Guernsey (2004) | Zimbabwe (2001) | |
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Administrative divisions | none (British crown dependency); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 10 parishes including Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson, Vale, Castel, Saint Saviour, Saint Pierre du Bois, Torteval, Forest, Saint Martin, Saint Andrew | 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: 15.6% (male 5,161; female 5,013)
15-64 years: 66.7% (male 21,497; female 21,897) 65 years and over: 17.6% (male 4,812; female 6,651) (2004 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 | tomatoes, greenhouse flowers, sweet peppers, eggplant, fruit; Guernsey cattle | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs |
Airports | 2 (2003 est.) | 455 (2000 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 2
914 to 1,523 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
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:
437 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 209 under 914 m: 224 (2000 est.) |
Area | total: 78 sq km
land: 78 sq km water: 0 sq km note: includes Alderney, Guernsey, Herm, Sark, and some other smaller islands |
total:
390,580 sq km land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | about one-half the size of Washington, DC | slightly larger than Montana |
Background | The island of Guernsey and the other Channel Islands represent the last remnants of the medieval Dukedom of Normandy, which held sway in both France and England. The islands were the only British soil occupied by German troops in World War II. | 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 | 9.16 births/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 24.68 births/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $381.3 million
expenditures: $368.8 million, including capital expenditures of NA (2000 est.) |
revenues:
$2.5 billion expenditures: $2.9 billion, including capital expenditures of $279 million (FY96/97 est.) |
Capital | Saint Peter Port | Harare |
Climate | temperate with mild winters and cool summers; about 50% of days are overcast | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) |
Coastline | 50 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | unwritten; partly statutes, partly common law and practice | 21 December 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Bailiwick of Guernsey
conventional short form: Guernsey |
conventional long form:
Republic of Zimbabwe conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
Currency | British pound (GBP); note - there is also a Guernsey pound | Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) |
Death rate | 9.87 deaths/1,000 population (2004 est.) | 23.22 deaths/1,000 population (2001 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $4.1 billion (2000 est.) |
Dependency status | British crown dependency | - |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none (British crown dependency) | 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 | none (British crown dependency) | 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 | none | - |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $200 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Financial services - banking, fund management, insurance, etc. - account for about 55% of total income in this tiny Channel Island economy. Tourism, manufacturing, and horticulture, mainly tomatoes and cut flowers, have been declining. Light tax and death duties make Guernsey a popular tax haven. The evolving economic integration of the EU nations is changing the environment under which Guernsey operates. | 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 | NA kWh | 6.939 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (1999) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 1.564 billion kWh (1999) |
Electricity - production | NA kWh | 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: unnamed location on Sark 114 m |
lowest point:
junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
Environment - current issues | NA | 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, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements |
Ethnic groups | UK and Norman-French descent with small percentages from other European countries | African 98% (Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other 11%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% |
Exchange rates | Guernsey pounds per US dollar - 0.6661 (2002), 0.6944 (2001), 0.6596 (2000), 0.6180 (1999), 0.6037 (1998); note - the Guernsey pound is at par with the British pound | 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: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Lieutenant Governor and Commander-in-Chief Lt. Gen. Sir John FOLEY (since NA 2000)
head of government: Chief Minister Laurie MORGAN (since 1 May 2004) cabinet: Policy Council elected by the States of Deliberation elections: the monarch is hereditary; lieutenant governor appointed by the monarch; chief minister is elected by States of Delibertion election results: Laurie MORGAN elected chief minister, percent of vote of the States of Deliberation NA |
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 | NA | $1.8 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Exports - commodities | tomatoes, flowers and ferns, sweet peppers, eggplant, other vegetables | tobacco 29%, gold 7%, ferroalloys 7%, cotton 5% (1999 est.) |
Exports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | South Africa 10%, UK 9%, Malawi 8%, Botswana 8%, Japan 7%, (1999 est.) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 July - 30 June |
Flag description | white with the red cross of Saint George (patron saint of England) extending to the edges of the flag and a yellow equal-armed cross of William the Conqueror superimposed on the Saint George cross | 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 - $1.3 billion (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $28.2 billion (2000 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 3%
industry: 10% services: 87% (2000) |
agriculture:
28% industry: 32% services: 40% (1997 est.) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $20,000 (1999 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 5.7% (1999 est.) | -6.1% (2000 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 49 28 N, 2 35 W | 20 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | large, deepwater harbor at Saint Peter Port | landlocked |
Highways | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km |
total:
18,338 km paved: 8,692 km unpaved: 9,646 km (1996 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%:
1.8% highest 10%: 46.9% (1990) |
Illicit drugs | - | significant transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets |
Imports | NA | $1.3 billion (f.o.b., 2000 est.) |
Imports - commodities | coal, gasoline, oil, machinery and equipment | machinery and transport equipment 35%, other manufactures 18%, chemicals 17%, fuels 14% (1999 est.) |
Imports - partners | UK (regarded as internal trade) | South Africa 46%, UK 6%, China 4%, Germany 4%, US 3% (1999 est.) |
Independence | none (British crown dependency) | 18 April 1980 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | NA% |
Industries | tourism, banking | 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: 4.78 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.35 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.19 deaths/1,000 live births (2004 est.) |
62.61 deaths/1,000 live births (2001 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 4% (2000 est.) | 60% (2000 est.) |
International organization participation | UPU | 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 | NA sq km | 1,930 sq km (1993 est.) |
Judicial branch | Royal Court | Supreme Court; High Court |
Labor force | 31,320 (2000) | 5.5 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | - | agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10% (1996 est.) |
Land boundaries | 0 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: NA
permanent crops: NA other: NA (2001) |
arable land:
7% permanent crops: 0% permanent pastures: 13% forests and woodland: 23% other: 57% (1993 est.) |
Languages | English, French, Norman-French dialect spoken in country districts | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects |
Legal system | English law and local statute; justice is administered by the Royal Court | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral States of Deliberation (45 seats; members are elected by popular vote for 4 years); note - Alderney and Sark have their own parliaments
elections: last held 21 April 2004 (next to be held NA 2008) election results: percent of vote - NA; seats - all independents |
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: 80.17 years
male: 77.17 years female: 83.27 years (2004 est.) |
total population:
37.13 years male: 38.51 years female: 35.7 years (2001 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA male: NA female: NA |
definition:
age 15 and over can read and write English total population: 85% male: 90% female: 80% (1995 est.) |
Location | Western Europe, islands in the English Channel, northwest of France | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia |
Map references | Europe | Africa |
Maritime claims | territorial sea: 3 nm
exclusive fishing zone: 12 nm |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none | - |
Military - note | defense is the responsibility of the UK | - |
Military branches | - | 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 | - | 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 | Liberation Day, 9 May (1945) | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) |
Nationality | noun: Channel Islander(s)
adjective: Channel Islander |
noun:
Zimbabwean(s) adjective: Zimbabwean |
Natural hazards | NA | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare |
Natural resources | cropland | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals |
Net migration rate | 3.84 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2004 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 | none; all independents | 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 | none | National Constitutional Assembly or NCA |
Population | 65,031 (July 2004 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 | NA | 60% (1999 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.31% (2004 est.) | 0.15% (2001 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Saint Peter Port, Saint Sampson | Binga, Kariba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 1, FM 1, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | - | 1.14 million (1997) |
Railways | - | total:
2,759 km (1995) narrow gauge: 2,759 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified; 42 km double track) (1995 est.) |
Religions | Anglican, Roman Catholic, Presbyterian, Baptist, Congregational, Methodist | 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: 1.03 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 0.94 male(s)/female (2004 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: NA
domestic: NA international: 1 submarine cable |
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 | 55,000 (2001) | 212,000 (in addition there are about 20,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 31,500 (2001) | 70,000 (1999) |
Television broadcast stations | 1 (1997) | 16 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly level with low hills in southwest | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 1.38 children born/woman (2004 est.) | 3.28 children born/woman (2001 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 0.5% (1999 est.) | 50% (2000 est.) |
Waterways | - | the Mazoe and Zambezi rivers are used for transporting chrome ore from Harare to Mozambique |