Western Sahara (2005) | Zimbabwe (2003) | |
Administrative divisions | none (under de facto control of Morocco) | 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: NA
15-64 years: NA 65 years and over: NA |
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 | fruits and vegetables (grown in the few oases); camels, sheep, goats (kept by nomads) | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs |
Airports | 11 (2004 est.) | 430 (2002) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
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: 8
1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 4 under 914 m: 3 (2004 est.) |
total: 413
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 197 under 914 m: 212 (2002) |
Area | total: 266,000 sq km
land: 266,000 sq km water: 0 sq km |
total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km |
Area - comparative | about the size of Colorado | slightly larger than Montana |
Background | Morocco virtually annexed the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) in 1976, and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania's withdrawal. A guerrilla war with the Polisario Front contesting Rabat's sovereignty ended in a 1991 UN-brokered cease-fire; a UN-organized referendum on final status has been repeatedly postponed. | 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 | NA births/1,000 population | 30.34 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: NA
expenditures: NA, including capital expenditures of NA |
revenues: $2.5 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
Capital | none | Harare |
Climate | hot, dry desert; rain is rare; cold offshore air currents produce fog and heavy dew | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) |
Coastline | 1,110 km | 0 km (landlocked) |
Constitution | - | 21 December 1979 |
Country name | conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Western Sahara former: Spanish Sahara |
conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
Currency | - | Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) |
Death rate | NA deaths/1,000 population | 22.02 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | NA | $3.9 billion (2002 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | none | 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 | none | 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 | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, whose sovereignty remains unresolved - UN-administered cease-fire has remained in effect since September 1991, administered by the UN Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), but attempts to hold a referendum have failed and parties thus far have rejected all brokered proposals | dormant dispute remains where Botswana, Namibia, Zambia, and Zimbabwe boundaries converge |
Economic aid - recipient | NA | $178 million (2000 est.) |
Economy - overview | Western Sahara depends on pastoral nomadism, fishing, and phosphate mining as the principal sources of income for the population. The territory lacks sufficient rainfall for sustainable agricultural production, and most of the food for the urban population must be imported. All trade and other economic activities are controlled by the Moroccan Government. Moroccan energy interests in 2001 signed contracts to explore for oil off the coast of Western Sahara, which has angered the Polisario. Incomes and standards of living in Western Sahara are substantially below the Moroccan level. | 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 | 83.7 million kWh (2002) | 9.813 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2002) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 0 kWh (2002) | 3.55 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 90 million kWh (2002) | 6.735 billion kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 47%
hydro: 53% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: Sebjet Tah -55 m
highest point: unnamed location 463 m |
lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
Environment - current issues | sparse water and lack of arable land | 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: none of the selected agreements
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 | Arab, Berber | African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% |
Exchange rates | Moroccan dirhams per US dollar - 8.868 (2004), 9.5744 (2003), 11.0206 (2002), 11.303 (2001), 10.6256 (2000) | Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 55 (2002), 55.05 (2001), 44.42 (2000), 38.3 (1999), 23.68 (1998) |
Executive branch | none | 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 | NA | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | phosphates 62% | tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing |
Exports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | 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 | - | 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 - $26.07 billion (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: NA
industry: NA services: 40% (1996 est.) |
agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2001) |
GDP - per capita | purchasing power parity - NA | purchasing power parity - $2,100 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | NA | -13% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 24 30 N, 13 00 W | 20 00 S, 30 00 E |
Geography - note | the waters off the coast are particularly rich fishing areas | 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: 6,200 km
paved: 1,350 km unpaved: 4,850 km (1991 est) |
total: 18,338 km
paved: 8,692 km unpaved: 9,646 km (1999 est.) |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
lowest 10%: 1.97%
highest 10%: 40.42% (1995) |
Illicit drugs | - | transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets |
Imports | NA | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | fuel for fishing fleet, foodstuffs | machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels |
Imports - partners | Morocco claims and administers Western Sahara, so trade partners are included in overall Moroccan accounts | South Africa 47.7%, Congo, Democratic Republic of the 5.7%, Mozambique 5.3% (2002) |
Independence | - | 18 April 1980 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | NA | -3.1% (2002 est.) |
Industries | phosphate mining, handicrafts | 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: NA
male: NA female: NA |
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) | NA | 134.5% (2002 est.) |
International organization participation | none | 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) | - | 6 (2000) |
Irrigated land | NA sq km | 1,170 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | - | Supreme Court; High Court |
Labor force | 12,000 | 5.8 million (2000 est.) |
Labor force - by occupation | animal husbandry and subsistence farming 50% | agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10% (1996) |
Land boundaries | total: 2,046 km
border countries: Algeria 42 km, Mauritania 1,561 km, Morocco 443 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: 0.02%
permanent crops: 0% other: 99.98% (2001) |
arable land: 8.4%
permanent crops: 0.34% other: 91.26% (1998 est.) |
Languages | Hassaniya Arabic, Moroccan Arabic | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects |
Legal system | - | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law |
Legislative branch | - | 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: NA years
male: NA years female: NA years |
total population: 39.01 years
male: 40.09 years female: 37.89 years (2003 est.) |
Literacy | definition: NA
total population: NA% male: NA% female: NA% |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 90.7% male: 94.2% female: 87.2% (2003 est.) |
Location | Northern Africa, bordering the North Atlantic Ocean, between Mauritania and Morocco | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia |
Map references | Africa | Africa |
Maritime claims | contingent upon resolution of sovereignty issue | none (landlocked) |
Military branches | - | Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $625.1 million (FY02) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | - | 3.2% (FY02) |
Military manpower - availability | - | males age 15-49: 3,236,042 (2003 est.) |
Military manpower - fit for military service | - | males age 15-49: 2,003,572 (2003 est.) |
National holiday | - | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) |
Nationality | noun: Sahrawi(s), Sahraoui(s)
adjective: Sahrawi, Sahrawian, Sahraouian |
noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean |
Natural hazards | hot, dry, dust/sand-laden sirocco wind can occur during winter and spring; widespread harmattan haze exists 60% of time, often severely restricting visibility | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare |
Natural resources | phosphates, iron ore | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals |
Net migration rate | - | 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 | - | refined products 261 km (2003) |
Political parties and leaders | - | 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 | none | National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Brian KAGORO]; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU [Lovemore MATOMBO] |
Population | 273,008 (July 2005 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 | NA | 70% (2002 est.) |
Population growth rate | NA | 0.83% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | Ad Dakhla, Cabo Bojador, Laayoune (El Aaiun) | Binga, Kariba |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 2, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) | AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) |
Railways | - | 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 | Muslim | syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% |
Sex ratio | NA | 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 | none; a UN-sponsored voter identification campaign not yet completed | 18 years of age; universal |
Telephone system | general assessment: sparse and limited system
domestic: NA international: country code - 212; tied into Morocco's system by microwave radio relay, tropospheric scatter, and satellite; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat (Atlantic Ocean) linked to Rabat, Morocco |
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 | about 2,000 (1999 est.) | 212,000 (in addition, there are about 20,000 fixed telephones in wireless local loop connections) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 0 (1999) | 111,000 (2001) |
Television broadcast stations | NA | 16 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly low, flat desert with large areas of rocky or sandy surfaces rising to small mountains in south and northeast | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east |
Total fertility rate | NA children born/woman | 3.66 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | NA | 70% (2002 est.) |
Waterways | - | chrome ore is transported from Harare - by way of the Mazoe River - to the Zambezi River in Mozambique |