Nicaragua (2002) | Zimbabwe (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | 15 departments (departamentos, singular - departamento) and 2 autonomous regions* (regiones autonomistas, singular - region autonomista); Boaco, Carazo, Chinandega, Chontales, Esteli, Granada, Jinotega, Leon, Madriz, Managua, Masaya, Matagalpa, Nueva Segovia, Rio San Juan, Rivas, Atlantico Norte*, Atlantico Sur* | 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: 38.3% (male 980,621; female 945,386)
15-64 years: 58.7% (male 1,464,468; female 1,483,082) 65 years and over: 3% (male 65,610; female 84,651) (2002 est.) |
0-14 years: 39.7% (male 2,517,608; female 2,471,342)
15-64 years: 56.8% (male 3,600,832; female 3,542,497) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 224,631; female 219,832) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | coffee, bananas, sugarcane, cotton, rice, corn, tobacco, sesame, soya, beans; beef, veal, pork, poultry, dairy products | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs |
Airports | 182 (2001) | 430 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 11
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 1,524 to 2,437 m: 2 914 to 1,523 m: 3 under 914 m: 3 (2002) |
total: 17
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 8 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 165
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 23 under 914 m: 141 (2002) |
total: 413
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 197 under 914 m: 212 (2002) |
Area | total: 129,494 sq km
land: 120,254 sq km water: 9,240 sq km |
total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly smaller than the state of New York | slightly larger than Montana |
Background | The Pacific Coast of Nicaragua was settled as a Spanish colony from Panama in the early 16th century. Independence from Spain was declared in 1821 and the country became an independent republic in 1838. Britain occupied the Caribbean Coast in the first half of the 19th century, but gradually ceded control of the region in subsequent decades. Violent opposition to governmental manipulation and corruption spread to all classes by 1978 and resulted in a short-lived civil war that brought the Marxist Sandinista guerrillas to power in 1979. Nicaraguan aid to leftist rebels in El Salvador caused the US to sponsor anti-Sandinista contra guerrillas through much of the 1980s. Free elections in 1990, 1996, and again in 2001 saw the Sandinistas defeated. The country has slowly rebuilt its economy during the 1990s, but was hard hit by Hurricane Mitch in 1998. | The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. 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, 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. His chaotic land redistribution campaign begun in 2000 caused an exodus of white farmers, crippled the economy, and ushered in widespread shortages of basic commodities. Ignoring international condemnation, MUGABE rigged the 2002 presidential election to ensure his reelection. Opposition and labor groups launched general strikes in 2003 to pressure MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents. |
Birth rate | 26.98 births/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 30.34 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $726 million
expenditures: $908 million, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000 est.) |
revenues: $2.5 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
Capital | Managua | Harare |
Climate | tropical in lowlands, cooler in highlands | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) |
Coastline | 910 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | 9 January 1987, with reforms in 1995 and 2000 | 21 December 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Nicaragua
conventional short form: Nicaragua local long form: Republica de Nicaragua local short form: Nicaragua |
conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
Currency | gold cordoba (NIO) | Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) |
Death rate | 4.76 deaths/1,000 population (2002 est.) | 22.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $6.1 billion (2001 est.) | $3.9 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Barbara Calandra MOORE
embassy: Apartado Postal 327, Kilometer 4.5 Carretera Sur, Managua mailing address: APO AA 34021 telephone: [505] 268-0123 FAX: [505] 266-9943 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph G. SULLIVAN
embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594 FAX: [263] (4) 796488 |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Carlos J. ULVERT
chancery: 1627 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 939-6570 FAX: [1] (202) 939-6542 consulate(s) general: Houston, Los Angeles, Miami, New Orleans, New York |
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 | territorial disputes with Colombia over the Archipelago de San Andres y Providencia and Quita Sueno Bank; with respect to the maritime boundary question in the Golfo de Fonseca, the ICJ referred to the line determined by the 1900 Honduras-Nicaragua Mixed Boundary Commission and advised that some tripartite resolution among El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua likely would be required; legal dispute over navigational rights of San Juan River on border with Costa Rica | dormant dispute remains where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe boundaries converge |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $178 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Nicaragua, one of the hemisphere's poorest countries, faces low per capita income, flagging socio-economic indicators, and huge external debt. Distribution of income is extremely unequal. While the country has made progress toward macroeconomic stabilization over the past few years, a banking crisis and scandal has shaken the economy. Managua will continue to be dependent on international aid and debt relief under the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) initiative. Donors have made aid conditional on improving governability, the openness of government financial operation, poverty alleviation, and human rights. Nicaragua met the conditions for additional debt service relief in December 2000. Growth should move up in 2002 because of increased private investment and recovery in the global economy. | The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued exchange rate, soaring inflation, and bare shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the country's failure to meet budgetary goals. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 59% in 1999, to 60% in 2000, to over 100% by yearend 2001, to 228% in early 2003. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has nearly destroyed the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs. |
Electricity - consumption | 2.176 billion kWh (2000) | 9.813 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 1 million kWh (2000) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 100 million kWh (2000) | 3.55 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 2.233 billion kWh (2000) | 6.735 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | fossil fuel: 82%
hydro: 9% nuclear: 0% other: 9% (2000) |
fossil fuel: 47%
hydro: 53% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Pacific Ocean 0 m
highest point: Mogoton 2,438 m |
lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
Environment - current issues | deforestation; soil erosion; water pollution | 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 |
Environment - international agreements | party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Endangered Species, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Nuclear Test Ban, Ozone Layer Protection, Ship Pollution, Wetlands
signed, but not ratified: Environmental Modification |
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 | mestizo (mixed Amerindian and white) 69%, white 17%, black 9%, Amerindian 5% | African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% |
Exchange rates | gold cordobas per US dollar - 13.88 (January 2002), 13.37 (2001), 12.69 (2000), 11.81 (1999), 10.58 (1998), 9.45 (1997) | Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 55 (2002), 55.05 (2001), 44.42 (2000), 38.3 (1999), 23.68 (1998) |
Executive branch | chief of state: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government
head of government: President Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (since 10 January 2002); Vice President Jose RIZO Castellon (since 10 January 2002); note - the president is both chief of state and head of government cabinet: Council of Ministers appointed by the president elections: president and vice president elected on the same ticket by popular vote for a five-year term; election last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: Enrique BOLANOS Geyer (PLC) elected president - 56.3%, Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra (FSLN) 42.3%, Alberto SABORIO (PC) 1.4%; Jose RIZO Castellon elected vice president |
chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); 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); 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 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held NA March 2008); co-vice presidents appointed by the president election results: Robert Gabriel MUGABE reelected president; percent of vote - Robert Gabriel MUGABE 56.2%, Morgan TSVANGIRAI 41.9% |
Exports | $609.5 million f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | coffee, shrimp and lobster, cotton, tobacco, beef, sugar, bananas; gold | tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing |
Exports - partners | US 57.7%, Germany 5.3%, Canada 4.2%, Costa Rica 3.3%, Honduras 3% (2000) | China 6%, South Africa 5.7%, Germany 5.4%, UK 4.8%, Japan 4.7%, Netherlands 4.4%, US 4.1% (2002) |
Fiscal year | calendar year | 1 January - 31 December |
Flag description | three equal horizontal bands of blue (top), white, and blue with the national coat of arms centered in the white band; the coat of arms features a triangle encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE NICARAGUA on the top and AMERICA CENTRAL on the bottom; similar to the flag of El Salvador, which features a round emblem encircled by the words REPUBLICA DE EL SALVADOR EN LA AMERICA CENTRAL centered in the white band; also similar to the flag of Honduras, which has five blue stars arranged in an X pattern centered in the white band | 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 to achieve independence, and black stands for the native people |
GDP | purchasing power parity - $12.3 billion (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $26.07 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 33%
industry: 23% services: 44% (2000) (2000) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - $2,500 (2001 est.) | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | 2.5% (2001 est.) | -13% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 13 00 N, 85 00 W | 20 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | largest country in Central America; contains the largest freshwater body in Central America, Lago de Nicaragua | 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 |
Highways | total: 16,382 km
paved: 1,818 km unpaved: 14,564 km (1998) |
total: 18,338 km
paved: 8,692 km unpaved: 9,646 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 1%
highest 10%: 49% (1998) (1998) |
lowest 10%: 1.97%
highest 10%: 40.42% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | transshipment point for cocaine destined for the US and transshipment point for arms-for-drugs dealing | transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets |
Imports | $1.6 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and equipment, raw materials, petroleum products, consumer goods | machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels |
Imports - partners | US 23.9%, Costa Rica 11.4%, Venezuela 9.9%, Guatemala 7.9%, Mexico 5.9% (2000) | South Africa 47.7%, Congo, Democratic Republic of the 5.7%, Mozambique 5.3% (2002) |
Independence | 15 September 1821 (from Spain) | 18 April 1980 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | 4.4% (2000 est.) | -3.1% (2002 est.) |
Industries | food processing, chemicals, machinery and metal products, textiles, clothing, petroleum refining and distribution, beverages, footwear, wood | 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 | 32.52 deaths/1,000 live births (2002 est.) | total: 66.47 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 69.17 deaths/1,000 live births female: 63.69 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 7.4% (2001 est.) | 134.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | BCIE, CACM, CCC, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IADB, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO (correspondent), ITU, LAES, LAIA (observer), NAM, OAS, OPANAL, OPCW, PCA, RG, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNHCR, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO | ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | 3 (2000) | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 880 sq km (1998 est.) | 1,170 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court or Corte Suprema (16 judges elected for five-year terms by the National Assembly) | Supreme Court; High Court |
Labor force | 1.7 million (1999) (1999) | 5.8 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | services 43%, agriculture 42%, industry 15% (1999 est.) | agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 1,231 km
border countries: Costa Rica 309 km, Honduras 922 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: 20.24%
permanent crops: 2.38% other: 77.38% (1998 est.) |
arable land: 8.4%
permanent crops: 0.34% other: 91.26% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Spanish (official)
note: English and indigenous languages on Atlantic coast |
English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects |
Legal system | civil law system; Supreme Court may review administrative acts | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law |
Legislative branch | unicameral National Assembly or Asamblea Nacional (93 seats; members are elected by proportional representation to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 4 November 2001 (next to be held by November 2006) election results: percent of vote by party - Liberal Alliance (ruling party - includes PLC, PALI, PLIUN, and PUCA) 46.03%, FSLN 36.55%, PCCN 3.73%, PCN 2.12%, MRS 1.33%; seats by party - Liberal Alliance 42, FSLN 36, PCCN 4, PCN 3, PRONAL 2, MRS 1, PRN 1, PC 1, PLI 1, AU 1, UNO-96 1 |
unicameral House of Assembly (150 seats - 120 elected by popular vote for five-year terms, 12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and 8 occupied by provincial governors appointed by the president)
elections: last held 24-25 June 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 48.6%, MDC 47.0%, other 4.4%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 62, MDC 57, ZANU-Ndonga 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 69.37 years
male: 67.39 years female: 71.44 years (2002 est.) |
total population: 39.01 years
male: 40.09 years female: 37.89 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 68.2% (1999) male: 67.1% female: 70.5% (2000 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 90.7% male: 94.2% female: 87.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Middle America, bordering both the Caribbean Sea and the North Pacific Ocean, between Costa Rica and Honduras | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia |
Map references | Central America and the Caribbean | Africa |
Maritime claims | continental shelf: natural prolongation
territorial sea: 200 NM |
none (landlocked) |
Merchant marine | none (2002 est.) | - |
Military branches | Army, Navy, Air Force | Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | $26 million (FY98) | $625.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 1.2% (FY98) | 3.2% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | males age 15-49: 1,308,430 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 3,236,042 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | males age 15-49: 802,779 (2002 est.) | males age 15-49: 2,003,572 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - military age | 18 years of age (2002 est.) | - |
Military manpower - reaching military age annually | males: 58,232 (2002 est.) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 15 September (1821) | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) |
Nationality | noun: Nicaraguan(s)
adjective: Nicaraguan |
noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean |
Natural hazards | destructive earthquakes, volcanoes, landslides; extremely susceptible to hurricanes | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare |
Natural resources | gold, silver, copper, tungsten, lead, zinc, timber, fish | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals |
Net migration rate | -1.3 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2002 est.) | NEGL migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2003 est.) |
Pipelines | crude oil 56 km | refined products 261 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | Conservative Party of Nicaragua or PCN [Dr. Fernando AGUERO Rocha]; Independent Liberal Party or PLI [Virgilio GODOY]; Liberal Alliance (ruling alliance including Liberal Constitutional Party or PLC, New Liberal Party or PALI, Independent Liberal Party for National Unity or PLIUN, and Central American Unionist Party or PUCA) [leader NA]; National Conservative Party or PC [Pedro SOLARZANO, Noel VIDAURRE]; National Project or PRONAL [Benjamin LANZAS]; Nicaraguan Party of the Christian Path or PCCN [Guillermo OSORNO, Roberto RODRIGUEZ]; Nicaraguan Resistance Party or PRN [Salvador TALAVERA]; Sandinista National Liberation Front or FSLN [Daniel ORTEGA Saavedra]; Sandinista Renovation Movement or MRS [Sergio RAMIREZ]; Unity Alliance or AU [Alejandro SERRANO]; Union Nacional Opositora 96 or UNO-96 [Alfredo CESAR Aguirre] | Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; National Alliance for Good Governance or NAGG [Shakespeare MAYA]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [Wilson KUMBULA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE]; Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Agrippa MADLELA] |
Political pressure groups and leaders | National Workers Front or FNT is a Sandinista umbrella group of eight labor unions including - Farm Workers Association or ATC, Health Workers Federation or FETASALUD, Heroes and Martyrs Confederation of Professional Associations or CONAPRO, National Association of Educators of Nicaragua or ANDEN, National Union of Employees or UNE, National Union of Farmers and Ranchers or UNAG, Sandinista Workers Central or CST, and Union of Journalists of Nicaragua or UPN; Permanent Congress of Workers or CPT is an umbrella group of four non-Sandinista labor unions including - Autonomous Nicaraguan Workers Central or CTN-A, Confederation of Labor Unification or CUS, Independent General Confederation of Labor or CGT-I, and Labor Action and Unity Central or CAUS; Nicaraguan Workers' Central or CTN is an independent labor union; Superior Council of Private Enterprise or COSEP is a confederation of business groups | National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Brian KAGORO]; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU [Lovemore MATOMBO] |
Population | 5,023,818 (July 2002 est.) | 12,576,742
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 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 50% (2001 est.) | 70% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | 2.09% (2002 est.) | 0.83% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Bluefields, Corinto, El Bluff, Puerto Cabezas, Puerto Sandino, Rama, San Juan del Sur | Binga, Kariba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 63, FM 32, shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Radios | 1.24 million (1997) | - |
Railways | total: 6 km
narrow gauge: 6 km 1.067-m gauge note: carries mostly passengers from Chichigalpa to Ingenio San Antonio (2001) |
total: 3,077 km
narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) note: includes the 318 km Bulawayo-Beitbridge Railway Company line (2002) |
Religions | Roman Catholic 85%, Protestant | syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 0.99 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.78 male(s)/female total population: 1 male(s)/female (2002 est.) |
at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 1.02 male(s)/female total population: 1.02 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 16 years of age; universal | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: inadequate system being upgraded by foreign investment
domestic: low-capacity microwave radio relay and wire system being expanded; connected to Central American Microwave System international: satellite earth stations - 1 Intersputnik (Atlantic Ocean region) and 1 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) |
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 | 140,000 (1996) | 212,000 (in addition, there are about 20,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 7,911 (1997) | 111,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | 3 (plus seven low-power repeaters) (1997) | 16 (1997) |
Terrain | extensive Atlantic coastal plains rising to central interior mountains; narrow Pacific coastal plain interrupted by volcanoes | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | 3.09 children born/woman (2002 est.) | 3.66 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 23% plus considerable underemployment (2001 est.) | 70% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | 2,220 km (including 2 large lakes) | chrome ore is transported from Harare - by way of the Mazoe River - to the Zambezi River in Mozambique |