Zimbabwe (2007) | Reunion (2006) | |
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 | none (overseas department of France); there are no first-order administrative divisions as defined by the US Government, but there are 4 arrondissements, 24 communes, and 47 cantons |
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: 29.8% (male 120,147/female 114,589)
15-64 years: 64% (male 248,895/female 255,156) 65 years and over: 6.2% (male 19,847/female 28,950) (2006 est.) |
Agriculture - products | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; sheep, goats, pigs | sugarcane, vanilla, tobacco, tropical fruits, vegetables, corn |
Airports | 341 (2007) | 2 (2006) |
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: 2
2,438 to 3,047 m: 1 914 to 1,523 m: 1 (2006) |
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: 2,517 sq km
land: 2,507 sq km water: 10 sq km |
Area - comparative | slightly larger than Montana | slightly smaller than Rhode Island |
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 Portuguese discovered the uninhabited island in 1513. From the 17th to the 19th centuries, French immigration, supplemented by influxes of Africans, Chinese, Malays, and Malabar Indians, gave the island its ethnic mix. The opening of the Suez Canal in 1869 cost the island its importance as a stopover on the East Indies trade route. |
Birth rate | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 18.9 births/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Budget | revenues: $2.156 billion
expenditures: $2.789 billion (2006 est.) |
revenues: $554.7 million
expenditures: $554.7 million; including capital expenditures of $NA (1998) |
Capital | name: Harare
geographic coordinates: 17 50 S, 31 03 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
name: Saint-Denis
geographic coordinates: 20 52 S, 55 28 E time difference: UTC+4 (9 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Climate | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) | tropical, but temperature moderates with elevation; cool and dry (May to November), hot and rainy (November to April) |
Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 207 km |
Constitution | 21 December 1979 | 4 October 1958 (French Constitution) |
Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
conventional long form: Department of Reunion
conventional short form: Reunion local long form: none local short form: Ile de la Reunion former: Bourbon Island |
Death rate | 21.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 5.49 deaths/1,000 population (2006 est.) |
Debt - external | $4.576 billion (2006 est.) | $NA |
Dependency status | - | overseas department of France |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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 |
none (overseas department of France) |
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.) | $NA; note - substantial annual subsidies from France (2001 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. | The economy has traditionally been based on agriculture, but services now dominate. Sugarcane has been the primary crop for more than a century, and in some years it accounts for 85% of exports. The government has been pushing the development of a tourist industry to relieve high unemployment, which amounts to one-third of the labor force. The gap in Reunion between the well-off and the poor is extraordinary and accounts for the persistent social tensions. The white and Indian communities are substantially better off than other segments of the population, often approaching European standards, whereas minority groups suffer the poverty and unemployment typical of the poorer nations of the African continent. The outbreak of severe rioting in February 1991 illustrated the seriousness of socioeconomic tensions. The economic well-being of Reunion depends heavily on continued financial assistance from France. |
Electricity - consumption | 12.27 billion kWh (2005) | 1.107 billion kWh (2003) |
Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - imports | 3.013 billion kWh (2005) | 0 kWh (2003) |
Electricity - production | 9.95 billion kWh (2005) | 1.19 billion kWh (2003) |
Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
lowest point: Indian Ocean 0 m
highest point: Piton des Neiges 3,069 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 |
- |
Ethnic groups | African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% | French, African, Malagasy, Chinese, Pakistani, Indian |
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 |
euros per US dollar - 0.8041 (2005), 0.8054 (2004), 0.886 (2003), 1.0626 (2002), 1.1175 (2001) |
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: President Jacques CHIRAC of France (since 17 May 1995), represented by Prefect Pierre-Henry MACCIONI (since 28 August 2006)
head of government: President of the General Council Nassimah DINDAR (since NA March 2004) and President of the Regional Council Paul VERGES (since NA March 1993) cabinet: NA elections: French president elected by popular vote for a five-year term; prefect appointed by the French president on the advice of the French Ministry of the Interior; the presidents of the General and Regional Councils are elected by the members of those councils |
Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | NA bbl/day |
Exports - commodities | cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing | sugar 63%, rum and molasses 4%, perfume essences 2%, lobster 3% |
Exports - partners | Sudan 24.9%, Republic of the Congo 17.7%, Burkina Faso 15.8%, US 10.5% (2006) | France 74%, Japan 6%, Comoros 4% (2004) |
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 | unofficial, local flag designed to emphasize solidarity among the people of Reunion; the field is divided vertically with three narrow stripes of blue, white, and red along the hoist edge representing the French national flag; the remainder of the field is divided diagonally into four triangles colored (clockwise from the hoist side) blue, golden yellow, red, and green; in the center, the apexes of the triangles are surmounted by a white disk; the only official flag is the national flag of France |
GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.7%
industry: 21.6% services: 61.6% (2006 est.) |
agriculture: 8%
industry: 19% services: 73% (2000 est.) |
GDP - real growth rate | -4.1% (2006 est.) | 2.5% (2005 est.) |
Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 30 00 E | 21 06 S, 55 36 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 | this mountainous, volcanic island has an active volcano, Piton de la Fournaise; there is a tropical cyclone center at Saint-Denis, which is the monitoring station for the whole of the Indian Ocean |
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.) | NA bbl/day |
Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels | manufactured goods, food, beverages, tobacco, machinery and transportation equipment, raw materials, and petroleum products |
Imports - partners | South Africa 40.8%, Zambia 29.6%, US 4.9% (2006) | France 64%, Bahrain 3%, Germany 3%, Italy 3% (2004) |
Independence | 18 April 1980 (from UK) | none (overseas department of France) |
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 | sugar, rum, cigarettes, handicraft items, flower oil extraction |
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: 7.63 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 8.37 deaths/1,000 live births female: 6.85 deaths/1,000 live births (2006 est.) |
Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 1,033.5% official data; private sector estimates are much higher (2006 est.) | NA% |
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 | InOC, UPU, WFTU |
Irrigated land | 1,740 sq km (2003) | 120 sq km (2003) |
Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Court | Court of Appeals or Cour d'Appel |
Labor force | 3.99 million (2006 est.) | 299,000 (2002) |
Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 66%
industry: 10% services: 24% (1996) |
agriculture: 13%
industry: 12% services: 75% (2000) |
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: 13.94%
permanent crops: 1.59% other: 84.47% (2005) |
Languages | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects | French (official), Creole widely used |
Legal system | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law | French 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 |
unicameral General Council (49 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms) and a unicameral Regional Council (45 seats; members are elected by direct, popular vote to serve six-year terms)
elections: General Council - last held 15 and 22 March 1998 (next to be held NA); Regional Council - last held 28 March 2004 (next to be held in 2010) election results: General Council - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - various right-wing candidates 13, PCR 10, PS 10, UDF 8, RPR 6, other left-wing candidates 2; Regional Council (second round) - percent of vote by party - PCR 44.9%, UMP 32.8%, PS-Greens 22.3%; seats by party - PCR 27, UMP 11, PS-Greens 7 note: Reunion elects three representatives to the French Senate; elections last held in 2001 (next to be held in 2006); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - PRC 1, UDF 1, UMP 1; Reunion also elects five deputies to the French National Assembly; elections last held 9 June-16 June 2002 (next to be held in 2007); results - percent of vote by party - NA; seats by party - UMP 3, PS 1, independent 1 |
Life expectancy at birth | total population: 39.5 years
male: 40.62 years female: 38.35 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 74.18 years
male: 70.78 years female: 77.75 years (2006 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: 88.9% male: 87% female: 90.8% (2003 est.) |
Location | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia | Southern Africa, island in the Indian Ocean, east of Madagascar |
Map references | Africa | World |
Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | territorial sea: 12 nm
exclusive economic zone: 200 nm |
Merchant marine | - | registered in other countries: 1 (Bahamas 1) (2006) |
Military - note | - | defense is the responsibility of France |
Military branches | Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police (2005) | no regular indigenous military forces; French forces (includes Army, Navy, Air Force, and Gendarmerie) (2005) |
Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.8% (2006) | - |
National holiday | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) | Bastille Day, 14 July (1789) |
Nationality | noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean |
noun: Reunionese (singular and plural)
adjective: Reunionese |
Natural hazards | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare | periodic, devastating cyclones (December to April); Piton de la Fournaise on the southeastern coast is an active volcano |
Natural resources | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals | fish, arable land, hydropower |
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.) |
0 migrant(s)/1,000 population (2006 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 | Communist Party of Reunion or PCR [Elie HOARAU]; Rally for the Republic or RPR [Andre Maurice PIHOUEE]; Socialist Party or PS [Michel VERGOZ]; Union for French Democracy or UDF [Gilbert GERARD]; Union for a Popular Movement or UMP |
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.) |
787,584 (July 2006 est.) |
Population below poverty line | 68% (2004) | NA% |
Population growth rate | 0.595% (2007 est.) | 1.34% (2006 est.) |
Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 2, FM 55, shortwave 0 (2001) |
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% | Roman Catholic 86%, Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist (1995) |
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: 0.98 male(s)/female 65 years and over: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.98 male(s)/female (2006 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: adequate system; principal center is Saint-Denis
domestic: modern open-wire and microwave radio relay network international: country code - 262; radiotelephone communication to Comoros, France, Madagascar; new microwave route to Mauritius; satellite earth station - 1 Intelsat (Indian Ocean); fiber optic submarine cable (SAT-3/WASC/SAFE) provides connectivity to Europe and Asia |
Telephones - main lines in use | 331,700 (2006) | 300,000 (2001) |
Telephones - mobile cellular | 832,500 (2006) | 579,200 (2004) |
Television broadcast stations | 16 (1997) | 35 (plus 18 low-power repeaters) (2001) |
Terrain | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east | mostly rugged and mountainous; fertile lowlands along coast |
Total fertility rate | 3.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 2.45 children born/woman (2006 est.) |
Unemployment rate | 80% (2005 est.) | 31% (2002) |
Waterways | on Lake Kariba (2005) | - |