Zimbabwe, state of southern East Africa; 391,000 km2, 14.4 million residents (2019).Zimbabwe borders in north and northwest to Zambia, in the east and northeast to Mozambique, in the south to South Africa and in the southwest to Botswana. The capital is Harare (1.5 million residents, 2013).
Country facts
- Republic of Zimbabwe / Republic of Zimbabwe
- Country abbreviation: ZW
- Area: 391 000 km2
- Population (2019): 14.4 million residents
- Capital: Harare
- Main languages: shona, english
- State: Republic
- Head of State and Head of Government: Emmerson Mnangagwa
- Per capita GDP (2018): US $ 2,147
- GNI per capita (2018): US $ 1 790
- Currency unit: no domestic currency (several international currencies are used)
- Currency code: –
- Country number (telephony): 263
- Internet domain name: zw
- Time difference compared to Sweden: +1
- National Day: April 18 (Independence Day, 1980)
Nature
- Land use: forest (22%), agricultural land (7%), other (71%)
- Highest mountain: Inyangani (2,592 m asl)
Population
- Population density (2019): 37 residents per km2
- Natural population growth (2019): 2.0%; birth number 30 ‰, death number 10 ‰
- Age structure (2019): 0-14 years (40%), 15-64 (55%), 65- (5%)
- Life expectancy (2019): men 58 years, women 61 years
- Infant mortality (2019): 52 per 1,000 live births
- Population forecast 2050: 24 million residents
- HDI (2017): 0.535 (place 156 of 189)
- Urbanization rate (2019): 32%
- Most populous cities (2013): Harare (1.5 million residents), Bulawayo (653,300), Chitungwiza (356,800)
Business
- Industry’s contribution to GDP (2017): agriculture (12%), industry (22%), service (66%)
- Exports (2017): US $ 4,353 million
- Main export products: platinum, cotton, tobacco
- Main exporting countries: South Africa, Mozambique, United Arab Emirates
- Imports (2017): US $ 5,472 million
- Main import products: machinery, transport equipment, industrial goods
- Main importing countries: South Africa, Zambia
- Railway network (2014): 3 400 km
Zimbabwe is a highland and mountainous country, especially in the middle parts. A notable high ridge, Highveld, runs through the country in a northeast – southwest direction. On both sides of this high plateaus is spreading. In the north, several rivers flow towards the Zambezi River and the Caribou Dam. The altitude conditions in Zimbabwe help to make the climate subtropical and sunny instead of tropical.
According to the constitution, the president, who is both head of state and head of government, is elected in direct elections for five years. Parliament consists of a Senate and an Assembly, both elected for five years. The white minority declared the country independent from Britain in 1965, but recognized independence with majority rule became reality only in 1980.
The years following the country’s independence were characterized by very rapid economic growth. This is largely explained by the fact that the sanctions aimed at the country during the civil war were lifted and that the rapidly increasing foreign trade brought a strong stimulus to the economy. However, during the second half of the 1980s, economic development changed, and growth shifted into falling and stagnant growth rates. Since the end of the 1990s, the economic crisis has worsened, and commercial agriculture is in the near term. Zimbabwe’s political turmoil scares foreign investors, and despite some economic recovery in the 2010s, parts of the population are still dependent on food aid.