Background: The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete 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. His chaotic land redistribution campaign begun in 2000 caused an exodus of white farmers crippled the economy and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. Opposition and labor groups launched general strikes in 2003 to pressure MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents.

Geographic coordinates: 20 00 S 30 00 E

Map reference: Africa

Area
Total: 390,580 km²
Water: 3,910 km²
Land: 386,670 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: 8.4%
Permanent crops: 0.34%
Other: 91.26% (1998 est.)

Irrigated land: 1170 km² (1998 est.)

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

Geography
Note: landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zambia; in full flood (February-April) the massive Victoria Falls on the river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water

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 2003 est.)
Growth rate: 0.83% (2003 est.)
Below poverty line: 70% (2002 est.)

Nationality
Noun: Zimbabwean
Adjective: Zimbabwean

Ethnic groups: African 98% (Shona 82% Ndebele 14% other 2%) 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: 39.7% (male 2,517,608; female 2,471,342)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 3,600,832; female 3,542,497)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 224,631; female 219,832) (2003 est.)

Median age
Total: 18.9 years
Female: 18.9 years (2002)
Male: 18.9 years

Population growth rate: 0.83% (2003 est.)

Birth rate: 30.34 births/1000 population (2003 est.)

Death rate: 22.02 deaths/1000 population (2003 est.)

Net migration rate
Note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2003 est.)

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; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution
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: 1.02 male/female
65 years and over: 1.02 male/female
Total population: 1.02 male/female (2003 est.)

Infant mortality rate
Total: 66.47 deaths/1000 live births
Female: 63.69 deaths/1000 live births (2003 est.)
Male: 69.17 deaths/1000 live births

Life expectancy at birth
Total population: 39.01 years
Male: 40.09 years
Female: 37.89 years (2003 est.)

Total fertility rate: 3.66 children born/woman (2003 est.)

Hivaids
Adult prevalence rate: 33.7% (2001 est.)
People living with hivaids: 2.3 million (2001 est.)
Deaths: 200,000 (2001 est.)

Literacy
Definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
Total population: 90.7%
Male: 94.2%
Female: 87.2% (2003 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); 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); 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 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2008); co-vice presidents appointed by the president
Election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 56.2%, Morgan TSVANGIRAI 41.9%

Legislative branch
Elections: last held 24-25 June 2000 (next to be held NA 2005)
Election results: percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 48.6%, MDC 47.0%, other 4.4%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 62, MDC 57, ZANU-Ndonga 1

Judicial branch: Supreme Court; High Court

Political parties and leaders: Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; National Alliance for Good Governance or NAGG [Shakespeare MAYA]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Wilson KUMBULA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE]; Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Agrippa MADLELA]

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

Diplomatic representation
In the us chief of mission: Ambassador Simbi Veke MUBAKO
In the us fax: [1] (202) 483-9,326
In the us telephone: [1] (202) 332-7,100
In the us chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20,009
From the us chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph G. SULLIVAN
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 and 250-594
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 isosceles triangle edged in black with its base on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird representing the long history of the country is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle which symbolizes peace; green symbolizes agriculture yellow - mineral wealth red - blood shed to achieve independence and black stands for the native people

Economy overview: The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit an overvalued exchange rate soaring inflation and bare shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for example drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the country's failure to meet budgetary goals. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 59% in 1999 to 60% in 2000 to over 100% by yearend 2001 to 228% in early 2003. The government's land reform program characterized by chaos and violence has nearly destroyed the commercial farming sector the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs.

Real gdp growth rate: -13% (2002 est.)

Real gdp per capita: purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2002 est.)

Gdp composition by sector of origin
Agriculture: 18%
Industry: 24%
Services: 58% (2001)

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: -3.1% (2002 est.)

Labor force: 5.8 million (2000 est.)
By occupation agriculture: 66%
By occupation services: 24%
By occupation industry: 10% (1996)

Unemployment rate: 70% (2002 est.)

Population below poverty line: 70% (2002 est.)

Household income or consumption by percentage share
Lowest 10: 1.97%
Highest 10: 40.42% (1995)

Distribution of family income gini index: 50.1 (1995)

Budget
Revenues: $2.5 billion
Expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000)

Fiscal year: 1 January - 31 December

Inflation rate consumer prices: 134.5% (2002 est.)

Exports: $1.57 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Commodities: tobacco gold ferroalloys textiles/clothing
Partners: China 6% South Africa 5.7% Germany 5.4% UK 4.8% Japan 4.7% Netherlands 4.4% US 4.1% (2002)

Imports: $1.739 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.)
Commodities: machinery and transport equipment other manufactures chemicals fuels
Partners: South Africa 47.7% Congo Democratic Republic of the 5.7% Mozambique 5.3% (2002)

Debt external: $3.9 billion (2002 est.)

Exchange rates: Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 55 (2002) 55.05 (2001) 44.42 (2000) 38.3 (1999) 23.68 (1998)

Electricity
Production: 6.735 billion kWh (2001)
Production by source fossil fuel: 47%
Production by source hydro: 53%
Production by source other: 0% (2001)
Production by source nuclear: 0%
Consumption: 9.813 billion kWh (2001)
Exports: 0 kWh (2001)
Imports: 3.55 billion kWh (2001)

Telephones
Main lines in use: 212,000 (in addition there are about 20,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997)
Mobile cellular: 111,000 (2001)

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: 100,000 (2002)

Military expenditures
Dollar figure: $625.1 million (FY02)
Percent of gdp: 3.2% (FY02)

Airports: 430 (2002)
With paved runways total: 17
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: 8 (2002)
With unpaved runways total: 413
With unpaved runways 15-24 to 2437 m: 4
With unpaved runways 914 to 1523 m: 197
With unpaved runways under 914 m: 212 (2002)

Pipelines: refined products 261 km (2003)

Railways
Total: 3,077 km
Narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified)
Note: includes the 318 km Bulawayo-Beitbridge Railway Company line (2002)

Waterways: chrome ore is transported from Harare - by way of the Mazoe River - to the Zambezi River in Mozambique

Disputes international: dormant dispute remains where Botswana Namibia Zambia and Zimbabwe boundaries converge

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