Zimbabwe (2007) | Gaza Strip (2005) | |
![]() | ![]() | |
Administrative divisions | 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: 37.2% (male 2,308,731/female 2,266,027)
15-64 years: 59.3% (male 3,663,108/female 3,641,519) 65 years and over: 3.5% (male 198,867/female 232,891) (2007 est.) |
0-14 years: 48.5% (male 342,186/female 325,899)
15-64 years: 48.8% (male 342,927/female 329,354) 65 years and over: 2.6% (male 15,036/female 20,887) (2005 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; sheep, goats, pigs | olives, citrus, vegetables; beef, dairy products |
Airports | 341 (2007) | 2 (2001)
note: includes Gaza International Airport (GIA), inaugurated on 24 November 1998 as part of agreements stipulated in the September 1995 Oslo II Accord and the 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum; GIA has been largely closed since October 2000 by Israeli orders and its runway was destroyed by the Israeli Defense Forces in December 2001 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with paved runways | total: 19
over 3,047 m: 3 2,438 to 3,047 m: 2 1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 10 (2007) |
total: 1
over 3,047 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 322
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 152 under 914 m: 166 (2007) |
total: 1
under 914 m: 1 (2004 est.) |
Area | total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km |
total: 360 sq km
land: 360 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Montana | slightly more than twice the size of Washington, DC |
Background | The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the [British] 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, which began 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 strikes in 2003 were unsuccessful in pressuring MUGABE to retire early; security forces continued their brutal repression of regime opponents. The ruling ZANU-PF party used fraud and intimidation to win a two-thirds majority in the March 2005 parliamentary election, allowing it to amend the constitution at will and recreate the Senate, which had been abolished in the late 1980s. In April 2005, Harare embarked on Operation Restore Order, ostensibly an urban rationalization program, which resulted in the destruction of the homes or businesses of 700,000 mostly poor supporters of the opposition, according to UN estimates. ZANU-PF announced in December 2006 that they would seek to extend MUGABE's term in office until 2010 when presidential and parliamentary elections would be "harmonized." | The Israel-PLO Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements (the DOP), signed in Washington on 13 September 1993, provided for a transitional period not exceeding five years of Palestinian interim self-government in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Under the DOP, Israel agreed to transfer certain powers and responsibilities to the Palestinian Authority, which includes the Palestinian Legislative Council elected in January 1996, as part of the interim self-governing arrangements in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A transfer of powers and responsibilities for the Gaza Strip and Jericho took place pursuant to the Israel-PLO 4 May 1994 Cairo Agreement on the Gaza Strip and the Jericho Area and in additional areas of the West Bank pursuant to the Israel-PLO 28 September 1995 Interim Agreement, the Israel-PLO 15 January 1997 Protocol Concerning Redeployment in Hebron, the Israel-PLO 23 October 1998 Wye River Memorandum, and the 4 September 1999 Sharm el-Sheikh Agreement. The DOP provides that Israel will retain responsibility during the transitional period for external and internal security and for public order of settlements and Israeli citizens. Direct negotiations to determine the permanent status of Gaza and West Bank began in September 1999 after a three-year hiatus, but were derailed by a second intifadah that broke out in September 2000. The resulting widespread violence in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, Israel's military response, and instability within the Palestinian Authority continued to undermine progress toward a permanent agreement. Following the death of longtime Palestinian leader Yasir ARAFAT in November 2004, the election of his successor Mahmud ABBAS in January 2005 brought about a turning point in the conflict. In February 2005 the Israeli Government voted to disengage from the Gaza Strip by dismantling all Israeli settlements and removing all Israeli settlers. This process was completed in September 2005. Nonetheless, Israel maintains offshore maritime control as well as airspace control. The future political status of the Gaza Strip has yet to be determined. |
Birth rate | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 40.03 births/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.156 billion
expenditures: $2.789 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $676.6 million
expenditures: $1.155 billion, including capital expenditures of NA; note - these budget data include West Bank (2003) |
Capital | name: Harare
geographic coordinates: 17 50 S, 31 03 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
- |
Climate | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) | temperate, mild winters, dry and warm to hot summers |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 40 km |
Constitution | 21 December 1979 | - |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Gaza Strip local long form: none local short form: Qita Ghazzah |
Death rate | 21.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 3.87 deaths/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.576 billion (2006 est.) | $108 million (includes West Bank) (1997 est.) |
Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Christopher W. DELL
embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594 FAX: [263] (4) 796-488 |
- |
Diplomatic representation in the US | chief of mission: Ambassador Dr. Machivenyika T. MAPURANGA
chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100 FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326 |
- |
Disputes - international | Botswana built electric fences and South Africa has placed military along the border to stem the flow of thousands of Zimbabweans fleeing to find work and escape political persecution; Namibia has supported, and in 2004 Zimbabwe dropped objections to, plans between Botswana and Zambia to build a bridge over the Zambezi River, thereby de facto recognizing a short, but not clearly delimited, Botswana-Zambia boundary in the river | West Bank and Gaza Strip are Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation; Israel announced its intention to pull out settlers and withdraw from the Gaza Strip in 2005 |
Economic aid - recipient | $367.7 million; note - the EU and the US provide food aid on humanitarian grounds (2005 est.) | $2 billion (includes West Bank) (2004 est.) |
Economy - overview | 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 drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has badly damaged the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs, turning Zimbabwe into a net importer of food products. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the government's arrears on past loans, which it began repaying in 2005. The official annual inflation rate rose from 32% in 1998, to 133% in 2004, 585% in 2005, and approached 1000% in 2006, although private sector estimates put the figure much higher. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate fell from approximately 1 (revalued) Zimbabwean dollar per US dollar in 2003 to 160 per US dollar in 2006. | High population density, limited land access, and strict internal and external controls have kept economic conditions in the Gaza Strip - the smaller of the two areas under the Palestinian Authority - even more degraded than in the West Bank. An anticipated Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip in 2005 may offer some medium-term opportunities for economic growth. The beginning of the second intifadah in September 2000 sparked an economic downturn, largely the result of Israeli closure policies; these policies, which were imposed in response to security interests in Israel, disrupted labor and commodity relationships with the Gaza Strip. In 2001, and even more severely in 2003, Israeli military measures in Palestinian Authority areas resulted in the destruction of much capital plant, the disruption of administrative structure, and widespread business closures. Including the West Bank, the UN estimates that more than 100,000 Palestinians out of the 125,000 who used to work in Israel or in joint industrial zones have lost their jobs. International aid of $2 billion to Gaza Strip and the West Bank in 2004 prevented the complete collapse of the economy and allowed some reforms in the government's financial operations. Meanwhile unemployment has continued at half the labor force. ARAFAT's death in 2004 leaves open more political options that could affect the economy. |
Electricity - consumption | 12.27 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 3.013 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel (2001) |
Electricity - production | 9.95 billion kWh (2005) | NA kWh; note - electricity supplied by Israel |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
lowest point: Mediterranean Sea 0 m
highest point: Abu 'Awdah (Joz Abu 'Auda) 105 m |
Environment - current issues | 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 | desertification; salination of fresh water; sewage treatment; water-borne disease; soil degradation; depletion and contamination of underground water resources |
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 | African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% | Palestinian Arab and other 99.4%, Jewish 0.6% |
Exchange rates | Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 162.07 (2006), 77.965 (2005), 5.729 (2004), 0.824 (2003), 0.055 (2002)
note: these are official exchange rates; non-official rates vary significantly |
new Israeli shekels per US dollar - 4.482 (2004), 4.5541 (2003), 4.7378 (2002), 4.2057 (2001), 4.0773 (2000) |
Executive branch | chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Vice President Joseph MSIKA (since December 1999) and Vice President Joyce MUJURU (since 6 December 2004); 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); Vice President Joseph MSIKA (since December 1999) and Vice President Joyce MUJURU (since 6 December 2004) 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 for a six-year term (no term limits); election last held 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held in 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 | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $205 million f.o.b., includes West Bank (2002) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing | citrus, flowers |
Exports - partners | Sudan 24.9%, Republic of the Congo 17.7%, Burkina Faso 15.8%, US 10.5% (2006) | Israel, Egypt, West Bank |
Fiscal year | calendar year | calendar year |
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 - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.7%
industry: 21.6% services: 61.6% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 9%
industry: 28% services: 63% (includes West Bank) (2002 est.) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $600 (2003 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -4.1% (2006 est.) | 4.5% (2003 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 30 00 E | 31 25 N, 34 20 E |
Geography - note | 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 | there are 25 Israeli settlements and civilian land use sites in the Gaza Strip (February 2002 est.) |
Heliports | - | 1 (2004 est.) |
Highways | - | total: NA km
paved: NA km unpaved: NA km note: small, poorly developed road network |
Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1995) |
lowest 10%: NA
highest 10%: NA |
Illicit drugs | transit point for cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines en route to South Africa | - |
Imports | 13,370 bbl/day (2004 est.) | $1.9 billion c.i.f., includes West Bank (2002) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels | food, consumer goods, construction materials |
Imports - partners | South Africa 40.8%, Zambia 29.6%, US 4.9% (2006) | Israel, Egypt, West Bank |
Independence | 18 April 1980 (from UK) | - |
Industrial production growth rate | -1.8% (2006 est.) | NA |
Industries | mining (coal, gold, platinum, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel; wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages | generally small family businesses that produce textiles, soap, olive-wood carvings, and mother-of-pearl souvenirs; the Israelis have established some small-scale modern industries in an industrial center |
Infant mortality rate | total: 51.12 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 53.87 deaths/1,000 live births female: 48.29 deaths/1,000 live births (2007 est.) |
total: 22.93 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 24.05 deaths/1,000 live births female: 21.76 deaths/1,000 live births (2005 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1,033.5% official data; private sector estimates are much higher (2006 est.) | 2.2% (includes West Bank) (2001 est.) |
International organization participation | ACP, AfDB, AU, COMESA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, IOM, IPU, ISO, ITSO, ITU, ITUC, MIGA, NAM, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIS, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | - |
Irrigated land | 1,740 sq km (2003) | 120 sq km (1998 est.) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Court | - |
Labor force | 3.99 million (2006 est.) | 725,000 (2004) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 66%
industry: 10% services: 24% (1996) |
agriculture 14%, industry 19%, services 66% (2004) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,066 km
border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km |
total: 62 km
border countries: Egypt 11 km, Israel 51 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.24%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 91.43% (2005) |
arable land: 28.95%
permanent crops: 21.05% other: 50% (2001) |
Languages | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects | Arabic, Hebrew (spoken by Israeli settlers and many Palestinians), English (widely understood) |
Legal system | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law | - |
Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate (66 seats - 50 elected by popular vote for a five-year term, 6 nominated by the president, 10 nominated by the Council of Chiefs) and a 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: Senate last held 26 November 2005 (next to be held in 2010; House of Assembly last held 31 March 2005 (next to be held in 2010) election results: Senate - percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 73.7%, MDC 20.3%, other 4.4%, independents 1.6%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 43, MDC 7; House of Assembly - percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 59.6%, MDC 39.5%, other 0.9%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 78, MDC 41, independents 1 |
- |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 39.5 years
male: 40.62 years female: 38.35 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 71.79 years
male: 70.5 years female: 73.15 years (2005 est.) |
Literacy | definition: age 15 and over can read and write English
total population: 90.7% male: 94.2% female: 87.2% (2003 est.) |
definition: age 15 and over can read and write
total population: 91.9% male: 96.3% female: 87.4% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia | Middle East, bordering the Mediterranean Sea, between Egypt and Israel |
Map references | Africa | Middle East |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | Israeli-occupied with current status subject to the Israeli-Palestinian Interim Agreement - permanent status to be determined through further negotiation |
Military branches | Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police (2005) | in accordance with the peace agreement, the Palestinian Authority is not permitted conventional military forces; there are, however, public security forces (2002) |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.8% (2006) | NA |
National holiday | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) | - |
Nationality | noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean |
noun: NA
adjective: NA |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare | droughts |
Natural resources | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals | arable land, natural gas |
Net migration rate | 0 migrant(s)/1,000 population
note: there is an increasing flow of Zimbabweans into South Africa and Botswana in search of better economic opportunities (2007 est.) |
1.54 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2005 est.) |
Pipelines | refined products 261 km (2006) | - |
Political parties and leaders | African National Party or ANP; Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI, anti-Senate faction; Arthur MUTAMBARA, pro-Senate faction]; Peace Action is Freedom for All or PAFA; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; United People's Party [Daniel SHUMBA]; 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]; Zimbabwe Youth in Alliance or ZIYA | - |
Political pressure groups and leaders | Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Arnold TSUNGA]; National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Zimbabwe Congress of Trade Unions or ZCTU [Wellington CHIBEBE] | - |
Population | 12,311,143
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.) |
1,376,289
note: in addition, there are more than 5,000 Israeli settlers in the Gaza Strip (July 2005 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (2004) | 81% (2004 est.) |
Population growth rate | 0.595% (2007 est.) | 3.77% (2005 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Gaza |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 0, FM 0, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 3,077 km
narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) (2006) |
- |
Religions | syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% | Muslim (predominantly Sunni) 98.7%, Christian 0.7%, Jewish 0.6% |
Sex ratio | at birth: 1.03 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.019 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.006 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.854 male(s)/female total population: 1.005 male(s)/female (2007 est.) |
at birth: 1.05 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.05 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.04 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.72 male(s)/female total population: 1.04 male(s)/female (2005 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | - |
Telephone system | 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: country code - 263; satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; 2 international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru) |
general assessment: NA
domestic: rudimentary telephone services provided by an open-wire system international: NA |
Telephones - main lines in use | 331,700 (2006) | 95,729 (total for Gaza Strip and West Bank) (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 832,500 (2006) | 320,000 (cellular subscribers in both Gaza Strip and West Bank) (2002) |
Television broadcast stations | 16 (1997) | 2 (operated by the Palestinian Broadcasting Corporation) (1997) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east | flat to rolling, sand- and dune-covered coastal plain |
Total fertility rate | 3.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 5.91 children born/woman (2005 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 80% (2005 est.) | 50% (includes West Bank) (2003 est.) |
Waterways | on Lake Kariba (2005) | - |