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, according to UN estimates. President MUGABE in June
2007 instituted price controls on all basic commodities causing panic
buying and leaving store shelves empty for months. In October 2007,
Constitutional Amendment 18 came into effect allowing for harmonized
presidential and parliamentary elections, shortening the length of the
presidential term to five years, and moving up the date for parliamentary
elections. General elections are expected in March 2008.
Geography
Zimbabwe
Location:
Southern Africa, between South
Africa and Zambia
Geographic coordinates:
20 00 S, 30 00 E
Map references:
Africa
Area:
total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 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:
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
total: 4.21 cu km/yr
(14%/7%/79%) per capita: 324 cu m/yr (2002)
Natural hazards:
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:
12,382,920 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 2008 est.)
total: 20.3 years
male: 20.2 years female: 20.4 years (2008 est.)
Population growth rate:
0.568% (2008 est.)
Birth rate:
27.38 births/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Death rate:
21.7 deaths/1,000 population
(2008 est.)
Net migration rate:
NA note: there is an
increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of
better economic opportunities (2008 est.)
Sex ratio:
at birth: 1.03
male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64
years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.83
male(s)/female total population: 1.01 male(s)/female (2008
est.)
Infant mortality rate:
total: 50.58
deaths/1,000 live births male: 53.29 deaths/1,000 live births
female: 47.8 deaths/1,000 live births (2008 est.)
Life expectancy at birth:
total population: 39.73
years male: 40.87 years female: 38.55 years (2008
est.)
Total fertility rate:
3.03 children born/woman (2008
est.)
HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate:
24.6% (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS:
1.8 million (2001 est.)
HIV/AIDS - deaths:
170,000 (2003 est.)
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 (2008)
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
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 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); 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) 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 five-year term (no term limits); election last held 9-11 March
2002 (next to be held 28 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:
bicameral Parliament consists
of a Senate (83 seats - 50 elected by popular vote for a five-year term,
10 provincial governors nominated by the president, 16 provincial chiefs
appointed by the president and deputy president from all provinces except
Harare and Bulawayo, and 7 appointed by the president) and a House of
Assembly (120 seats - all elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: Senate last held 26 November 2005 (next to be held
28 March 2008; House of Assembly last held 31 March 2005 (next to be held
28 March 2008) election results: 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; 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
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, anti-Senate faction; Arthur MUTAMBARA, pro-Senate faction];
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
[Xolani ZITHA]; 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 Marina Annette VALERE 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 James D. MCGEE embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue,
Harare mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare
telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594 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
Zimbabwe
Economy - overview:
The government of Zimbabwe
faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with
an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued official exchange rate,
hyperinflation, and bare store shelves. 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.
Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the
government's arrears on past loans and the government's unwillingness to
enact reforms that would stabilize the economy. The Reserve Bank of
Zimbabwe routinely prints money to fund the budget deficit, causing the
official annual inflation rate to rise from 32% in 1998, to 133% in 2004,
585% in 2005, passed 1000% in 2006, and 26000% in November 2007. Private
sector estimates of inflation in 2007 are well above 100,000%. Meanwhile,
the official exchange rate fell from approximately 1 (revalued) Zimbabwean
dollar per US dollar in 2003 to 30,000 per US dollar in 2007.
South Africa 24.8%, Democratic
Republic of the Congo 17.6%, Botswana 15.7%, US 10.4% (2006)
Imports:
$2.183 billion f.o.b. (2007
est.)
Imports - commodities:
machinery and transport
equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels
Imports - partners:
South Africa 40.8%, Zambia
29.6%, US 4.9% (2006)
Economic aid - recipient:
$367.7 million (2005 est.)
Reserves of foreign exchange and gold:
$120 million (31 December 2007
est.)
Debt - external:
$4.876 billion (31 December
2007 est.)
Stock of direct foreign investment - at home:
Stock of direct foreign investment - abroad:
Market value of publicly traded shares:
$26.56 billion (2006)
Currency (code):
Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD)
Currency code:
ZWD
Exchange rates:
Zimbabwean dollars per US
dollar - 30,000 (2007), 162.07 (2006), 77.965 (2005), 5.729 (2004), 0.824
(2003) note: these are official exchange rates; non-official
rates vary significantly
Fiscal year:
calendar year
Communications
Zimbabwe
Telephones - main lines in use:
331,700 (2006)
Telephones - mobile cellular:
832,500 (2006)
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)
Radios:
1.14 million (1997)
Television broadcast stations:
16 (1997)
Televisions:
370,000 (1997)
Internet country code:
.zw
Internet hosts:
15,507 (2007)
Internet Service Providers (ISPs):
6 (2000)
Internet users:
1.22 million (2006)
Transportation
Zimbabwe
Airports:
341 (2007)
Airports - with paved runways:
total: 19 over
3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m:
4 914 to 1,523 m: 10 (2007)
Airports - with unpaved runways:
total: 322 1,524
to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 152 under 914 m:
166 (2007)
Pipelines:
refined products 270 km (2007)
Railways:
total: 3,077 km
narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified)
(2006)
Roadways:
total: 97,440 km
paved: 18,514 km unpaved: 78,926 km (2002)
Waterways:
on Lake Kariba (2005)
Ports and terminals:
Binga, Kariba
Military
Zimbabwe
Military branches:
Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF):
Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic
Police (2005)
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:
3,264,258 females age 16-49: 3,048,049 (2008 est.)
Manpower fit for military service:
males age 16-49:
1,643,036 females age 16-49: 1,404,663 (2008 est.)
Military expenditures - percent of GDP:
3.8% (2006)
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): 6,536 (Democratic Republic of Congo) IDPs: 569,685
(MUGABE-led political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and
economic collapse) (2006)
Illicit drugs:
transit point for cannabis and
South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines en route to South Africa
