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.

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 Runde and Save 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: 1930 km² (1993 est.)

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

Geography
Note: landlocked

Population
Note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected (July 2001 est.)
Growth rate: 0.15% (2001 est.)
Below poverty line: 60% (1999 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Zimbabwean
Adjective: Zimbabwean

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

Age structure
0-14 years: 38.68% (male 2,223,332; female 2,172,479)
15-64 years: 57.69% (male 3,319,982; female 3,236,286)
65 years and over: 3.63% (male 208,785; female 204,502) (2001 est.)

Population growth rate: 0.15% (2001 est.)

Birth rate: 24.68 births/1000 population (2001 est.)

Death rate: 23.22 deaths/1000 population (2001 est.)

Net migration rate
Note: there is a small but steady flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa in search of better paid employment

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
International agreements party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
International agreements signed but not ratified: none of the selected agreements

Sex ratio
At birth: 1.03 male/female
Under 15 years: 1.02 male/female
15-64 years: 1.03 male/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male/female
Total population: 1.02 male/female (2001 est.)

Infant mortality rate: 62.61 deaths/1000 live births (2001 est.)

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 37.13 years
Male: 38.51 years
Female: 35.7 years (2001 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.28 children born/woman (2001 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 25.06% (1999 est.)
People living with hivaids: 1.5 million (1999 est.)
Deaths: 160,000 (1999 est.)

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

Country name
Conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
Conventional short form: Zimbabwe
Former: Southern Rhodesia, 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 Matabeleland North Matabeleland South Midlands

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

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 Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999); 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 Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999); 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: presidential candidates nominated with a nomination paper signed by at least 10 registered voters (at least one from each province) and elected by popular vote; election last held 16-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA March 2002); co-vice presidents appointed by the president
Election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of electoral college vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 92.7%, Abel MUZOREWA 4.8%; Ndabaningi SITHOLE 2.4%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 24-25 June 2000 (next to be held NA 2006)
Election results: percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 47.2%, MDC 45.6%, ZANU-Ndonga 0.7%, United Parties 0.7%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 63, MDC 56, ZANU-Ndonga 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; High Court

Political parties and leaders: Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; Popular Democratic Front or PDF [Austin CHAKAODZA]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Ndabaningi SITHOLE]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert MUGABE]; Zimbabwe Unity Movement or ZUM [Edgar TEKERE]

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 OPCW PCA SADC UN UNCTAD UNESCO UNIDO UNMIK UNTAET UPU WCL WFTU WHO WIPO WMO WToO WTrO

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Simbi Veke MUBAKO
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 (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Earl M. IRVING
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) 250-593
From the us fax: [263] (4) 796,487

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

Economy overview: The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles to consolidate earlier moves to develop a market-oriented economy. Its involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for example has already drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF suffers delays in part because of the country's failure to meet budgetary goals. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 59% in 1999 and 60% in 2000. The economy is being steadily weakened by excessive government deficits and AIDS; Zimbabwe has the highest rate of infection in the world. Per capita GDP which is twice the average of the poorer sub-Saharan nations will increase little if any in the near-term and Zimbabwe will suffer continued frustrations in developing its agricultural and mineral resources.

Real gdp growth rate: -6.1% (2000 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 28%
Industry: 32%
Services: 40% (1997 est.)

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

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

Industrial production growth rate: NA%

Labor force: 5.5 million (2000 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 66%
By occupation services: 24%
By occupation industry: 10% (1996 est.)

Unemployment rate: 50% (2000 est.)

Population below poverty line: 60% (1999 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.8%
Highest 10: 46.9% (1990)

Budget
Revenues: $2.5 billion
Expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $279 million (FY96/97 est.)

Fiscal year: 1 July - 30 June

Inflation rate consumer prices: 60% (2000 est.)

Exports: $1.8 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: tobacco 29% gold 7% ferroalloys 7% cotton 5% (1999 est.)
Partners: South Africa 10% UK 9% Malawi 8% Botswana 8% Japan 7% (1999 est.)

Imports: $1.3 billion (f.o.b. 2000 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment 35% other manufactures 18% chemicals 17% fuels 14% (1999 est.)
Partners: South Africa 46% UK 6% China 4% Germany 4% US 3% (1999 est.)

Debt external: $4.1 billion (2000 est.)

Exchange rates: Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 54.9451 (January 2001) 43.2900 (2000) 38.3142 (1999) 21.4133 (1998) 11.8906 (1997) 9.9206 (1996)

Electricity
Production: 5.78 billion kWh (1999)
Production by source fossil fuel: 69.98%
Production by source hydro: 30.02%
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Production by source other: 0% (1999)
Consumption: 6.939 billion kWh (1999)
Exports: 0 kWh (1999)
Imports: 1.564 billion kWh (1999)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 212,000 (in addition there are about 20,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997)
Mobile cellular: 70,000 (1999)

Telephone system
General assessment: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; more than 100,000 outstanding requests for connection despite an equally large number of installed but unused main lines
Domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, radiotelephone communication stations, fixed wireless local loop installations, and a substantial mobile cellular network; Internet connection is available in Harare and planned for all major towns and for some of the smaller ones
International: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; two international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru)

Internet
Country code: .zw
Service providers isps: 6 (2000)
Users: 30,000 (1999)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $127 million (FY99/00)
Percent of gdp: 3.1% (FY99/00)

Airports: 455 (2000 est.)
With paved runways total: 18
With paved runways over 3047 m: 3
With paved runways 2438 to 3047 m: 2
With paved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With paved runways 914 to 1523 m: 9 (2000 est.)
With unpaved runways total: 437
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 209
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 224 (2000 est.)

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.)

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