Muslim, Jewish, Hindu), none 8.3% (2022 est.)

Demographic profile

Age structure
0-14 years: 38.3% (male 3,315,075/female 3,254,643)
15-64 years: 57.8% (male 4,758,120/female 5,152,773)
65 years and over: 3.9% (2024 est.) (male 270,595/female 399,146)

Dependency ratios
Total dependency ratio: 73 (2024 est.)
Youth dependency ratio: 66.3 (2024 est.)
Elderly dependency ratio: 6.8 (2024 est.)
Potential support ratio: 14.8 (2024 est.)

Median age
Total: 21.2 years (2024 est.)
Male: 20.3 years
Female: 22 years

Population growth rate: 1.91% (2024 est.)

Birth rate: 28.8 births/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Death rate: 6.5 deaths/1,000 population (2024 est.)

Net migration rate

Population distribution: aside from major urban agglomerations in Harare and Bulawayo, population distribution is fairly even, with slightly greater overall numbers in the eastern half, as shown in this population distribution map

Urbanization
Urban population: 32.5% of total population (2023)
Rate of urbanization: 2.41% annual rate of change (2020-25 est.)

Major urban areas
Population: 1.578 million HARARE (capital) (2023)

Environment

Air pollutants

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
0-14 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 0.92 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.68 male(s)/female
Total population: 0.95 male(s)/female (2024 est.)

Mothers mean age at first birth

Maternal mortality ratio: 358 deaths/100,000 live births (2023 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 33.4 deaths/1,000 live births (2024 est.)
Male: 37 deaths/1,000 live births
Female: 29.6 deaths/1,000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 67.2 years (2024 est.)
Male: 65.6 years
Female: 68.8 years

Total fertility rate: 3.47 children born/woman (2024 est.)

Contraceptive prevalence rate

Drinking water source
Urban: 7.2% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 52.3% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 37.7% of population (2022 est.)

Current health expenditure

Physicians density

Hospital bed density

Sanitation facility access
Urban: 2.5% of population (2022 est.)
Rural: 49.7% of population (2022 est.)
Total: 34.4% of population (2022 est.)

Hiv/Aids

Major infectious diseases

Obesity adult prevalence rate

Alcohol consumption

Tobacco use

Children under the age of 5 years underweight: 9.6% (2024 est.)

Education expenditures

Literacy

School life expectancy primary to tertiary education

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 8.6% (2024 est.); 8.8% (2023 est.); 10.1% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment


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Country name

Government type

Capital
Name: Harare
Geographic coordinates: 17 49 S, 31 02 E
Time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC, during Standard Time)
Etymology: named after a village of Harare at the site of the present capital; the village name derived from a Shona chieftain, NE-HARAWA, whose name meant 'he who does not sleep'

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

Dependent areas

Independence

National holiday

Constitution

Legal system
This entry provides descriptions of countries' legal systems, modeled on elements of five main types: civil law (including French law, the Napoleonic Code, Roman law, Roman-Dutch law, and Spanish law); common law (including United States law); customary law; mixed or pluralistic law; and religious law (including Islamic law). International law, which governs nations' interactions, and a variant known as European Union law are also addressed below. Civil law - the most widespread type, also referred to as European continental law and applied in various forms in approximately 150 countries; derived mainly from the Roman Corpus Juris Civilus (Body of Civil Law), compiled under the East Roman (Byzantine) Emperor Justinian I between A.D. 528 and 565; major feature is organization into systematic written codes; legislation -- especially codifications in constitutions or government statutes -- is considered the primary authority, and secondarily custom. Common law - often called 'English common law;' England and Wales use the system in the UK; also in force in approximately 80 countries with ties to the former British Empire; has Biblical influences and remnants of early legal systems, including Roman, Anglo-Saxon, and Norman; sometimes attributed to King Henry II (r.1154-1189); foundation is 'legal precedent,' often referred to as stare decisis ('to stand by things decided'), in which judges follow the precedent set by earlier court decisions. Customary law - also referred to as primitive law, unwritten law, indigenous law, and folk law; based on the customs of a community; serves as the basis of or has influenced the laws in approximately 40 countries; earliest legal systems were customary and usually developed in small agrarian and hunter-gatherer communities to regulate social relations; seldom written down; if a law is broken, resolution tends to be reconciliatory rather than punitive. European Union (EU) law - also known as community law or supranational law; variant of international law unique to a subset of European countries; the rights of sovereign European nations are limited in relation to one another, with EU law operating in tandem with the member states' legal systems; the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been largely responsible for its development; fundamental principles include subsidiarity (issues handled by the smallest, lowest, or least-centralized competent authority), proportionality (the EU may only act to the extent needed to achieve its objectives), conferral (EU members grant all its authorities), legal certainty (rules must be clear and precise), and precautionary principle (burden of proof falls on advocates of an action or policy, if it could cause severe or irreversible harm to the public or the environment). French law - a type of codified civil law used in France that serves as the basis for or is mixed with other legal systems in approximately 50 countries; distinguishes between 'public law,' which relates to government, the French Constitution, public administration, and criminal law, and 'private law,' which covers issues between private citizens or corporations. International law - the body of customary and treaty rules accepted as legally binding for interactions among states; three separate disciplines: public international law, which governs the relationship between provinces and international entities and includes treaty law, law of the sea, international criminal law, and international humanitarian law; private international law, which addresses legal jurisdiction; and supranational law, a legal framework of regional agreements; sources are set out in Article 38-1 of the Statute of the International Court of Justice in the UN Charter. Islamic law - the most widespread type of religious law; used in over 30 countries, particularly in the Near East but also in Central and South Asia, Africa, and Indonesia; often operates in tandem with civil law; is embodied in the sharia, an Arabic word meaning 'the right path', sharia covers all aspects of public and private life and organizes them into five categories: obligatory, recommended, permitted, disliked, and forbidden; primary sources are the Qur'an and the Sunnah; traditional Sunni Muslims also recognize ijmas, the consensus of Muhammad's companions and Islamic jurists on certain issues, and qiyas, various forms of reasoning, including analogy by legal scholars; Shia Muslims reject ijmas and qiyas as legal sources mixed law - also referred to as pluralistic law; consists of elements of some or all of the other main types of legal systems. Napoleonic Civil Code - also referred to as the Civil Code or Code Civil des Français; type of civil law that forms part of the French legal system and underpins the legal systems of Bolivia, Egypt, Lebanon, Poland, and the US state of Louisiana; established under Napoleon Bonaparte in 1804; combined Teutonic civil law tradition of France's northern provinces with Roman law tradition of the south and east; has similarities with the Roman Body of Civil Law (see civil law above); it originally addressed personal status, property, and the acquisition of property, with later additions including civil procedures, commercial law, criminal law, and a penal code. Religious law - stems from the sacred text of a religious tradition and in most cases professes to cover all aspects of life as part of devotional obligations; inalterability is implied, because the word of God cannot be amended or legislated, but human elaboration allows for a detailed legal system; main types of religious law are sharia in Islam, halakha in Judaism, and canon law in some Christian groups; sharia is the most widespread (see Islamic Law) and is the sole system for some countries; no country is fully governed by halakha, but Jewish people may decide to settle disputes through Jewish courts; canon law is considered human law inspired by God and regulates the internal ordering of the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, and the Anglican Communion. Roman law - served as the basis for legal systems developed in a number of continental European countries; developed in ancient Rome and practiced from the time of the city's founding (traditionally 753 B.C.) until the 5th century A.D.; remained the legal system of the Byzantine (Eastern) Empire until 1453; preserved fragments of the first legal text, known as the Law of the Twelve Tables, date from the 5th century B.C. and contain specific provisions designed to change prevailing customary law; basis was the idea that the exact form -- not the intention -- of words or of actions produced legal consequences. Roman-Dutch law - a type of civil law based on Roman law, as applied in the Netherlands. Roman-Dutch law is the foundation for legal systems in seven African countries, as well as Guyana, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka. It originated in the province of Holland and expanded throughout the Netherlands and was instituted in a number of sub-Saharan African countries during the Dutch colonial period. The Dutch jurist/philosopher Hugo Grotius was the first to attempt to reduce Roman-Dutch civil law into a system in his Jurisprudence of Holland (1620-21), and the Dutch historian/lawyer Simon van Leeuwen coined the term 'Roman-Dutch law' in 1652. It replaced by the French Civil Code in 1809. Spanish law - often referred to as the Spanish Civil Code; a type of civil law that is the present legal system of Spain and the basis of legal systems in 12 countries, mostly in Central and South America; mix of customary, Roman, Napoleonic, local, and modern codified law; enacted in 1889 as the Spanish Civil Code, which separates public law (constitutional law, administrative law, criminal law, process law, financial and tax law, and international public law) from private law (civil law, commercial law, labor law, and international private law). United States law - has several layers, due in part to the division between federal and state law; draws from constitutional law (based on the US Constitution, serves as the supreme federal law, with state constitutions governing state law), statutory law (federal legislation enacted by the US Congress and codified in the United States Code, or state statutes), administrative regulation (the authority delegated to federal and state executive agencies), and case law or common law (covers areas where constitutional or statutory law is lacking); case law was originally developed in England and is a collection of judicial decisions, customs, and general principles: mixed system of English common law, Roman-Dutch civil law, and customary law

International law organization participation: has not submitted an ICJ jurisdiction declaration; non-party state to the ICCt

Citizenship

Suffrage

Executive branch
Chief of state: President Emmerson Dambudzo MNANGAGWA (since 4 September 2023)
Head of government: Vice President Constantino CHIWENGA (since 11 September 2023)
Cabinet: Cabinet appointed by president, responsible to National Assembly
Election/appointment process: each presidential candidate nominated with a nomination paper signed by at least 10 registered voters (at least 1 candidate from each province) and directly elected by absolute-majority popular vote in 2 rounds, if needed, for a 5-year term (no term limits); co-vice presidents drawn from party leadership
Most recent election date: 23 August 2023
2023: Emmerson MNANGAGWA reelected president in first round; percent of vote - Emmerson MNANGAGWA (ZANU-PF) 52.6%, Nelson CHAMISA (MDC-T) 44%, Wilbert MUBAIWA (NPC) 1.2%, other 2.2%
2018: Emmerson MNANGAGWA elected president in first round; percent of vote - Emmerson MNANGAGWA (ZANU-PF) 50.7%, Nelson CHAMISA (MDC-T) 44.4%, Thokozani KHUPE (MDC-N) 0.9%, other 4%
Expected date of next election: 2,028

Legislative branch
Legislature name: Parliament
Legislative structure: bicameral

Judicial branch

Political parties and leaders

International organization participation

Diplomatic representation

Flag description: seven equal horizontal bands of green (top), yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green, with a white isosceles triangle edged in black based on the left side; in the middle of the triangle, a yellow bird is on top of a five-pointed red star

National symbols

National anthem
Title: 'Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe' [Ndebele] 'Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe' [Shona] (Blessed Be the Land of Zimbabwe)
Lyrics/music: Solomon MUTSWAIRO/Fred Lecture CHANGUNDEGA
History: adopted 1994; lyrics in the country's three main languages were written by Zimbabwean poet and academic MUTSWAIRO

National heritage
Total World Heritage Sites: 5 (3 cultural, 2 natural)
Selected World Heritage Site locales:


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Economy overview

Real gdp purchasing power parity

Real gdp growth rate: 2% (2024 est.); 5.3% (2023 est.); 6.1% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Real gdp per capita: 2% (2024 est.); 5.3% (2023 est.); 6.1% (2022 est.)
Note: annual GDP % growth based on constant local currency

Gross national saving

Gdp composition by end use
Household consumption: 91.5% (2024 est.)
Government consumption: 12.5% (2024 est.)
Investment in fixed capital: 3.6% (2024 est.)
Investment in inventories: 0.9% (2024 est.)
Exports of goods and services: 22.1% (2024 est.)
Imports of goods and services: -30.6% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to rounding or gaps in data collection

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 5.4% (2024 est.)
Industry: 31.8% (2024 est.)
Services: 55.8% (2024 est.)
Note: figures may not total 100% due to non-allocated consumption not captured in sector-reported data

Agriculture products

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

Industrial production growth rate: 2.7% (2024 est.)
Note: annual % change in industrial value added based on constant local currency

Labor force: 6.386 million (2024 est.)
Note: number of people ages 15 or older who are employed or seeking work

Unemployment rate: 8.6% (2024 est.); 8.8% (2023 est.); 10.1% (2022 est.)
Note: % of labor force seeking employment

Youth unemployment
Rate (ages 15-24): 8.6% (2024 est.); 8.8% (2023 est.); 10.1% (2022 est.)
Rate (ages 15-24) note: % of labor force seeking employment

Population below poverty line

Gini index

Household income or consumption by percentage share

Distribution of family income gini index

Budget
Revenues: $17 million (2018 est.)
Expenditures: $23 million (2018 est.)

Taxes and other revenues: 7.2% (of GDP) (2018 est.)
Note: central government tax revenue as a % of GDP

Public debt

Revenue

Fiscal year

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: $7.603 billion (2023 est.); $7.453 billion (2022 est.); $6.575 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - exports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: gold, tobacco, nickel, minerals, diamonds (2023)
Commodities note: top five export commodities based on value in dollars

Imports: $10.293 billion (2023 est.); $9.569 billion (2022 est.); $8.104 billion (2021 est.)
Note: balance of payments - imports of goods and services in current dollars
Commodities: refined petroleum, fertilizers, trucks, soybean oil, stone processing machines (2023)
Commodities note: top five import commodities based on value in dollars

Reserves of foreign exchange and gold

Debt external

Stock of direct foreign investment at home

Stock of direct foreign investment abroad

Exchange rates


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Electricity
Installed generating capacity: 2.491 million kW (2023 est.)
Consumption: 8.346 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Exports: 395 million kWh (2023 est.)
Imports: 2.297 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Transmission/distribution losses: 1.864 billion kWh (2023 est.)
Access electrification - total population: 50.1% (2022 est.)
Access electrification - urban areas: 89%
Access electrification - rural areas: 33.7%
Generation sources fossil fuels: 32.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources solar: 0.4% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources hydroelectricity: 65.7% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)
Generation sources biomass and waste: 1.5% of total installed capacity (2023 est.)

Coal
Production: 7.968 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Consumption: 6.705 million metric tons (2023 est.)
Exports: 984,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
Imports: 71,000 metric tons (2023 est.)
Proven reserves: 502 million metric tons (2023 est.)

Petroleum
Total petroleum production: 800 bbl/day (2023 est.)
Refined petroleum consumption: 34,000 bbl/day (2023 est.)

Crude oil

Refined petroleum

Natural gas

Carbon dioxide emissions: 12.578 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From coal and metallurgical coke: 7.629 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)
From petroleum and other liquids: 4.949 million metric tonnes of CO&sub2; (2023 est.)

Energy consumption per capita: 10.855 million Btu/person (2023 est.)


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Telephones
Fixed lines total subscriptions: 310,000 (2023 est.)
Fixed lines subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular total subscriptions: 15 million (2023 est.)
Mobile cellular subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 88 (2022 est.)

Telephone system

Broadcast media

Internet
Users percent of population: 38% (2023 est.)

Broadband fixed subscriptions
Total: 269,000 (2023 est.)
Subscriptions per 100 inhabitants: 2 (2023 est.)


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Military expenditures: 0.4% of GDP (2024 est.); 0.3% of GDP (2023 est.); 0.9% of GDP (2022 est.); 1.4% of GDP (2021 est.); 1% of GDP (2020 est.)

Military and security forces

Military service age and obligation

Space program

Terrorist groups


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National air transport system

Civil aircraft registration country code prefix

Airports: 144 (2025)

Heliports: 5 (2025)

Pipelines

Railways
Total: 3,427 km (2014)
Narrow gauge: 3,427 km (2014) 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified)

Roadways

Waterways

Merchant marine

Ports and terminals


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Disputes international

Refugees and internally displaced persons

Illicit drugs