ZIMBABWE GEOGRAPHY Total area: 390,580 km2; land area: 386,670 km2 Comparative area: slightly larger than Montana Land boundaries: 3,066 km total; Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km Coastline: none--landlocked Maritime claims: none--landlocked Disputes: quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia is in disagreement Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March) Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east Natural resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals Land use: arable land 7%; permanent crops NEGL%; meadows and pastures 12%; forest and woodland 62%; other 19%; includes irrigated NEGL% Environment: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare; deforestation; soil erosion; air and water pollution Note: landlocked PEOPLE Population: 10,720,459 (July 1991), growth rate 2.9% (1991) Birth rate: 41 births/1,000 population (1991) Death rate: 8 deaths/1,000 population (1991) Net migration rate: - 3 migrants/1,000 population (1991) Infant mortality rate: 61 deaths/1,000 live births (1991) Life expectancy at birth: 60 years male, 64 years female (1991) Total fertility rate: 5.6 children born/woman (1991) Nationality: noun--Zimbabwean(s); adjective--Zimbabwean Ethnic divisions: African 98% (Shona 71%, Ndebele 16%, other 11%); white 1%, mixed and Asian 1% Religion: syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, a few Muslim Language: English (official); Shona, Sindebele Literacy: 67% (male 74%, female 60%) age 15 and over can read and write (1990 est.) Labor force: 3,100,000; agriculture 74%, transport and services 16%, mining, manufacturing, construction 10% (1987) Organized labor: 17% of wage and salary earners have union membership GOVERNMENT Long-form name: Republic of Zimbabwe Type: parliamentary democracy Capital: Harare Administrative divisions: 8 provinces; Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo (Victoria), Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands Independence: 18 April 1980 (from UK; formerly Southern Rhodesia) Constitution: 21 December 1979 Legal system: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law National holiday: Independence Day, 18 April (1980) Executive branch: executive president, 2 vice presidents, Cabinet Legislative branch: unicameral Parliament Judicial branch: Supreme Court Leaders: Chief of State and Head of Government--Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice President Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice President Joshua M. NKOMO (since 6 August 1990) Political parties and leaders: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Robert MUGABE; Zimbabwe African National Union-Sithole (ZANU-S), Ndabaningi SITHOLE; Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), Edgar TEKERE Suffrage: universal at age 18 Elections: Executive President--last held 28-30 March 1990 (next to be held NA March 1995); results--Robert MUGABE 78.3%; Edgar TEKERE 21.7%; Parliament--last held 28-30 March 1990 (next to be held NA March 1995); results--percent of vote by party NA; seats--(150 total, 120 elected) ZANU 117, ZUM 2, ZANU-S 1 Communists: no Communist party Member of: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, FLS, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTELSAT, INTERPOL, IOC, IOM (observer), ITU, LORCS, NAM, OAU, PCA, SADCC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UPU, WCL, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WTO Diplomatic representation: Counselor (Political Affairs), Head of Chancery, Ambassador Stanislaus Garikai CHIGWEDERE; Chancery at 2852 McGill Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-7100; US--Ambassador (vacant); Embassy at 172 Herbert Chitapo Avenue, Harare (mailing address is P. O. Box 3340, Harare); telephone 263 (4) 794-521 Flag: seven equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white equilateral triangle edged in black based on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle ECONOMY Overview: Agriculture employs three-fourths of the labor force and supplies almost 40% of exports. The manufacturing sector, based on agriculture and mining, produces a variety of goods and contributes 35% to GDP. Mining accounts for only 5% of both GDP and employment, but supplies of minerals and metals account for about 40% of exports. Wide year-to-year fluctuations in agricultural production over the past six years have resulted in an uneven growth rate, one that on average matched the 3% annual increase in population. GDP: $5.6 billion, per capita $540; real growth rate 4.2% (1990 est.) Inflation rate (consumer prices): 13% (1989) Unemployment rate: at least 20% (1990 est.) Budget: revenues $2.7 billion; expenditures $3.3 billion, including capital expenditures of $330 million (FY91) Exports: $1.7 billion (f.o.b., 1989); commodities--agricultural 35% (tobacco 20%, other 15%), manufactures 20%, gold 10%, ferrochrome 10%, cotton 5%; partners--Europe 55% (EC 40%, Netherlands 5%, other 10%), Africa 20% (South Africa 10%, other 10%), US 5% Imports: $1.4 billion (c.i.f., 1989); commodities--machinery and transportation equipment 37%, other manufactures 22%, chemicals 16%, fuels 15%; partners--EC 31%, Africa 29% (South Africa 21%, other 8%), US 8%, Japan 4% External debt: $2.96 billion (December 1989 est.) Industrial production: growth rate 4.7% (1988 est.); accounts for 35% of GDP Electricity: 2,036,000 kW capacity; 5,460 million kWh produced, 540 kWh per capita (1989) Industries: mining, steel, clothing and footwear, chemicals, foodstuffs, fertilizer, beverage, transportation equipment, wood products Agriculture: accounts for about 15% of GDP and employs 74% of population; 40% of land area divided into 4,500 large commercial farms and 42% in communal lands; crops--corn (food staple), cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; livestock--cattle, sheep, goats, pigs; self-sufficient in food Economic aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-89), $389 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-88), $2.3 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $36 million; Communist countries (1970-89), $134 million Currency: Zimbabwean dollar (plural--dollars); 1 Zimbabwean dollar (Z$) = 100 cents Exchange rates: Zimbabwean dollars (Z$) per US$1--2.6724 (January 1991), 2.4480 (1990), 2.1133 (1989), 1.8018 (1988), 1.6611 (1987), 1.6650 (1986), 1.6119 (1985) Fiscal year: 1 July-30 June COMMUNICATIONS Railroads: 2,745 km 1.067-meter gauge; 42 km double track; 355 km electrified Highways: 85,237 km total; 15,800 km paved, 39,090 km crushed stone, gravel, stabilized soil: 23,097 km improved earth; 7,250 km unimproved earth Inland waterways: Lake Kariba is a potential line of communication Pipelines: 8 km, refined products Civil air: 12 major transport aircraft Airports: 499 total, 415 usable; 23 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 35 with runways 1,220-2,439 m Telecommunications: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; consists of radio relay links, open-wire lines, and radio communications stations; 247,000 telephones; stations--8 AM, 18 FM, 8 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT earth station DEFENSE FORCES Branches: Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police, People's Militia Manpower availability: males 15-49, 2,263,724; 1,399,354 fit for military service Defense expenditures: $412.4 million, NA% of GDP (FY91 est.)