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Compare Zimbabwe (2008) - European Union (2005)
Compare Zimbabwe (2008) z European Union (2005)
| Zimbabwe (2008) | European Union (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: 16.03% (male 37,608,010/female 35,632,351)
15-64 years: 67.17% (male 154,439,536/female 152,479,619) 65 years and over: 16.81% (male 31,515,921/female 45,277,821) (2005 est.) |
| Agriculture - products | corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; sheep, goats, pigs | wheat, barley, oilseeds, sugar beets, wine, grapes, dairy products, cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry, fish |
| Airports | 341 (2007) | 3,130 (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: 1,834 |
| 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: 1,296 |
| Area | total: 390,580 sq km
land: 386,670 sq km water: 3,910 sq km |
total: 3,976,372 sq km |
| Area - comparative | slightly larger than Montana | less than one-half the size of the US |
| 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. 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. President Mugabe in June 2007 instituted price controls on all basic commodities causing panic buying and leaving store shelves empty for months. In October 2007, Constitutional Amendment 18 came into effect allowing for harmonized presidential and parliamentary elections, shortening the length of the presidential term to five years, and moving up the date for parliamentary elections. General elections are expected in March 2008. | Following the two devastating World Wars of the first half of the 20th century, a number of European leaders in the late 1940s became convinced that the only way to establish a lasting peace was to unite the two chief belligerent nations - France and Germany - both economically and politically. In 1950, the French Foreign Minister Robert SCHUMAN proposed an eventual union of all Europe, the first step of which would be the integration of the coal and steel industries of Western Europe. The following year the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) was set up when six members, Belgium, France, West Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, and the Netherlands, signed the Treaty of Paris.
The ECSC was so successful that within a few years the decision was made to integrate other parts of the countries' economies. In 1957, the Treaties of Rome created the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom), and the six member states undertook to eliminate trade barriers among themselves by forming a common market. In 1967, the institutions of all three communities were formally merged into the European Community (EC), creating a single Commission, a single Council of Ministers, and the European Parliament. Members of the European Parliament were initially selected by national parliaments, but in 1979 the first direct elections were undertaken and they have been held every five years since. In 1973, the first enlargement of the EC took place with the addition of Denmark, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. The 1980s saw further membership expansion with Greece joining in 1981 and Spain and Portugal in 1986. The 1992 Treaty of Maastricht laid the basis for further forms of cooperation in foreign and defense policy, in judicial and internal affairs, and in the creation of an economic and monetary union - including a common currency. This further integration created the European Union (EU). In 1995, Austria, Finland, and Sweden joined the EU, raising the membership total to 15. A new currency, the euro, was launched in world money markets on 1 January 1999; it become the unit of exchange for all of the EU states except the United Kingdom, Sweden, and Denmark. In 2002, citizens of the 12 euro-area countries began using the euro banknotes and coins. Ten new countries joined the EU in 2004 - Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, and Slovenia - bringing the current membership to 25. In order to ensure that the EU can continue to function efficiently with an expanded membership, the 2003 Treaty of Nice set forth rules streamlining the size and procedures of EU institutions. An EU Constitutional Treaty, signed in Rome on 29 October 2004, gave member states two years to ratify the document before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006. Referenda held in France and the Netherlands in May-June 2005 that rejected the constitution suspended the ratification effort. Despite the expansion of membership and functions, "Eurosceptics" in various countries have raised questions about the erosion of national cultures and the imposition of a flood of regulations from the EU capital in Brussels. Failure by all member states to ratify the constitution or the inability of newcomer countries to meet euro currency standards might force a loosening of some EU agreements and perhaps lead to several levels of EU participation. These "tiers" might eventually range from an "inner" core of politically integrated countries to a looser "outer" economic association of members. |
| Birth rate | 27.72 births/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10 births/1,000 population (July 2005 est.) |
| Budget | revenues: $1.105 billion
expenditures: $1.366 billion (2007 est.) |
- |
| Capital | name: Harare
geographic coordinates: 17 50 S, 31 03 E time difference: UTC+2 (7 hours ahead of Washington, DC during Standard Time) |
Brussels, Belgium
note: the Council of the European Union meets in Brussels, the European Parliament meets in Strasbourg, France, and the Court of Justice of the European Communities meets in Luxembourg |
| Climate | tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) | cold temperate; potentially subarctic in the north to temperate; mild wet winters; hot dry summers in the south |
| Coastline | 0 km (landlocked) | 65,413.9 km |
| Constitution | 21 December 1979 | based on a series of treaties: the Treaty of Paris, which set up the European Coal and Steel Community (ECSC) in 1951; the Treaties of Rome, which set up the European Economic Community (EEC) and the European Atomic Energy Community (Euratom) in 1957; the Single European Act in 1986; the Treaty on European Union (Maastricht) in 1992; the Treaty of Amsterdam in 1997; and the Treaty of Nice in 2001; note - a new draft Constitutional Treaty, signed on 29 October 2004 in Rome, gave member states two years for ratification either by parliamentary vote or national referendum before it was scheduled to take effect on 1 November 2006; defeat in French and Dutch referenda in May-June 2005 caused a suspension of the ratification process |
| Country name | conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
- |
| Death rate | 21.76 deaths/1,000 population (2007 est.) | 10.1 deaths/1,000 population (July 2005 est.) |
| Debt - external | $4.876 billion (31 December 2007 est.) | - |
| Diplomatic representation from the US | chief of mission: Ambassador James D. MCGEE
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: Ambassador Rockwell SCHNABEL
embassy: 13 Zinnerstraat/Rue Zinner, B-1000 Brussels mailing address: same as above telephone: [32] (2) 508-2222 FAX: [32] (2) 512-5720 |
| 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 John BRUTON
chancery: 2300 M Street, NW, Washington, D.C. 20037 telephone: [1] (202) 862-9500 FAX: [1] (202) 429-1766 |
| 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 | the EU has no border disputes with neighboring countries; it has set up a Schengen area - consisting of 13 EU member states that have signed the convention implementing the Schengen agreements (1985 and 1990) on the free movement of persons and the harmonization of border controls in Europe; the Schengen agreements ("acquis") became incorporated into EU law with the implementation of the 1997 Treaty of Amsterdam on 1 May 1999; member states are: Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, and Sweden; in addition, non-EU states Iceland and Norway (as part of the Nordic Union) have been included in the Schengen area since 1996 (full members in 2001), bringing the total current membership to 15; the UK (since 2000) and Ireland (since 2002) take part in some aspects of the Schengen area, especially with respect to police and criminal matters; the 10 new member states that joined the EU in 2004 eventually are expected to participate in Schengen, following a transition period to upgrade their border controls and procedures |
| Economic aid - recipient | $367.7 million; note - the EU and the US provide food aid on humanitarian grounds (2005 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 official exchange rate, hyperinflation, and bare store 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 and the government's unwillingness to enact reforms that would stabilize the economy. The Reserve Bank of Zimbabwe routinely prints money to fund the budget deficit, causing the official annual inflation rate to rise from 32% in 1998, to 133% in 2004, 585% in 2005, passed 1000% in 2006, and 26000% in November 2007. Private sector estimates of inflation in 2007 are well above 100,000%. Meanwhile, the official exchange rate fell from approximately 1 (revalued) Zimbabwean dollar per US dollar in 2003 to 30,000 per US dollar in 2007. | Domestically, the European Union attempts to lower trade barriers, adopt a common currency, and move toward convergence of living standards. Internationally, the EU aims to bolster Europe's trade position and its political and economic power. Because of the great differences in per capita income (from $10,000 to $28,000) and historic national animosities, the European Community faces difficulties in devising and enforcing common policies. For example, both Germany and France since 2003 have flouted the member states' treaty obligation to prevent their national budgets from running more than a 3% deficit. In 2004, the EU admitted 10 central and eastern European countries that are, in general, less advanced technologically and economically than the existing 15. Twelve EU member states introduced the euro as their common currency on 1 January 1999. The UK, Sweden, and Denmark do not now participate; the 10 new member states may choose to adopt the euro when they meet the EU's fiscal and monetary criteria and the member states so agree. |
| Electricity - consumption | 12.27 billion kWh (2005) | 2.661 trillion kWh (2002 est.) |
| Electricity - exports | 0 kWh (2005) | 270.8 billion kWh (2002) |
| Electricity - imports | 3.013 billion kWh (2005) | 268.5 billion kWh (2002 est.) |
| Electricity - production | 9.95 billion kWh (2005) | 2.888 trillion kWh (2002 est.) |
| Elevation extremes | lowest point: junction of the Runde and Save rivers 162 m
highest point: Inyangani 2,592 m |
lowest point: Lammefjord, Denmark -7 m; Zuidplaspolder, Netherlands -7 m
highest point: Mount Blanc, France/Italy 4,807 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: Air Pollution, Air Pollution-Nitrogen Oxides, Air Pollution-Persistent Organic Pollutants, Air Pollution-Sulphur 94, Antarctic-Marine Living Resources, Biodiversity, Climate Change, Climate Change-Kyoto Protocol, Desertification, Hazardous Wastes, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection, Tropical Timber 82, Tropical Timber 94
signed but not ratified: Air Pollution-Volatile Organic Compounds |
| Ethnic groups | African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1% | - |
| Exchange rates | Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 30,000 (2007), 162.07 (2006), 77.965 (2005), 5.729 (2004), 0.824 (2003)
note: these are official exchange rates; non-official rates vary significantly |
euros per US dollar - 0.81 (2004), 0.89 (2003), 1.06 (2002), 1.12 (2001), 1.09 (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 five-year term (no term limits); election last held 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held 28 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 union: President of the European Commission Jose DURAO BARROSO (since 22 November 2004)
cabinet: European Commission (composed of 25 members, one from each member country; each commissioner responsible for one or more policy areas) elections: the president of the European Commission is designated by member governments; the president-designate then chooses the other Commission members; the European Parliament confirms the entire Commission for a five-year term; election last held 18 November 2004 (next to be held 2009) election results: European Parliament approved the European Commission by an approval vote of 449 to 149 with 82 abstentions note: the European Council brings together heads of state and government and the president of the European Commission and meets at least twice a year; its aim is to provide the impetus for the major political issues relating to European integration and to issue general policy guidelines |
| Exports | 0 bbl/day (2004 est.) | 5.322 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Exports - commodities | platinum, cotton, tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing | machinery, motor vehicles, aircraft, plastics, pharmaceuticals and other chemicals, fuels, iron and steel, nonferrous metals, wood pulp and paper products, textiles, meat, dairy products, fish, alcoholic beverages. |
| Exports - partners | South Africa 24.8%, Democratic Republic of the Congo 17.6%, Botswana 15.7%, US 10.4% (2006) | US 22.9%, Switzerland 6.9%, China 4.1%, Japan 4% |
| Fiscal year | calendar year | NA |
| 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 | on a blue field, 12 five-pointed gold stars arranged in a circle, representing the union of the peoples of Europe; the number of stars is fixed |
| GDP - composition by sector | agriculture: 16.7%
industry: 21.6% services: 61.6% (2007 est.) |
agriculture: 2.2%
industry: 28.3% services: 69.4% (2004 est.) |
| GDP - per capita | - | purchasing power parity - $26,900 (2004 est.) |
| GDP - real growth rate | -6% (2007 est.) | 2.4% (2004 est.) |
| Geographic coordinates | 20 00 S, 30 00 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 | - |
| Heliports | - | 94 (2004) |
| Highways | - | total: 4,634,810 km (including 56,704 km of expressways)
paved: 4,161,318 km unpaved: 473,492 km (1999-2000) |
| Household income or consumption by percentage share | lowest 10%: 2%
highest 10%: 40.4% (1995) |
lowest 10%: 2.9%
highest 10%: 25.4% (1995 est.) |
| 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.) | 15.69 million bbl/day (2001) |
| Imports - commodities | machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels | machinery, vehicles, aircraft, plastics, crude oil, chemicals, textiles, metals, foodstuffs, clothing |
| Imports - partners | South Africa 40.8%, Zambia 29.6%, US 4.9% (2006) | US 15.1%, China 9.7%, Japan 6.7%, Switzerland 5.6% |
| Independence | 18 April 1980 (from UK) | 7 February 1992 (Maastricht Treaty signed establishing the EU); 1 November 1993 (Maastricht Treaty entered into force) |
| Industrial production growth rate | 0.5% (2007 est.) | 2.4% (2004 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 | among the world's largest and most technologically advanced, the European Union industrial base includes: ferrous and non-ferrous metal production and processing, metal products, petroleum, coal, cement, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, aerospace, rail transportation equipment, passenger and commercial vehicles, construction equipment, industrial equipment, shipbuilding, electrical power equipment, machine tools and automated manufacturing systems, electronics and telecommunications equipment, fishing, food and beverage processing, furniture, paper, textiles, tourism |
| 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: 5.1 deaths/1,000 live births
male: 5.6 deaths/1,000 live births female: 4.5 deaths/1,000 live births (July 2005 est.) |
| Inflation rate (consumer prices) | 26,470% official data; private sector estimates are much higher (2007) | 2.1% (2004 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, UNOCI, UNWTO, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO | European Union: ASEAN (dialogue member), ARF (dialogue member), EBRD, IDA, OAS (observer), OECD, WTO
European Commission: Australian Group, CBSS, CERN, FAO, G-10, NSG (observer), UN (observer) European Central Bank: BIS European Investment Bank: WADB (nonregional member) |
| Irrigated land | 1,740 sq km (2003) | 115,807 sq km |
| Judicial branch | Supreme Court; High Court | Court of Justice of the European Communities (ensures that the treaties are interpreted and applied correctly) - 25 justices (one from each member state) appointed for a six-year term; note - for the sake of efficiency, the court can sit with 11 justices known as the "Grand Chamber"; Court of First Instance - 25 justices appointed for a six-year term |
| Labor force | 3.998 million (2007 est.) | 215 million (various) |
| Labor force - by occupation | agriculture: 66%
industry: 10% services: 24% (1996) |
agriculture 4.5%, industry 27.4%, services 66.9%
note: the remainder is in miscellaneous public and private sector industries and services (2004) |
| Land boundaries | total: 3,066 km
border countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km |
total: 11,214.8 km
border countries: Albania 282 km, Andorra 120.3 km, Belarus 1,050 km, Bulgaria 494 km, Croatia 999 km, Holy See 3.2 km, Liechtenstein 34.9 km, Macedonia 246 km, Monaco 4.4 km, Norway 2,348 km, Romania 443 km, Russia 2,257 km, San Marino 39 km, Serbia and Montenegro 151 km, Switzerland 1,811 km, Turkey 206 km, Ukraine 726 km note: data for European Continent only |
| Land use | arable land: 8.24%
permanent crops: 0.33% other: 91.43% (2005) |
arable land: NA%
permanent crops: NA% other: NA% |
| Languages | English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects | Czech, Danish, Dutch, English, Estonian, Finnish, French, German, Greek, Hungarian, Italian, Latvian, Lithuanian, Maltese, Polish, Portuguese, Slovak, Slovene, Spanish, Swedish; note - only official languages are listed; Irish (Gaelic) will become the twenty-first language on 1 January 2007 |
| Legal system | mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law | - |
| Legislative branch | bicameral Parliament consists of a Senate (93 seats - 60 elected by popular vote for a five-year term, 10 provincial governors nominated by the president, 16 provincial chiefs appointed by the president and deputy president from all provinces except Harare and Bulawayo, and 7 appointed by the president) and a House of Assembly (210 seats - all elected by popular vote for five-year terms)
elections: Senate last held 26 November 2005 (next to be held 28 March 2008; House of Assembly last held 31 March 2005 (next to be held 28 March 2008) 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 |
Council of the European Union (25 member-state ministers having 321 votes; the number of votes is roughly proportional to member-states' population); note - the Council is the main decision-making body of the EU; European Parliament (732 seats; seats allocated among member states by proportion to population); members elected by direct universal suffrage for a five-year term
elections: last held 10-13 June 2004 (next to be held June 2009) election results: percent of vote - NA%; seats by party - EPP-ED 268, PES 202, ALDE 88, Greens/EFA 42, EUL/NGL 41, IND/DEM 36, UEN 27, independents 28 |
| Life expectancy at birth | total population: 39.5 years
male: 40.62 years female: 38.35 years (2007 est.) |
total population: 78.3 years
male: 75.1 years female: 81.6 years (July 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.) |
- |
| Location | Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia | Europe between Belarus, Ukraine, Russia, southeastern Europe, and the North Atlantic Ocean |
| Map references | Africa | Europe |
| Maritime claims | none (landlocked) | NA |
| Military - note | - | In November 2004, the European Union heads of government signed a "Treaty Establishing a Constitution for Europe" that offers possibilities - with some limits - for increased defense and security cooperation. If ratified, in a process that may take some two years, this treaty will in effect make operational the European Security and Defense Policy (ESDP) approved in the 2000 Nice Treaty. Despite limits of cooperation for some EU members, development of a European military planning unit is likely to continue. So is creation of a rapid-reaction military force and a humanitarian aid system, which the planning unit will support. France, Germany, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and Italy continue to press for wider coordination. The five-nation Eurocorps - created in 1992 by France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, and Luxembourg - has already deployed troops and police on peacekeeping missions to Bosnia and Herzegovina, Macedonia, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and assumed command of the International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) in Afghanistan in August 2004. Eurocorps directly commands the 5,000-man Franco-German Brigade, the Multinational Command Support Brigade, and EUFOR, which took over from SFOR in Bosnia in December 2004. Other troop contributions are under national command - committments to provide 67,100 troops were made at the Helsinki EU session in 2000. Some 56,000 EU troops were actually deployed in 2003. In August 2004, the new European Defense Agency, tasked with promoting cooperative European defense capabilities, began operations. In November 2004, the EU Council of Ministers formally committed to creating thirteen 1,500-man "battle groups" by the end of 2007, to respond to international crises on a rotating basis. Twenty-two of the EU's 25 nations have agreed to supply troops. France, Italy, and the UK are to form the first three battle groups in 2005, with Spain to follow. In May 2005, Norway, Sweden, and Finland agreed to establish one of the battle groups, possibly to include Estonian forces. The remaining groups are to be formed by 2007.
(2005) |
| Military branches | Zimbabwe Defense Forces (ZDF): Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ), Zimbabwe Republic Police (2005) | - |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 3.8% (2006) | - |
| National holiday | Independence Day, 18 April (1980) | Europe Day 9 May (1950); note - a Union-wide holiday, the day that Robert Schuman proposed the creation of an organized Europe |
| Nationality | noun: Zimbabwean(s)
adjective: Zimbabwean |
- |
| Natural hazards | recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare | flooding along coasts; avalanches in mountainous area; earthquakes in the south; volcanic eruptions in Italy; periodic droughts in Spain; ice floes in the Baltic |
| Natural resources | coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals | iron ore, arable land, natural gas, petroleum, coal, copper, lead, zinc, hydropower, uranium, potash, fish |
| 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.) |
1.5 migrant(s)/1,000 population (July 2005 est.) |
| Pipelines | refined products 270 km (2007) | - |
| Political parties and leaders | African National Party or ANP [Egypt DZINEMUNHENZVA]; 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 or UPP [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 | Group of the Alliance of Liberals and Democrats for Europe or ALDE [Graham R. WATSON]; Independence/Democracy Group or IND/DEM [Jens-Peter BONDE and Nigel FARAGE]; Group of Greens/European Free Alliance or Greens/EFA [Monica FRASSONI and Daniel Marc COHN-BENDIT]; Socialist Group in the European Parliament or PES [Martin SCHULZ]; Confederal Group of the European United Left-Nordic Green Left or EUL/NGL [Francis WURTZ]; European People's Party-European Democrats or EPP-ED [Hans-Gert POETTERING]; Union for Europe of the Nations Group or UEN [Brian CROWLEY and Cristiana MUSCARDINI] |
| Political pressure groups and leaders | Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Xolani ZITHA]; National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Women of Zimbabwe Arise or WOZA [Jenny WILLIAMS]; 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.) |
456,953,258 (July 2005 est.) |
| Population below poverty line | 68% (2004) | See individual country listings |
| Population growth rate | 0.595% (2007 est.) | 0.15% (July 2005 est.) |
| Ports and harbors | - | Antwerp (Belgium), Barcelona (Spain), Bremen (Germany), Copenhagen (Denmark), Gdansk (Poland), Hamburg (Germany), Helsinki (Finland), Las Palmas (Canary Islands, Spain), Le Havre (France), Lisbon (Portugal), London (UK), Marseille (France), Naples (Italy), Peiraiefs or Piraeus (Greece), Riga (Latvia), Rotterdam (Netherlands), Stockholm (Sweden), Talinn (Estonia) |
| Radio broadcast stations | AM 7, FM 20 (plus 17 repeater stations), shortwave 1 (1998) | AM 866, FM 13,396, shortwave 73 (1998); note - sum of individual country radio broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Euroradio) |
| Railways | total: 3,077 km
narrow gauge: 3,077 km 1.067-m gauge (313 km electrified) (2006) |
total: 222,293 km
broad gauge: 28,438 km standard gauge: 186,405 km narrow gauge: 7,427 km other: 23 km (2003) |
| Religions | syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1% | Roman Catholic, Protestant, Orthodox, Muslim, Jewish |
| 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: NA
under 15 years: 1.06 male(s)/female 15-64 years: 1.01 male(s)/female 65 years and older: 0.69 male(s)/female total population: 0.96 male(s)/female (July 2004 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) |
note - see individual country entries of member states |
| Telephones - main lines in use | 331,700 (2006) | 238,763,162 (2002) |
| Telephones - mobile cellular | 832,500 (2006) | 314,644,700 (2002) |
| Television broadcast stations | 16 (1997) | 2,791 (1995); note - does not include repeaters; sum of individual country television broadcast stations; there is also a European-wide station (Eurovision) |
| Terrain | mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east | fairly flat along the Baltic and Atlantic coast; mountainous in the central and southern areas |
| Total fertility rate | 3.08 children born/woman (2007 est.) | 1.47 children born/woman (July 2005 est.) |
| Unemployment rate | 80% (2005 est.) | 9.5% (2004 est.) |
| Waterways | on Lake Kariba (2005) | 53,512 km |
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