PROFILE

OFFICIAL NAME:
Republic of Zimbabwe

Geography
Area: 390,580 sq. km. (150,760 sq. mi.), slightly larger than Montana.
Cities: Capital--Harare (pronounced Ha-RAR-e), pop. 1.5 million. Other towns--Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare, Gweru, Kwekwe, Masvingo, Marondera.
Terrain: Desert and savanna.
Climate: Mostly subtropical.

People
Nationality: Noun and adjective--Zimbabwean (sing.), Zimbabweans (pl.).
Population (2003 est.): 12.5 million.
Annual growth rate (2003 est.): 0.83%. (Note: the population growth rate is depressed by an HIV/AIDS adult prevalence rate estimated to be 18% and a high level of net emigration.)
Ethnic groups: Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other African 11%, white 1%, mixed and Asian 1%.
Religions: Christianity 75%, offshoot Christian sects, animist, and Muslim.
Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele.
Education: Attendance--mandatory for primary level. Adult literacy--90.5% (2004 est.).
Health: Infant mortality rate--51.7/1,000 (2006 est.). Life expectancy--men 37 (2006), women 34 (2006).
Work force (2006 est.): 900,000 in formal sector.

Government
Type: Parliamentary.
Constitution: December 21, 1979.
Independence: April 18, 1980.
Branches: Executive--President (chief of state and head of government), Cabinet. Legislative--In the 150-seat House of Assembly, 120 seats are popularly elected and 30 are directly appointed by the president or selected through a process strongly influenced by him. In the 66 seat Senate, 50 seats are popularly elected, 6 are directly appointed by the president, 8 chiefs are elected from the 8 rural provinces (excluding the metropolitan provinces), and 2 are the president and vice president of the Council of Chiefs. Judicial--High Court, Court of Appeal, local and customary courts.
Administrative subdivisions: Town Councils and District Councils.
Main political parties: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF); Movement for Democratic Change (MDC); United People’s Party (UPP).

Economy
GDP (2005 est.): U.S. $3.2 billion.
Real GDP growth rate (2005): -5.3%.
Real per capita GDP (2005): U.S. $520.
Avg. inflation rate: 3,714% (year-to-year, April 2007, by official accounts).
Natural resources: Deposits of more than 40 minerals including ferrochrome, gold, silver, platinum, copper, asbestos; 19 million hectares of forest (2000).
Agriculture (15% of GDP): Types of crops and livestock--corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, tea, sugarcane, peanuts, cattle, sheep, goats, pigs.
Industry: manufacturing, public administration, commerce, mining, transport and communication.
Trade (2006): U.S. exports--U.S. $47.58 million. U.S. imports--U.S. $103.28 million. Partners (2000 est.)--South Africa 22%, U.K. 10%, Germany 9%, U.S. 8%. Total imports (2004)--U.S. $1,989 million: most of these imports were construction and agricultural machinery, transportation equipment, data processing equipment and software, industrial machinery, pharmaceuticals, fertilizers, and general manufactured products. Major suppliers--South Africa 34%, U.K. 10.8%, Germany 7.3%, U.S. 6%.

PEOPLE AND HISTORY
Primarily of the Bantu group of south and central Africa, the black Zimbabweans are divided into two major language groups, which are subdivided into several ethnic groups. The Mashona (Shona speakers), who constitute about 75% of the population, have lived in the area the longest and are the majority language group. The Matabele (Sindebele speakers), representing about 20% of the population and centered in the southwest around Bulawayo, arrived within the last 150 years. An offshoot of the South African Zulu group, they maintained control over the Mashona until the white occupation of Rhodesia in 1890.

More than half of white Zimbabweans, primarily of English origin, arrived in Zimbabwe after World War II. Afrikaners from South Africa and other European minorities, including Portuguese from Mozambique, also are present. Until the mid-1970s, there were about 1,000 white immigrants per year, but from 1976 to 1985 a steady emigration resulted in a loss of more than 150,000, leaving about 100,000 in 1992. Renewed white emigration in the late 1990s and early 2000s reduced the white population to less than 50,000. English, the official language, is spoken by the white population and understood, if not always used, by more than half of the black population.