01 Sep 2005: Some Facts About Zimbabwe

TRENDS AND MARKERS

Some facts about Zimbabwe

Published in African Security Review Vol 14 No 3, 2005

Zimbabwe 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 recognise 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.

 

Short Form: Zimbabwe

 

Local Short Form: Zimbabwe

 

Long Form: Republic of Zimbabwe

 

Local Long Form: Zimbabwe

 

Script Form: Zimbabwe

 

Abbreviated Form: Zimbabwe

 

Former Name: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia

 

Territory of: NA

 

Zimbabwe Head of State: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE

 

Zimbabwe Government Type: parliamentary democracy

 

Zimbabwe Independence: 1980 April 18 (from UK)

 

Zimbabwe Constitution: 1979 December 21

 

Zimbabwe National Holiday: Independence Day, 18 April

 

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

 

Zimbabwe 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

 

Zimbabwe Dependent Areas: NA

 

Zimbabwe Legal System: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law

 

Suffrage: 18 years of age

 

Zimbabwe Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches: 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 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2006); 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: unicameral parliament, called House of Assembly (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 8 occupied by provincial governors appointed by the president) elections: last held 24-25 June 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) 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

 

Zimbabwe Party Leaders: Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [leader NA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE]; Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Paul SIWELA]

 

Zimbabwe International Disputes: NA

 

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

ZIMBABWEAN GEOGRAPHY FACTS

 

Location of Zimbabwe: Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia

 

Continent: Africa

 

Land Area Total: 390,580 sq km

 

Region: Southern African

 

Land Area Land: 386,670 sq km

 

Zimbabwe Capital: Harare

 

Land Area Water: 3,910 sq km

 

Current Time:

 

Latitude: 020 00 S

 

Border Boundary Land: 3,066 km

 

Longitude: 030 00 E

 

Border Boundary Coastline: 0 km

 

ArableLand: 8.00 %

 

Pastures: 0.00 %

 

Crops: 1.00 %

 

Woodlands & Forests: 0.00 %

 

Highest Elevation: 2,592 m

 

Location: Inyangani

 

Lowest Elevation: 162 m

Location: junction of the Runde and Save rivers

 

Largest City in Zimbabwe: Harare

 

Harare Population: 1,686,000

 

Threatened Species in Zimbabwe: 38

 

Environmental Issues in Zimbabwe: 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

 

Zimbabwe Environmental 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

 

Irrigated Land in Zimbabwe: 1,170

 

Bordering Countries of Zimbabwe: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km

 

Zimbabwe Natural Resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals

 

Zimbabwe Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east

 

Comparative Area of Zimbabwe: slightly larger than Montana

 

Notes on Zimbabwe`s Geography: 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

ZIMBABWEAN CLIMATE

 

General Climate in Zimbabwe: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)

 

Natural Hazards in Zimbabwe: recurring droughts; floods and s evere storms are rare

ZIMBABWEAN ECONOMY

 

Overview of the Zimbabwe Economy: The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles to consolidate earlier moves to d evelop 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 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, and to 100% by yearend 2001. The economy is being steadily weakened by excessive government deficits, AIDS, and rampant inflation. The government`s land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has derailed the commercial sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs. Distribution of income is extremely unequal.

 

Zimbabwe GDP: $28,000,000,000 USD

 

Zimbabwe Currency: Zimbabwean dollar

 

GDP per Capita: $2,450 USD

 

Currency Code: ZWD

 

GDP Growth Rate: -6.50 %

 

Currency Exchange Rate History: Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 54.9451 (December 2001), 54.9451 (2001), 43.2900 (2000), 38.3142 (1999), 21.4133 (1998), 11.8906 (1997)

 

GDP of Agriculture: 11.00 %

 

GDP of Industry: 14.00 %

 

GDP of Services: 75.00 %

 

Zimbabwe Inflation Rate: 100.00 %

 

Zimbabwe Population in Poverty: 60.00 %

 

Zimbabwe Unemployment Rate: 60.00 %

Zimbabwe Tourism: 2,103,000.00 visitors each year

 

Consumption by lowest 10%: 1.80 %

 

Electricity Exports: $2,500,000,000 USD

 

Consumption by upper 10%: 46.90 %

 

Electricity Imports: $2,600,000,000 USD

 

Electricity Production: 6,425,000,000 kWh

 

Electricity Exports: 0 kWh

 

Electricity Consumption: 10,475,000,000 kWh

 

Electricity Imports: 4,500,000,000 kWh

 

Electricity Production by Source:

 

Fossil Fuel: 53.31 %

 

Nuclear: 0.00 %

 

Hydro: 46.69 %

 

Other: 0.00 %

 

External Debt: $5,000,000,000 USD

 

Received in economic aid: $200,000,000 USD

 

Donated in economic aid: $0 USD

 

Zimbabwe Agricultural Products: corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs

 

Zimbabwe Primary 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 Growth Rate in Zimbabwe: -10.00 %

 

Zimbabwe Primary Imports: $1,500,000,000 USD - machinery and transport equipment 34%, other manufactures 18%, chemicals 17%, fuels 11%

 

Import Partners: South Africa 46.3%, UK 7.2%, Germany 2.5%, US 2.8%, Japan 2.5%

 

Zimbabwe Primary Exports: $2,100,000,000 USD - tobacco 30%, gold 11%, ferroalloys 9%, textile/clothing 3%

 

Export Partners: South Africa 12.1%, UK 8.5%, Japan 7.7%, Germany 6.1%, China 5.4%

 

Gini Index: 56.80 %

 

Zimbabwe Labor Force: 5,500,000

 

Zimbabwe Labor Force by Occupations: agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10%

ZIMBABWEAN COMMUNICATIONS

 

Radio Broadcast Stations: 28

 

Radios: 1,140,000

 

Television Broadcast Stations: 16

 

Televisions: 370,000

 

Mainline Telephones: 212,000

 

Mobile Phones: 111,000

 

Internet Service Providers: 6

 

Internet Users: 30,000

 

Internet Country Code:.zw

 

Newspapers: 19

 

Two Letter Country Code: ZW Weights & Measures:

 

Phone Country Code: +263

 

Electricity: Volts

 

Zimbabwe Telephone Systems: 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)

ZIMBABWEAN TRANSPORTATION

 

Highways: 8,692 km

 

Railways: 3,077 km

 

Pipelines: 212 km

 

Waterways: 0 km

 

Airports: 17

 

Heliports: 0

 

Motor Vehicles: 51 per 1k people

CO2 Emissions: 18,203,000 Metric Tons of CO2 / yr

Per Capita CO2 Emissions: 1.60 MT of CO2 / yr

 

Zimbabwe Merchant Marines: NA

 

Zimbabwe Ports and Harbors: Binga, Kariba

ZIMBABWEAN PEOPLE

 

Population: 11,376,676 people

 

Birth Rate: 24.59 births per 1k people

 

Population Density: 33.00 people per sq km

 

Death Rate: 24.06 deaths per 1k people

 

Population Growth: 0.05 % per year

 

Fertility Rate: 3.21 babies born per woman

 

Population Male 0-14: 2,178,073

 

Population Female 0-14: 2,128,287

 

Population Male 15-64: 3,376,850

 

Population Female 15-64: 3,268,315

 

Population Male 65+: 213,286

 

Population Female 65+: 211,865

 

Population 0-14: 37.90 %

 

Literacy Rate: 85.00 %

 

Population 15-64: 58.40 %

 

Literacy Rate Male: 90.00 %

 

Population 65+: 3.70 %

 

Literacy Rate Female: 80.00 %

 

Population Male: 51.50 %

 

Population Female: 48.50 %

 

Life Expectancy at Birth: 36.50 years

Infant Mortality Rate: 62.97 babies die per 1000 babies born

 

Life Expectancy at Birth Male: 37.87 years

 

Life Expectancy at Birth Female: 35.10 years

 

AIDS/HIV Rate: 25.06 %

 

People Living with AIDS/HIV: 1,500,000

 

People who Died of AIDS: 160,000

 

Zimbabwe Net Migration Rate: 0.00 migrants per 1k people

 

Nationality: ZIMBABWEAN Ethnic Groups in Zimbabwe: African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1%

 

Zimbabwe Primary Language: English

 

Zimbabwe Other Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects

 

Primary Religion in Zimbabwe: syncretic

 

Other Religions in Zimbabwe: syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%

ZIMBABWEAN MILITARY

 

Branches: Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police)

 

Minimum Age: NA

 

Manpower Available: 3,057,381

 

Manpower Fit to Serve: 1,898,383

 

Number of Manpower Available each Year: 0

 

Expenditures: 350,600,000

 

Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP: 3.80