from
CIA World Factbook 2006
Zimbabwe
Introduction
Background: 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. Opposition and labor
strikes in 2003 were unsuccessful in pressuring MUGABE
to retire early; security forces continued their brutal
repression of regime opponents. 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, according to UN estimates.
Geography
Location: Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia
Geographic 20 00 S, 30 00 E
coordinates:
Map Africa
references:
Area: total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km
water: 3,910 sq km
Area - slightly larger than Montana
comparative:
Land total: 3,066 km
boundaries: border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km,
South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km
Coastline: 0 km (landlocked)
Maritime none (landlocked)
claims:
Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November
to March)
Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high
veld); mountains in east
Elevation lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162
extremes: m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m
Natural coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper,
resources: iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals
Land use: arable land: 8.24%
permanent crops: 0.33%
other: 91.43% (2005)
Irrigated 1,740 sq km (2003)
land:
Natural recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare
hazards:
Environment - deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and
current water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the
issues: 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 - party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change,
international Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea,
agreements: Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected
agreements
Geography - landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine
note: 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
Population: 12,236,805
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 2006
est.)
Age structure: 0-14 years: 37.4% (male 2,307,170/female 2,265,298)
15-64 years: 59.1% (male 3,616,528/female 3,621,190)
65 years and over: 3.5% (male 199,468/female 227,151)
(2006 est.)
Median age: total: 19.9 years
male: 19.7 years
female: 20 years (2006 est.)
Population 0.62% (2006 est.)
growth rate:
Birth rate: 28.01 births/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Death rate: 21.84 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.)
Net migration 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
rate: note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into
South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic
opportunities (2006 est.)
Sex ratio: at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female
15-64 years: 1 male(s)/female
65 years and over: 0.88 male(s)/female
total population: 1 male(s)/female (2006 est.)
Infant total: 51.71 deaths/1,000 live births
mortality male: 54.5 deaths/1,000 live births
rate: female: 48.83 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.)
Life total population: 39.29 years
expectancy at male: 40.39 years
birth: female: 38.16 years (2006 est.)
Total 3.13 children born/woman (2006 est.)
fertility
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 24.6% (2001 est.)
adult
prevalence
rate:
HIV/AIDS - 1.8 million (2001 est.)
people living
with HIV/AIDS:
HIV/AIDS - 170,000 (2003 est.)
deaths:
Major degree of risk: high
infectious food or waterborne diseases: bacterial diarrhea,
diseases: hepatitis A, and typhoid
vectorborne disease: malaria
water contact disease: schistosomiasis (2005)
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.)
Government
Country name: conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe
former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia
Government parliamentary democracy
type:
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 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status;
divisions: Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central,
Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo,
Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands
Independence: 18 April 1980 (from UK)
National Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
holiday:
Constitution: 21 December 1979
Legal system: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law
Suffrage: 18 years of age; universal
Executive chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel
branch: MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice President Joseph
MSIKA (since December 1999) and Vice President Joyce
MUJURU (since 6 December 2004); 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); Vice President Joseph
MSIKA (since December 1999) and Vice President Joyce
MUJURU (since 6 December 2004); 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 for a six-year term (no term limits);
election last held 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held
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 bicameral Parliament consists of a House of Assembly
branch: (150 seats - 120 elected by popular vote for five-year
terms, 12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by
traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and eight
occupied by provincial governors appointed by the
president) and a Senate (66 seats - 50 elected by
popular vote for a five-year term, six nominated by the
president, 10 nominated by the Council of Chiefs)
elections: House of Assembly last held 31 March 2005
(next to be held in 2010), Senate last held 26 November
2005 (next to be held in 2010)
election results: House of Assembly - percent of vote
by party - ZANU-PF 59.6%, MDC 39.5%, other 0.9%; seats
by party - ZANU-PF 78, MDC 41, independents 1; Senate -
percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 73.7%, MDC 20.3%,
other 4.4%, independents 1.6%; seats by party - ZANU-PF
43, MDC 7
Judicial Supreme Court; High Court
branch:
Political African National Party or ANP; Movement for Democratic
parties and Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; Peace Action is
leaders: Freedom for All or PAFA; United Parties [Abel
MUZOREWA]; United People's Party [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 Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Wellington CHIBEBE];
pressure National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore
groups and MADHUKU]; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU
leaders: [Lovemore MATOMBO]
International ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD,
organization ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC,
participation: IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO,
ITU, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO,
UNIDO, UNMIS, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO,
WToO, WTO
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Machivenyika T.
representation MAPURANGA
in the US: chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC
20009
telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100
FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326
Diplomatic chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher W. DELL
representation embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare
from the US: mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare
telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594
FAX: [263] (4) 796-488
Flag seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red,
description: 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
Economy - The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of
overview: 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
government's arrears on past loans, which it began
repaying in 2005. The official annual inflation rate
rose from 32% in 1998, to 133% at the end of 2004, and
585% at the end of 2005, although private sector
estimates put the figure much higher. Meanwhile, the
official exchange rate fell from 24 Zimbabwean dollars
per US dollar in 1998 to 96,000 in mid-January 2006.
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.
GDP $25.69 billion (2005 est.)
(purchasing
power parity):
GDP (official $3.207 billion (2005 est.)
exchange
rate):
GDP - real -7.7% (2005 est.)
growth rate:
GDP - per $2,100 (2005 est.)
capita (PPP):
GDP - agriculture: 17.9%
composition by industry: 24.3%
sector: services: 57.9% (2005 est.)
Labor force: 3.94 million (2005 est.)
Labor force - agriculture: 66%
by occupation: industry: 10%
services: 24% (1996)
Unemployment 80% (2005 est.)
rate:
Population 80% (2004 est.)
below poverty
line:
Household lowest 10%: 2%
income or highest 10%: 40.4% (1995)
consumption by
percentage
share:
Distribution 56.8 (2003)
of family
income - Gini
index:
Inflation rate 266.8% official data; private sector estimates are much
(consumer higher (2005 est.)
prices):
Investment 7.9% of GDP (2005 est.)
(gross fixed):
Budget: revenues: $1.409 billion
expenditures: $1.905 billion; including capital
expenditures of $NA (2005 est.)
Public debt: 109.8% of GDP (2005 est.)
Agriculture - corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane,
products: peanuts; sheep, goats, pigs
Industries: mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin,
clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel;
wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing
and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages
Industrial 3.6% (2005 est.)
production
growth rate:
Electricity - 8.877 billion kWh (2003)
production:
Electricity - fossil fuel: 47%
production by hydro: 53%
source: nuclear: 0%
other: 0% (2001)
Electricity - 11.22 billion kWh (2003)
consumption:
Electricity - 0 kWh (2003)
exports:
Electricity - 3.3 billion kWh (2003)
imports:
Oil - 0 bbl/day (2003 est.)
production:
Oil - 22,500 bbl/day (2003 est.)
consumption:
Oil - exports: 0 bbl/day
Oil - imports: 23,000 bbl/day
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
production:
Natural gas - 0 cu m (2003 est.)
consumption:
Current $-519 million (2005 est.)
account
balance:
Exports: $1.644 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Exports - cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing
commodities:
Exports - South Africa 32.8%, China 7.4%, Japan 6.3%, Zambia
partners: 5.2%, Netherlands 5%, US 4.6%, Italy 4.2%, Germany 4.1%
(2005)
Imports: $2.059 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
Imports - machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures,
commodities: chemicals, fuels
Imports - South Africa 42.9%, China 4.6%, Botswana 3.3% (2005)
partners:
Reserves of $160 million (2005 est.)
foreign
exchange and
gold:
Debt - $5.216 billion (2005 est.)
external:
Economic aid - $178 million; note - the EU and the US provide food aid
recipient: on humanitarian grounds (2000 est.)
Currency Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD)
(code):
Currency code: ZWD
Exchange Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 4,303.28 (2005),
rates: 5,068.66 (2004), 697.424 (2003), 55.036 (2002), 55.052
(2001)
note: these are official exchange rates; non-official
rates vary significantly
Fiscal year: calendar year
Communications
Telephones - 328,000 (2005)
main lines in
use:
Telephones - 699,000 (2005)
mobile
cellular:
Telephone general assessment: system was once one of the best in
system: 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; two international digital
gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru)
Radio AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1
broadcast (1998)
stations:
Radios: 1.14 million (1997)
Television 16 (1997)
broadcast
stations:
Televisions: 370,000 (1997)
Internet .zw
country code:
Internet 7,954 (2006)
hosts:
Internet 6 (2000)
Service
Providers
(ISPs):
Internet 1 million (2005)
users:
Transportation
Airports: 403 (2006)
Airports - total: 17
with paved over 3,047 m: 3
runways: 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4
914 to 1,523 m: 8 (2006)
Airports - total: 386
with unpaved 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5
runways: 914 to 1,523 m: 187
under 914 m: 194 (2006)
Pipelines: refined products 261 km (2006)
Railways: total: 3,077 km
narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km
electrified) (2005)
Roadways: total: 97,440 km
paved: 18,514 km
unpaved: 78,926 km (2002)
Waterways: on Lake Kariba, length small (2005)
Ports and Binga, Kariba
terminals:
Military
Military Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army,
branches: Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police
(2005)
Military 18 years of age (est.) (2004)
service age
and
obligation:
Manpower males age 18-49: 2,778,404
available for females age 18-49: 2,681,531 (2005 est.)
military
service:
Manpower fit males age 18-49: 1,304,424
for military females age 18-49: 1,115,096 (2005 est.)
service:
Military $124.7 million (2005 est.)
expenditures -
dollar figure:
Military 4% (2005 est.)
expenditures -
percent of
GDP:
Transnational
Issues
Disputes - Botswana has built electric fences and South Africa has
international: 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 IDPs: 400,000-450,000 (MUGABE-led political violence,
internally human rights violations, land reform, and economic
displaced collapse) (2005)
persons:
Trafficking in current situation: Zimbabwe is a source, transit, and
persons: destination country for women and children trafficked
for forced labor and sexual exploitation; children may
be trafficked internally for forced agricultural labor,
domestic servitude, and sexual exploitation; women and
girls are lured out of the country to South Africa,
China, Egypt, and Zambia with false job or scholarship
promises that result in domestic servitude or
commercial sexual exploitation; there are reports of
South African employers demanding sex from undocumented
Zimbabwean workers under threat of deportation; women
and children from Malawi, Zambia, and the Democratic
Republic of the Congo transit Zimbabwe en route to
South Africa; small numbers of South African girls are
trafficked to Zimbabwe for domestic labor
tier rating: Tier 3 - Zimbabwe does not fully comply
with the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do
so
Illicit drugs: transit point for African cannabis and South Asian
heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the
South African and European markets