Zimbabwe (2007) | Grenada (2003) | |
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 | 6 parishes and 1 dependency*; Carriacou and Petit Martinique*, Saint Andrew, Saint David, Saint George, Saint John, Saint Mark, Saint Patrick |
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: 35.1% (male 15,840; female 15,492)
15-64 years: 61.3% (male 28,941; female 25,735) 65 years and over: 3.6% (male 1,502; female 1,748) (2003 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; sheep, goats, pigs | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, mace, citrus, avocados, root crops, sugarcane, corn, vegetables |
Airports | 341 (2007) | 3 (2002) |
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: 3
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 1,524 to 2,437 m: 1 under 914 m: 1 (2002) |
Airports - with unpaved runways | total: 322
1,524 to 2,437 m: 4 914 to 1,523 m: 152 under 914 m: 166 (2007) |
- |
Area | total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km |
total: 344 sq km
land: 344 sq km water: 0 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Montana | 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." | One of the smallest independent countries in the western hemisphere, Grenada was seized by a Marxist military council on 19 October 1983. Six days later the island was invaded by US forces and those of six other Caribbean nations, which quickly captured the ringleaders and their hundreds of Cuban advisers. Free elections were reinstituted the following year. |
Birth rate | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 22.87 births/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.156 billion
expenditures: $2.789 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $85.8 million
expenditures: $102.1 million, including capital expenditures of $28 million (1997) |
Capital | name: Harare
geographic coordinates: 17 50 S, 31 03 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Saint George's |
Climate | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) | tropical; tempered by northeast trade winds |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 121 km |
Constitution | 21 December 1979 | 19 December 1973 |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
conventional long form: none
conventional short form: Grenada |
Currency | - | East Caribbean dollar (XCD) |
Death rate | 21.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 7.46 deaths/1,000 population (2003 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.576 billion (2006 est.) | $196 million (2000) |
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 |
chief of mission: the ambassador to Barbados is accredited to Grenada
embassy: Point Salines, Saint George's mailing address: P. O. Box 54, Saint George's, Grenada, West Indies telephone: [1] (473) 444-1173 through 1176 FAX: [1] (473) 444-4820 |
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 |
chief of mission: Ambassador Denis G. ANTOINE
chancery: 1701 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 telephone: [1] (202) 265-2561 FAX: [1] (202) 265-2468 consulate(s) general: New York |
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 | none |
Economic aid - recipient | $367.7 million; note - the EU and the US provide food aid on humanitarian grounds (2005 est.) | $8.3 million (1995) |
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. | Grenada relies on tourism as its main source of foreign exchange, especially since the construction of an international airport in 1985. Strong performances in construction and manufacturing, together with the development of an offshore financial industry, have also contributed to growth in national output. |
Electricity - consumption | 12.27 billion kWh (2005) | 128.3 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - imports | 3.013 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production | 9.95 billion kWh (2005) | 138 million kWh (2001) |
Electricity - production by source | - | fossil fuel: 100%
hydro: 0% nuclear: 0% other: 0% (2001) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
lowest point: Caribbean Sea 0 m
highest point: Mount Saint Catherine 840 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 | NA |
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 |
party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Whaling
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% | black 82%, mixed black and European 13%, European and East Indian 5% , and trace of Arawak/Carib Amerindian |
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 |
East Caribbean dollars per US dollar - 2.7 (2002), 2.7 (2001), 2.7 (2000), 2.7 (1999), 2.7 (1998) |
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% |
chief of state: Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952), represented by Governor General Daniel WILLIAMS (since 9 August 1996)
head of government: Prime Minister Keith MITCHELL (since 22 June 1995) cabinet: Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister elections: none; the monarch is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Exports - commodities | cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing | bananas, cocoa, nutmeg, fruit and vegetables, clothing, mace |
Exports - partners | Sudan 24.9%, Republic of the Congo 17.7%, Burkina Faso 15.8%, US 10.5% (2006) | Germany 14%, US 13.6%, Bangladesh 9.7%, Netherlands 8.6%, Saint Lucia 6.4%, Antigua and Barbuda 4.3%, France 4.1% (2002) |
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 | a rectangle divided diagonally into yellow triangles (top and bottom) and green triangles (hoist side and outer side), with a red border around the flag; there are seven yellow, five-pointed stars with three centered in the top red border, three centered in the bottom red border, and one on a red disk superimposed at the center of the flag; there is also a symbolic nutmeg pod on the hoist-side triangle (Grenada is the world's second-largest producer of nutmeg, after Indonesia); the seven stars represent the seven administrative divisions |
GDP | - | purchasing power parity - $440 million (2002 est.) |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.7%
industry: 21.6% services: 61.6% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 7.7%
industry: 23.9% services: 68.4% (2000) |
GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $5,000 (2002 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -4.1% (2006 est.) | 2.5% (2002 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 30 00 E | 12 07 N, 61 40 W |
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 | the administration of the islands of the Grenadines group is divided between Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Grenada |
Highways | - | total: 1,040 km
paved: 638 km unpaved: 402 km (1999 est.) |
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 | small-scale cannabis cultivation; lesser transshipment point for marijuana and cocaine to US |
Imports | 13,370 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA (2001) |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels | food, manufactured goods, machinery, chemicals, fuel |
Imports - partners | South Africa 40.8%, Zambia 29.6%, US 4.9% (2006) | US 30.7%, Trinidad and Tobago 27.3%, UK 4.4% (2002) |
Independence | 18 April 1980 (from UK) | 7 February 1974 (from UK) |
Industrial production growth rate | -1.8% (2006 est.) | 0.7% (1997 est.) |
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 | food and beverages, textiles, light assembly operations, tourism, construction |
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: 14.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 14.18 deaths/1,000 live births female: 15.07 deaths/1,000 live births (2003 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1,033.5% official data; private sector estimates are much higher (2006 est.) | 2.8% (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 | ACP, C, Caricom, CDB, ECLAC, FAO, G-77, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, IMO, Interpol, IOC, ISO (subscriber), ITU, LAES, NAM, OAS, OECS, OPANAL, OPCW (signatory), UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WHO, WIPO, WTrO |
Internet Service Providers (ISPs) | - | 14 (2000) |
Irrigated land | 1,740 sq km (2003) | NA sq km |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Court | West Indies Associate States Supreme Court (an associate judge resides in Grenada) |
Labor force | 3.99 million (2006 est.) | 42,300 (1996) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 66%
industry: 10% services: 24% (1996) |
services 62%, agriculture 24%, industry 14% (1999 est.) |
Land boundaries | total: 3,066 km
border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km |
0 km |
Land use | arable land: 8.24%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 91.43% (2005) |
arable land: 5.88%
permanent crops: 26.47% other: 67.65% (1998 est.) |
Languages | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects | English (official), French patois |
Legal system | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law | based on 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 |
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (a 13-member body, 10 appointed by the government and three by the leader of the opposition) and the House of Representatives (15 seats; members are elected by popular vote to serve five-year terms)
elections: last held on 27 November 2003 (next to be held by NA November 2008) election results: House of Representatives - percent of vote by party - NA%; seats by party - NNP 8, NDC 7 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 39.5 years
male: 40.62 years female: 38.35 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 64.52 years
male: 62.74 years female: 66.31 years (2003 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: 98% male: 98% female: 98% (1970 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia | Caribbean, island between the Caribbean Sea and Atlantic Ocean, north of Trinidad and Tobago |
Map references | Africa | Central America and the Caribbean |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | exclusive economic zone: 200 NM
territorial sea: 12 NM |
Merchant marine | - | none (2002 est.) |
Military branches | Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police (2005) | Royal Grenada Police Force, Coast Guard |
Military expenditures - dollar figure | - | $NA |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.8% (2006) | NA% |
National holiday | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) | Independence Day, 7 February (1974) |
Nationality | noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean |
noun: Grenadian(s)
adjective: Grenadian |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare | lies on edge of hurricane belt; hurricane season lasts from June to November |
Natural resources | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals | timber, tropical fruit, deepwater harbors |
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.) |
-14.56 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2003 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 | Grenada United Labor Party or GULP [Herbert PREUDHOMME]; National Democratic Congress or NDC [leader vacant]; New National Party or NNP [George McGUIRE]; People Labor Movement or PLM [leader NA] |
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] | NA |
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.) |
89,258 (July 2003 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (2004) | 32% (2000) |
Population growth rate | 0.595% (2007 est.) | 0.08% (2003 est.) |
Ports and harbors | - | Grenville, Saint George's |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 13, shortwave 0 (1998) |
Railways | total: 3,077 km
narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) (2006) |
0 km |
Religions | syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% | Roman Catholic 53%, Anglican 13.8%, other Protestant 33.2% |
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 male(s)/female
under 15 years: 1.02 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.12 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.86 male(s)/female total population: 1.08 male(s)/female (2003 est.) |
Suffrage | 18 years of age; universal | 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: automatic, islandwide telephone system
domestic: interisland VHF and UHF radiotelephone links international: new SHF radiotelephone links to Trinidad and Tobago and Saint Vincent; VHF and UHF radio links to Trinidad |
Telephones - main lines in use | 331,700 (2006) | 27,000 (1997) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 832,500 (2006) | 976 (1997) |
Television broadcast stations | 16 (1997) | 2 (1997) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east | volcanic in origin with central mountains |
Total fertility rate | 3.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2003 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 80% (2005 est.) | 12.5% (2000) |
Waterways | on Lake Kariba (2005) | none |