Zimbabwe
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The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the [British] South Africa Company in 1923. 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 has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1980) and has dominated the country's political system since independence. |
Geography
| 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) |
| 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 |
| Land use: | arable land: 8.24% |
| permanent crops: 0.33% | |
| other: 91.43% (2005) | |
| Total renewable water resources: | 20 cu km (1987) |
| 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 |
| 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
| Population: | 11,350,111 |
| 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: | total population: 90.7% |
Government
| Country name: |
long form: Republic of Zimbabwe short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
| Government type: |
parliamentary democracy |
| Capital: |
name: Harare geographic coordinates: 17 50 S, 31 03 E |
| Independence: |
18 April 1980 |
| National holiday: |
Independence Day, 18 April (1980) |
| Constitution: | 21 December 1979 |
| Legal system: |
mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction |
| Suffrage: |
18 years of age; universal |
| 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 for independence, and black stands for the native people |
Economy
| Economy - overview: | Zimbabwe is recovering slowly. |
| Agriculture - products: |
corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, 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 |
| Currency (code): | US$ |
Communications
| 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; a substantial mobile-cellular network; international: country code - 263; |
| Internet country code: | .zw |
Transportation
| Airports: | 341 (2007) |
| Railways: | total: 3,077 km |
| Roadways: | total: 97,440 km |
| paved: 18,514 km | |
| unpaved: 78,926 km (2002) | |
| Ports and terminals: | Binga, Kariba |
Military
| Military branches: |
Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police (2005) |
Transnational Issues
| 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): 2,500 (Democratic Republic of Congo) IDPs: 569,685 (MUGABE-led political violence, human rights violations, land reform, and economic collapse) (2007) |
