The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia
from the [British] 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, which began 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. The ruling ZANU-PF party used fraud and
intimidation to win a two-thirds majority in the March 2005
parliamentary election, allowing it to amend the constitution at will
and recreate the Senate, which had been abolished in the late 1980s. In
April 2005, Harare embarked on Operation Restore Order, ostensibly an
urban rationalization program, which resulted in the destruction of the
homes or businesses of 700,000 mostly poor supporters of the opposition.
President MUGABE in June 2007 instituted price controls on all basic
commodities causing panic buying and leaving store shelves empty for
months. General elections held in March 2008 contained irregularities
but still amounted to a censure of the ZANU-PF-led government with the
opposition winning a majority of seats in parliament. MDC opposition
leader Morgan TSVANGIRAI won the most votes in the presidential polls,
but not enough to win outright. In the lead up to a run-off election in
late June 2008, considerable violence enacted against opposition party
members led to the withdrawal of TSVANGIRAI from the ballot. Extensive
evidence of vote tampering and ballot-box stuffing resulted in
international condemnation of the process. Difficult negotiations over a
power-sharing government, in which MUGABE remained president and
TSVANGIRAI became prime minister, were finally settled in February 2009,
although the leaders have yet failed to agree upon many key outstanding
governmental issues.
Geography ::Zimbabwe
Location:
Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia
Geographic coordinates:
20 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 390,757 sq km
land:
386,847 sq km
water:
3,910 sq km
Area - comparative:
slightly larger than Montana
Land boundaries:
total: 3,066 km
border countries:
Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km
Coastline:
0 km (landlocked)
Maritime claims:
none (landlocked)
Climate:
Current Weather
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
highest point:
Inyangani 2,592 m
Natural resources:
coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals
recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare
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
Environment - international agreements:
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified:
none of the selected agreements
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
People ::Zimbabwe
Population:
11,651,858
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, higher death rates, lower population growth rates, and
changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would
otherwise be expected (July 2010 est.)
65 years and over:
3.9% (male 193,816/female 258,230) (2010 est.)
Median age:
total: 17.8 years
male:
16.7 years
female:
18.9 years (2010 est.)
Population growth rate:
2.954% (2010 est.)
3
Birth rate:
31.57 births/1,000 population (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 43
Death rate:
14.9 deaths/1,000 population (July 2010 est.)
5
Net migration rate:
NA
note:there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2009 est.)
Urbanization:
urban population: 37% of total population (2008)
rate of urbanization:
2.2% annual rate of change (2005-10 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years:
1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years:
0.83 male(s)/female
65 years and over:
0.75 male(s)/female
total population:
0.91 male(s)/female (2010 est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 30.9 deaths/1,000 live births
male:
33.44 deaths/1,000 live births
female:
28.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2010 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 47.55 years
19
male:
47.98 years
female:
47.11 years (2010 est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.66 children born/woman (2010 est.)
country comparison to the world: 47
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
15.3% (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 6
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.3 million (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 7
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
140,000 (2007 est.)
country comparison to the world: 5
Major infectious diseases:
degree of risk: high
food or waterborne diseases:
bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A, and typhoid fever
vectorborne disease:
malaria
water contact disease:
schistosomiasis
animal contact disease:
rabies (2009)
Nationality:
noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective:
Zimbabwean
Ethnic groups:
African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1%
Religions:
syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%
Languages:
English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects
Literacy:
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population:
90.7%
male:
94.2%
female:
87.2% (2003 est.)
School life expectancy (primary to tertiary education):
total: 9 years
male:
9 years
female:
9 years (2003)
Education expenditures:
4.6% of GDP (2000)
Government ::Zimbabwe
Country name:
conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form:
Zimbabwe
former:
Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia
Government type:
parliamentary democracy
Capital:
name: Harare
geographic coordinates:
17 50 S, 31 03 E
time difference:
UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time)
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 the UK)
National holiday:
Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
Constitution:
21 December 1979
Legal system:
mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Executive branch:
chief of state: Executive
President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice
President John NKOMO (since December 2009) and Vice President Joyce
MUJURU (since 6 December 2004)
head of government:
Prime Minister Morgan TSVANGIRAI (since 11 February 2009); Deputy Prime Minister Arthur MUTAMBARA
cabinet:
Cabinet appointed by the president and prime minister; 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 for a five-year term (no term limits); elections last held
on 28 March 2008 followed by a run-off on 27 June 2008 (next to be held
in 2013); co-vice presidents drawn from party leadership
election results:
Robert
Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of vote - Robert Gabriel
MUGABE 85.5%, Morgan TSVANGIRAI 9.3%, other 5.2%; note - first round
voting results - Morgan TSVANGIRAI 47.9%, Robert Gabriel MUGABE 43.2%,
Simba MAKONI 8.3%, other 0.6%; first-round round polls were deemed to be
flawed suppressing TSVANGIRAI's results; the 27 June 2008 run-off
between MUGABE and TSVANGIRAI was severely flawed and internationally
condemned
Legislative branch:
bicameral Parliament
consists of a Senate (93 seats - 60 members elected by popular vote for a
five-year term, 10 provincial governors nominated by the president and
the prime minister, 16 traditional chiefs elected by the Council of
Chiefs, 2 seats held by the president and deputy president of the
Council of Chiefs, and 5 members appointed by the president) and a House
of Assembly (210 seats - members elected by popular vote for five-year
terms)
elections:
last held on 28 March 2008 (next to be held in 2013)
election results:
Senate
- percent of vote by party - MDC 51.6%, ZANU-PF 45.8%, other 2.6%;
seats by party - MDC 30, ZANU-PF 30; House of Assembly - percent of vote
by party - MDC 51.3%, ZANU-PF 45.8%, other 2.9%; seats by party - MDC
109, ZANU-PF 97, other 4
Judicial branch:
Supreme Court; High Court
Political parties and leaders:
African National Party or
ANP [Egypt DZINEMUNHENZVA]; Movement for Democratic Change or MDC
[Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; Movement for Democratic Change - Mutambara or MDC-M
[Arthur MUTAMBARA] (splinter faction of the MDC); Peace Action is
Freedom for All or PAFA; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; United People's
Party or UPP [Daniel SHUMBA]; 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]; Zimbabwe Youth in Alliance or ZIYA
Political pressure groups and leaders:
Crisis in Zimbabwe
Coalition; National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU];
Women of Zimbabwe Arise or WOZA [Jenny WILLIAMS]; Zimbabwe Congress of
Trade Unions or ZCTU [Wellington CHIBEBE]
chief of mission: Ambassador Machivenyika MAPURANGA
chancery:
1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009
telephone:
[1] (202) 332-7100
FAX:
[1] (202) 483-9326
Diplomatic representation from the US:
chief of mission: Ambassador Charles RAY
embassy:
172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare
mailing address:
P. O. Box 3340, Harare
telephone:
[263] (4) 250-593 through 250-594
FAX:
[263] (4) 796-488, or 722-618
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 represents agriculture, yellow mineral
wealth, red the blood shed to achieve independence, and black stands for
the native people
Economy ::Zimbabwe
Economy - overview:
The government of Zimbabwe faces a
wide variety of difficult economic problems. Its 1998-2002 involvement
in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of
millions of dollars from the economy. The government's land reform
program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the
commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign
exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs, turning Zimbabwe into a net
importer of food products. The EU and the US provide food aid on
humanitarian grounds. Until early 2009, the Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe
routinely printed money to fund the budget deficit, causing
hyperinflation. The power-sharing government formed in February 2009 has
led to some economic improvements, including the cessation of
hyperinflation by eliminating the use of the Zimbabwe dollar and
removing price controls. The economy is registering its first growth in a
decade, but will be reliant on further political improvement for
greater growth.
GDP (purchasing power parity):
$332 million (2009 est.)
11
$320.2 million (2008 est.)
$374 million (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP (official exchange rate):
$3.598 billion
note:in
2009, the Zimbabwean dollar was taken out of circulation, making
Zimbabwe's GDP at the official exchange rate a highly inaccurate
statistic
GDP - real growth rate:
3.7% (2009 est.)
-14.4% (2008 est.)
-5.6% (2007 est.)
GDP - per capita (PPP):
Less than $100 (2009 est.)
$200 (2008 est.)
Less than $100 (2007 est.)
note:data are in 2009 US dollars
GDP - composition by sector:
agriculture: 19.1%
industry:
23.9%
services:
56.9% (2009 est.)
Labor force:
3.84 million (2009 est.)
Labor force - by occupation:
agriculture: 66%
industry:
10%
services:
24% (1996)
Unemployment rate:
95% (2009 est.)
00
80% (2005 est.)
Population below poverty line:
68% (2004)
Household income or consumption by percentage share:
lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%:
40.4% (1995)
Distribution of family income - Gini index:
50.1 (2006)
5
50.1 (1995)
Investment (gross fixed):
21.5% of GDP (2009 est.)
Budget:
revenues: $133 million
expenditures:
$258 million (2008 est.)
Public debt:
282.6% of GDP (2009 est.)
247% of GDP (2008 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices):
5.1% (2009 est.)
45
14.9 billion% (2008 est.)
Central bank discount rate:
NA% (31 December 2008)
975% (31 December 2007)
Commercial bank prime lending rate:
NA% (31 December 2008)
578.96% (31 December 2007)
Stock of money:
$NA (31 December 2008)
$14.18 trillion (31 December 2007)
note:this
number reflects the vastly overvalued official exchange rate of 30,000
Zimbabwe dollars per US dollar; at an unofficial rate of 800,000
Zimbabwe dollars per US dollar, the stock of Zimbabwe dollars would
equal only about US$500 million and Zimbabwe's velocity of money (the
number of times money turns over in the course of a year) would be nine,
in line with the velocity of money for other countries in the region
South Africa 32.4%,
Democratic Republic of the Congo 9.8%, Botswana 8.8%, China 5.6%, Zambia
4.8%, Japan 4.5%, Italy 4.5%, US 4.3% (2008)
Imports:
$2.413 billion (2009 est.)
45
$1.915 billion (2008 est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels, food products
Imports - partners:
South Africa 59.9%, China 4.2%, Botswana 3.7% (2008)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$351 million (31 December 2009 est.)
43
$96 million (31 December 2008 est.)
Debt - external:
$5.821 billion (31 December 2009 est.)
$5.669 billion (31 December 2008 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
$NA
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
$NA
Exchange rates:
Zimbabwean dollars (ZWD) per US dollar - 234.25 (2008), 30,000 (2007), 162.07 (2006), 77.965 (2005)
note:these are official exchange rates; non-official rates vary significantly
Communications ::Zimbabwe
Telephones - main lines in use:
354,000 (2008)
11
Telephones - mobile cellular:
1.655 million (2008)
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:
country code - 263; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; 2 international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru)
Radio broadcast stations:
AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998)
Television broadcast stations:
16 (1997)
Internet country code:
.zw
Internet hosts:
29,094 (2009)
Internet users:
1.421 million (2008)
Transportation ::Zimbabwe
Airports:
215 (2009)
8
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 19
over 3,047 m:
3
2,438 to 3,047 m:
2
1,524 to 2,437 m:
5
914 to 1,523 m:
9 (2009)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 196
1,524 to 2,437 m:
3
914 to 1,523 m:
119
under 914 m:
74 (2009)
Pipelines:
refined products 270 km (2009)
Railways:
total: 3,077 km
country comparison to the world: 55
narrow gauge:
3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) (2008)
Roadways:
total: 97,267 km
country comparison to the world: 46
paved:
18,481 km
unpaved:
78,786 km (2002)
Waterways:
on Lake Kariba (2008)
Ports and terminals:
Binga, Kariba
Military ::Zimbabwe
Military branches:
Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA), Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police (ZRP) (2009)
Military service age and obligation:
18-24 years of age for compulsory military service; women are eligible to serve (2007)
Manpower available for military service:
males age 16-49: 2,366,038
females age 16-49:
2,742,036 (2010 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49: 1,327,894
females age 16-49:
1,525,815 (2010 est.)
Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:
male: 155,117
female:
152,875 (2010 est.)
Military expenditures:
3.8% of GDP (2006)
country comparison to the world: 30
Transnational Issues ::Zimbabwe
Disputes - international:
Botswana built electric fences and
South Africa has placed military along the border to stem the flow of
thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political
persecution; Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped
objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over
the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly
delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river
Refugees and internally displaced persons:
refugees (country of origin): 2,500 (Democratic Republic of Congo)
IDPs:
569,685 (MUGABE-led political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse) (2007)
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Zimbabwe
is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and
children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual
exploitation; large scale migration of Zimbabweans to surrounding
countries - as they flee a progressively more desperate situation at
home - has increased; rural Zimbabwean men, women, and children are
trafficked internally to farms for agricultural labor and domestic
servitude and to cities for domestic labor and commercial sexual
exploitation; NGOs believe internal trafficking increased during the
year, largely due to the closure of schools, worsening political
violence, and a faltering economy; young men and boys are trafficked to
South Africa for farm work, often laboring for months in South Africa
without pay before "employers" have them arrested and deported as
illegal immigrants; young women and girls are lured abroad with false
employment offers that result in involuntary domestic servitude or
commercial sexual exploitation; men, women, and children from
neighboring states are trafficked through Zimbabwe en route to South
Africa
tier rating:
Tier
3 - the Government of Zimbabwe does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making
significant efforts to do so; the government made minimal progress in
combating trafficking in 2008, and members of its military and the
former ruling party's youth militias perpetrated acts of trafficking on
local populations; anti-trafficking efforts were further weakened as it
failed to address Zimbabwe's economic and social problems during the
reporting period, thus increasing the population's vulnerability to
trafficking within and outside of the country (2009)
Illicit drugs:
transit point for cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines en route to South Africa
