Benin (2008) | Zimbabwe (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | 12 departments; Alibori, Atakora, Atlantique, Borgou, Collines, Kouffo, Donga, Littoral, Mono, Oueme, Plateau, Zou | 8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands |
Age structure | 0-14 years: 43.9% (male 1,788,248/female 1,754,940)
15-64 years: 53.7% (male 2,138,649/female 2,203,291) 65 years and over: 2.4% (male 77,844/female 115,342) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years:
38.68% (male 2,223,332; female 2,172,479) 15-64 years: 57.69% (male 3,319,982; female 3,236,286) 65 years and over: 3.63% (male 208,785; female 204,502) (2001 est.) |
Agriculture - products | cotton, corn, cassava (tapioca), yams, beans, palm oil, peanuts, cashews; livestock | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs |
Airports | 5 (2007) | 455 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 1
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 (2007) |
total:
18 over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 9 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 4
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 2 (2007) |
total:
437 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 209 under 914 m: 224 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 112,620 sq km
land: 110,620 sq km water: 2,000 sq km |
total:
390,580 sq km land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than Pennsylvania | slightly larger than Montana |
Background | Present day Benin was the site of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom that rose in the 15th century. The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. KEREKOU stepped down at the end of his second term in 2006 and was succeeded by Thomas YAYI Boni, a political outsider and independent. YAYI has begun a high profile fight against corruption and has strongly promoted accelerating Benin's economic growth. | The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated to keep whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded 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. |
Birth rate | 38.1 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 24.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $936.9 million
expenditures: $1.226 billion (2007 est.) |
revenues:
$2.5 billion expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $279 million (FY96/97 est.) |
Capital | name: Porto-Novo (official capital)
geographic coordinates: 6 29 N, 2 37 E time difference: UTC+1 (6 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) note: Cotonou (seat of government) |
Harare |
Climate | tropical; hot, humid in south; semiarid in north | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) |
Coastline | 121 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | adopted by referendum 2 December 1990 | 21 December 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Benin
conventional short form: Benin local long form: Republique du Benin local short form: Benin former: Dahomey |
conventional long form:
Republic of Zimbabwe conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
Currency | - | Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) |
Death rate | 11.94 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 23.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | $1.2 billion (2007) | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Gayleatha B. BROWN
embassy: Rue Caporal Bernard Anani, Cotonou mailing address: 01 B. P. 2012, Cotonou telephone: [229] 21-30-06-50 FAX: [229] 21-30-03-84 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador (vacant); Charge d'Affairs Earl M. IRVING embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 FAX: [263] (4) 796487 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Cyrille Segbe OGUIN
chancery: 2124 Kalorama Road NW, Washington, DC 20008 telephone: [1] (202) 232-6656 FAX: [1] (202) 265-1996 |
chief of mission:
Ambassador Simbi Veke MUBAKO chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100 FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326 |
Disputes - international | two villages remain in dispute along the border with Burkina Faso; Benin accused Burkina Faso of moving boundary pillars; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations remain strained by rival gang clashes; Benin and Togo announced plans in 2006 to construct a joint hydroelectric dam on the Mona River at the southern end of the border | - |
Economic aid - recipient | $374.7 million (2006) | $200 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged around 5% in the past seven years, but rapid population growth has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. Specific projects to improve the business climate by reforms to the land tenure system, the commercial justice system, and the financial sector were included in Benin's $307 million Millennium Challenge Account grant signed in February 2006. The 2001 privatization policy continues in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture though the government annulled the privatization of Benin's state cotton company in November 2007 after the discovery of irregularities in the bidding process. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, with Benin benefiting from a G8 debt reduction announced in July 2005, while pressing for more rapid structural reforms. An insufficient electrical supply continues to adversely affect Benin's economic growth though the government recently has taken steps to increase domestic power production. | The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles to consolidate earlier moves to develop a market-oriented economy. Its involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, has already drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF suffers delays in part because of the country's failure to meet budgetary goals. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 59% in 1999 and 60% in 2000. The economy is being steadily weakened by excessive government deficits and AIDS; Zimbabwe has the highest rate of infection in the world. Per capita GDP, which is twice the average of the poorer sub-Saharan nations, will increase little if any in the near-term, and Zimbabwe will suffer continued frustrations in developing its agricultural and mineral resources. |
Electricity - consumption | 587 million kWh (2005) | 6.939 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 595 million kWh (2005) | 1.564 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | 105 million kWh (2005) | 5.78 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel:
69.98% hydro: 30.02% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (1999) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Atlantic Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mont Sokbaro 658 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
Environment - current issues | inadequate supplies of potable water; poaching threatens wildlife populations; deforestation; desertification | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Environmental Modification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands, Whaling
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
party to:
Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | Fon and related 39.2%, Adja and related 15.2%, Yoruba and related 12.3%, Bariba and related 9.2%, Peulh and related 7%, Ottamari and related 6.1%, Yoa-Lokpa and related 4%, Dendi and related 2.5%, other 1.6% (includes Europeans), unspecified 2.9% (2002 census) | African 98% (Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other 11%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% |
Exchange rates | Communaute Financiere Africaine francs (XOF) per US dollar - 493.51 (2007), 522.59 (2006), 527.47 (2005), 528.29 (2004), 581.2 (2003) | Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 54.9451 (January 2001), 43.2900 (2000), 38.3142 (1999), 21.4133 (1998), 11.8906 (1997), 9.9206 (1996) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Thomas YAYI Boni (since 6 April 2006) cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president elected by popular vote for a five-year term (eligible for a second term); runoff election held 19 March 2006 (next to be held in March 2011) election results: Thomas YAYI Boni elected president; percent of vote - Thomas YAYI Boni 74.5%, Adrien HOUNGBEDJI 25.5% |
chief of state:
Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and 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); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and 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 16-17 March 1996 (next to be held NA March 2002); co-vice presidents appointed by the president election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of electoral college vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 92.7%, Abel MUZOREWA 4.8%; Ndabaningi SITHOLE 2.4% |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2007) | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, cashews, shea butter, textiles, palm products, seafood | tobacco 29%, gold 7%, ferroalloys 7%, cotton 5% (1999 est.) |
Exports - partners | China 20.9%, Indonesia 7.7%, India 7%, Netherlands 6.2%, Niger 5.7%, Togo 4.6%, Nigeria 4.3% (2006) | South Africa 10%, UK 9%, Malawi 8%, Botswana 8%, Japan 7%, (1999 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red (bottom) with a vertical green band on the hoist side | 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 is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $28.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 33.2%
industry: 14.5% services: 52.3% (2007 est.) |
agriculture:
28% industry: 32% services: 40% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | -6.1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 9 30 N, 2 15 E | 20 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | sandbanks create difficult access to a coast with no natural harbors, river mouths, or islands | landlocked |
Highways | - | total:
18,338 km paved: 8,692 km unpaved: 9,646 km (1996 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 3.1%
highest 10%: 29% (2003) |
lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 46.9% (1990) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point used by Nigerian traffickers for narcotics destined for Western Europe; vulnerable to money laundering due to poorly enforced financial regulations | significant transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets |
Imports | 16,830 bbl/day (2007 est.) | $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | foodstuffs, capital goods, petroleum products | machinery and transport equipment 35%, other manufactures 18%, chemicals 17%, fuels 14% (1999 est.) |
Imports - partners | China 46.6%, France 7.5%, Thailand 6% (2006) | South Africa 46%, UK 6%, China 4%, Germany 4%, US 3% (1999 est.) |
Independence | 1 August 1960 (from France) | 18 April 1980 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.5% (2007 est.) | NA% |
Industries | textiles, food processing, construction materials, cement | mining (coal, gold, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel, wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages |
Infant mortality rate | total: 77.85 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 82.32 deaths/1,000 live births female: 73.26 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
62.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 2.5% (2007 est.) | 60% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | ACCT, ACP, AfDB, AU, ECOWAS, Entente, FAO, FZ, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt, ICRM, IDA, IDB, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO (correspondent), ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, MONUC, NAM, OIC, OIF, OPCW, PCA, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIL, UNMIS, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WADB (regional), WAEMU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Intelsat, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UNTAET, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 120 sq km (2003) | 1,930 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Constitutional Court or Cour Constitutionnelle; Supreme Court or Cour Supreme; High Court of Justice | Supreme Court; High Court |
Labor force | 5.38 million (2007 est.) | 5.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,989 km
border countries: Burkina Faso 306 km, Niger 266 km, Nigeria 773 km, Togo 644 km |
total:
3,066 km border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km |
Land use | arable land: 23.53%
permanent crops: 2.37% other: 74.1% (2005) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 23% other: 57% (1993 est.) |
Languages | French (official), Fon and Yoruba (most common vernaculars in south), tribal languages (at least six major ones in north) | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects |
Legal system | based on French civil law and customary law; has not accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Assemblee Nationale (83 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve four-year terms)
elections: last held 31 March 2007 (next to be held by March 2011) election results: percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - FCBE 35, ADD 20, PRD 10, other and independents 18 |
unicameral parliament, called House of Assembly (150 seats - 120 elected by popular vote for six-year terms, 12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and 8 occupied by provincial governors)
elections: last held 24-25 June 2000 (next to be held NA 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 47.2%, MDC 45.6%, ZANU-Ndonga 0.7%, United Parties 0.7%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 63, MDC 56, ZANU-Ndonga 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 53.44 years
male: 52.28 years female: 54.63 years (2007 est.) |
total population:
37.13 years male: 38.51 years female: 35.7 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 34.7% male: 47.9% female: 23.3% (2002 census) |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 85% male: 90% female: 80% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Africa, bordering the Bight of Benin, between Nigeria and Togo | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 200 nm | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | Benin Armed Forces (FAB): Army (l'Arme de Terre), Benin Navy (Forces Navales Beninois, FNB), Benin People's Air Force (Force Aerienne Populaire de Benin, FAPB) (2008) | Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $127 million (FY99/00) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.7% (2006) | 3.1% (FY99/00) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49:
2,996,631 (2001 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49:
1,860,167 (2001 est.) |
National holiday | National Day, 1 August (1960) | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) |
Nationality | noun: Beninese (singular and plural)
adjective: Beninese |
noun:
Zimbabwean(s) adjective: Zimbabwean |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dusty harmattan wind may affect north from December to March | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare |
Natural resources | small offshore oil deposits, limestone, marble, timber | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals |
Net migration rate | 0.58 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2001 est.)
note: there is a small but steady flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa in search of better paid employment |
Pipelines | - | petroleum products 212 km |
Political parties and leaders | Alliance for Dynamic Democracy or ADD; Alliance of Progress Forces or AFP; African Movement for Democracy and Progress or MADEP [Sefou FAGBOHOUN]; Benin Renaissance or RB [Rosine SOGLO]; Democratic Renewal Party or PRD [Adrien HOUNGBEDJI]; Force Cowrie for an Emerging Benin or FCBE; Impulse for Progress and Democracy or IPD [Theophile NATA]; Key Force or FC [Lazare SÈHOUÉTO]; Movement for the People's Alternative or MAP [Olivier CAPO-CHICHI]; Rally for Democracy and Progress or RDP [Dominique HOUNGNINOU]; Social Democrat Party or PSD [Bruno AMOUSSOU]; Union for the Relief or UPR [Issa SALIFOU]; Union for Democracy and National Solidarity or UDS [Sacca LAFIA]
note: approximately 20 additional minor parties |
Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; Popular Democratic Front or PDF [Austin CHAKAODZA]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Ndabaningi SITHOLE]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert MUGABE]; Zimbabwe Unity Movement or ZUM [Edgar TEKERE] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | NA | National Constitutional Assembly or NCA |
Population | 8,078,314
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 2007 est.) |
11,365,366
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 2001 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 37.4% (2007 est.) | 60% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.674% (2007 est.) | 0.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Binga, Kariba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 34, shortwave 1 (2007) | AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.14 million (1997) |
Railways | total: 758 km
narrow gauge: 758 km 1.000-m gauge (2006) |
total:
2,759 km (1995) narrow gauge: 2,759 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified; 42 km double track) (1995 est.) |
Religions | Christian 42.8% (Catholic 27.1%, Celestial 5%, Methodist 3.2%, other Protestant 2.2%, other 5.3%), Muslim 24.4%, Vodoun 17.3%, other 15.5% (2002 census) | syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.971 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.675 male(s)/female total population: 0.983 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth:
1.03 male(s)/female under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.03 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2001 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate; fixed-line network is almost saturated with fixed-line teledensity stuck at a meager 1 per 100 persons; mobile-cellular telephone subscribership is increasing
domestic: fair system of open-wire, microwave radio relay, and cellular connections; four mobile-cellular providers international: country code - 229; landing point for the SAT-3/WASC fiber-optic submarine cable that provides connectivity to Europe and Asia; satellite earth station - 7 (Intelsat-Atlantic Ocean) (2007) |
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: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; two international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru) |
Telephones - main lines in use | 77,300 (2006) | 212,000 (in addition there are about 20,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 1.056 million (2006) | 70,000 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 6 (2007) | 16 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly flat to undulating plain; some hills and low mountains | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 5.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 3.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA% | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | 150 km (on River Niger along northern border) (2005) | the Mazoe and Zambezi rivers are used for transporting chrome ore from Harare to Mozambique |