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| Introduction | 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 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 begun 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 groups launched general strikes in 2003 to pressure MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents. |
| People | Zimbabwe |
| Population: | 12,671,860 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 2004 est.) |
| Age structure: | 0-14 years: 39.4% (male 2,520,082; female 2,472,641) 15-64 years: 57% (male 3,649,400; female 3,571,631) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 230,272; female 227,834) (2004 est.) |
| Median age: | total: 19.1 years female: 19.1 years (2004 est.) male: 19.1 years |
| Population growth rate: | 0.68% (2004 est.) |
| Birth rate: | 30.05 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Death rate: | 23.3 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) |
| Net migration rate: | negligible migrant(s)/1,000 population note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2004 est.) |
| Sex ratio: | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.01 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2004 est.) |
| Infant mortality rate: | total: 67.08 deaths/1,000 live births female: 64.33 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) male: 69.74 deaths/1,000 live births |
| Life expectancy at birth: | total population: 37.82 years male: 38.63 years female: 36.99 years (2004 est.) |
| Total fertility rate: | 3.6 children born/woman (2004 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - adult prevalence rate: | 33.7% (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - people living with HIV/AIDS: | 2.3 million (2001 est.) |
| HIV/AIDS - deaths: | 200,000 (2001 est.) |
| Major infectious diseases: | typhoid fever, malaria, schistosomiasis overall degree of risk: high (2004) |
| 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: | Harare |
| 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); 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); 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 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: | unicameral 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 48.6%, MDC 47.0%, other 4.4%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 62, MDC 57, ZANU-Ndonga 1 |
| Judicial branch: | Supreme Court; High Court |
| Political parties and leaders: | Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; National Alliance for Good Governance or NAGG [Shakespeare MAYA]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; 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] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders: | National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Brian KAGORO]; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU [Lovemore MATOMBO] |
| International organization participation: | ACP, AfDB, AU, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNMIL, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
| Diplomatic representation in the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Simbi Veke MUBAKO FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326 telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100 chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 |
| Diplomatic representation from the US: | chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph G. SULLIVAN embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594 FAX: [263] (4) 796488 |
| 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 |
| Communications | Zimbabwe |
| Telephones - main lines in use: | 300,900 (2003) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular: | 379,100 (2003) |
| 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; two 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: | 4,501 (2003) |
| Internet Service Providers (ISPs): | 6 (2000) |
| Internet users: | 500,000 (2002) |
| Transportation | Zimbabwe |
| Railways: | total: 3,077 km narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) (2003) |
| Highways: | total: 18,338 km paved: 8,692 km unpaved: 9,646 km (1999 est.) |
| Waterways: | on Lake Kariba, length small (2003) |
| Pipelines: | refined products 261 km (2004) |
| Ports and harbors: | Binga, Kariba |
| Airports: | 404 (2003 est.) |
| Airports - with paved runways: | total: 17 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 8 (2004 est.) |
| Airports - with unpaved runways: | total: 387 1,524 to 2,437 m: 5 914 to 1,523 m: 186 under 914 m: 196 (2004 est.) |
| Military | Zimbabwe |
| Military branches: | Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police) |
| Military manpower - availability: | males age 15-49: 3,285,007 (2004 est.) |
| Military manpower - fit for military service: | males age 15-49: 2,033,978 (2004 est.) |
| Military expenditures - dollar figure: | $105 million (2003) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP: | 1.7% (2003) |
| Transnational Issues | Zimbabwe |
| Disputes - international: | the Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe boundary convergence is not clearly defined or delimited |
| Refugees and internally displaced persons: | IDPs: 100,000-150,000 (Mugabe-led political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse) (2004) |
| Illicit drugs: | transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets |
| This page was last updated on 16 December, 2004 |
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