Zimbabwe

parliamentary democracyIndependence 18 April 1980 (from UK

Zimbabwe as the 1990 edition of the CIA World Factbook published it: 69 fields, one of 36 editions from 1990 to 2025.

field in that editiontext changed from the edition beforenot in that editionthe open editionEach field below ends in its editions, 1990 to 2025. Point at a year above to follow it down.

CapitalHarare

Area390,580 km2

Populationas each edition published it

10.39 million July 1990 · 17.47m in 2025

Population growth% a year

Not in this edition 1.32% in 1993

Median ageyears

Not in this edition 18.9 yrs in 2003

Life expectancyyears at birth

Not in this edition 42.82 yrs in 1993

Fertility ratechildren per woman

5.8 children per woman 1990 · 3.42 in 2025

Infant mortalitydeaths per 1,000 live births

65 deaths per 1,000 live births 1990 · 32.8 in 2025

GDP per capitaeach edition's own dollars

Not in this edition $545 in 1993

GDP real growth% a year

Not in this edition -10% in 1993

Geography

12 fields

Land useshare of 390,580 km2

arable land 7%meadows and pastures 12%forest and woodland 62%other 19%NEGL% permanent crops; includes NEGL% irrigated

Total area

390,580km2

land area: 386,670 km2Comparative area: slightly larger than Montana

Land boundaries

3,066km total

Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km

Disputes

quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia is in disagreement

Climate

tropical;
moderated by altitude;
rainy season (November to March)

Terrain

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

Natural resources

coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin

Environment

recurring droughts;
floods and severe storms are rare;
deforestation;
soil erosion;
air and water pollution;
desertification

People

14 fields

Population

10,392,161

(July 1990), growth rate 3.3% (1990)

Per 1,000 population(1990)

Birth

42Death

9Net migration

Religion

syncretic (part Christian 50%Christian 25%indigenous beliefs 24%part indigenous beliefs); a few Muslim

Literacy

74%

Nationality

noun--Zimbabwean(s); adjective--Zimbabwean

Ethnic divisions

98% African (71% Shona, 16% Ndebele, 11% other); 1% white, 1% mixed and Asian

Labor force

3,100,000; 74% agriculture, 16% transport and services, 10% mining, manufacturing, construction (1987)

Organized labor

17% of wage and salary earners have union membership

Government

Parliamentary democracy

17 fields

Parliament, 120 seats, elected 28-30 March 1990one dot, one seat

(150 total, 120 elected) ZANU 116ZUM 2ZANU-S 1to be determined 1

Administrative divisions

8 provinces; Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands, Victoria (commonly called Masvingo)

Independence

18 April 1980 (from UK; formerly Southern Rhodesia)

Legal system

mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law

Judicial branch

Supreme Court Chief of State and Head of Government--Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987);
Vice President Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987)

Political parties and leaders

Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Robert Mugabe;
Zimbabwe African National Union-Sithole (ZANU-S), Ndabaningi Sithole;
Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), Edgar Tekere

Suffrage

universal at age 18 President--last held 28-30 March 1990 (next to be held March 1995);
results--President Robert Mugabe 78.3%;
Edgar Tekere 21.7%;
Parliament--last held 28-30 March 1990 (next to be held March 1993);
results--percent of vote by party NA;
seats--(150 total, 120 elected) ZANU 116, ZUM 2, ZANU-S 1, to be determined 1

Member of

ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO

Diplomatic representation

Counselor (Political Affairs), Head of Chancery, Ambassador Stanislaus Garikai CHIGWEDERE;
Chancery at 2852 McGill Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008;
telephone (202) 332-7100;
US--Ambassador-designate Steven RHODES;
Embassy at 172 Rhodes Avenue, Harare (mailing address is P. O. Box 3340, Harare);
telephone 263o (14) 794-521

Flag

seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white equilateral triangle edged in black based on the hoist side;
a yellow Zimbabwe bird is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle

Economy

Agriculture employs a majority of the labor force and supplies almost 40% of exports.

16 fields

GDP, purchasing power parity

$4.6billion

per capita $470; real growth rate 5.3% (1988 est.)

Inflation, consumer prices

7.4%

(1988)

Unemployment rate

20%

at least · (1988 est.)

External debt

$2.96billion

(December 1989 est.)

Exports $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988)commodities, where a share is given

manufactures

19%gold

11%ferrochrome

11%cotton

also agricultural 34% (tobacco 21%, other 13%); partners--Europe 55% (EC 41%, Netherlands 6%, other 8%), Africa 22% (South Africa 12%, other 10%), US 6%

Imports $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988)

machinery and transportation equipment

37%other manufactures

22%chemicals

16%fuels

15%

; partners--EC 31%, Africa 29% (South Africa 21%, other 8%), US 8%, Japan 4%

Budget

Revenues

$2.4 billionExpenditures

$3.0 billion

expenditures, including capital expenditures of $290 million (FY90)

Agriculture employs a majority of the labor force and supplies almost 40% of exports. The agro-based manufacturing sector produces a variety of goods and contributes about 25% to GDP. Mining accounts for only 5% of both GDP and employment, but supplies of minerals and metals account for about 40% of exports.

Wide year-to-year fluctuations in agricultural production over the past six years resulted in not only an uneven growth rate, but one that did not equal the 3% annual increase in population.

Industrial production

growth rate 4.7% (1988 est.)

Electricity

2,036,000 kW capacity; 5,460 million kWh produced, 540 kWh per capita (1989)

Industries

mining, steel, clothing and footwear, chemicals, foodstuffs, fertilizer, beverage, transportation equipment, wood products

Agriculture

accounts for about 15% of GDP and employs over 70% of population;
40% of land area divided into 6,000 large commercial farms and 42% in communal lands;
crops--corn (food staple), cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts;
livestock--cattle, sheep, goats, pigs;
self-sufficient in food

Aid

US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-88), $359 million;
Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.0 billion;
OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $36 million;
Communist countries (1970-88), $134 million

Currency

Zimbabwean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Zimbabwean dollar (Z$) = 100 cents

Exchange rates

Zimbabwean dollars (Z$) per US$1--2.2873 (January 1990), 2.1133 (1989), 1.8018 (1988), 1.6611 (1987), 1.6650 (1986), 1.6119 (1985)

Fiscal year

1 July-30 June

Communications

7 fields

Airports, 506 total, 420 usable

permanent-surface runways

23runways over 3,659 m

2runways 2,440-3,659 m

3runways 1,220-2,439 m

Networkskm

Highways

85,237Railroads

2,745Pipelines

Highways: ; 15,800 km paved, 39,090 km crushed stone, gravel, stabilized soil: 23,097 km improved earth; 7,250 km unimproved earth · Railroads: ; 42 km double track; 355 km electrified · Pipelines: , refined products

Railroads

2,745 km 1.067-meter gauge;
42 km double track;
355 km electrified

Highways

85,237 km total;
15,800 km paved, 39,090 km crushed stone, gravel, stabilized soil: 23,097 km improved earth;
7,250 km unimproved earth

system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance;
consists of radio relay links, open-wire lines, and radio communications stations;
247,000 telephones;
stations--8 AM, 18 FM, 8 TV;
1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station