# The World Factbook (1990)/Zimbabwe

pages 349–350
​Zimbabwe
See regional map VII
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
Land use: 7% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures; 62% forest and woodland; 19% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
Environment: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare; deforestation; soil erosion; air and water pollution; desertification
Note: landlocked
People
Population: 10,392,161 (July 1990), growth rate 3.3% (1990)
Birth rate: 42 births/1,000 population (1990)
Death rate: 9 deaths/1,000 population (1990)
Net migration rate: 0 migrants/1,000 population (1990)
Infant mortality rate: 65 deaths/1,000 live births (1990)
Life expectancy at birth: 59 years male, 63 years female (1990)
Total fertility rate: 5.8 children born/woman (1990)
Nationality: noun—Zimbabwean(s); adjective—Zimbabwean Ethnic divisions: 98% African (71% Shona, 16% Ndebele, 11% other); 1% white, 1% mixed and Asian
Religion: 50% syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs), 25% Christian, 24% indigenous beliefs, a few Muslim
Language: English (official); Shona and Ndebele
Literacy: 74%
Labor force: 3,100,000; 74% agriculture, 16% transport and services, 10% mining, manufacturing, construction (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, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands, Victoria (commonly called Masvingo)
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: president, vice president, 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); Vice President Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987)
Political parties and leaders: Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Robert Mugabe; Zimbabwe African National Union-Sithole (ZANUS), Ndabaningi Sithole; Zimbabwe Unity Movement (ZUM), Edgar Tekere
Suffrage: universal at age 18
Elections: President—last held 28-30 March 1990 (next to be held March 1995); results—President Robert Mugabe 78.3%; Edgar Tekere 21.7%;
Parliament—last held 28-30 March 1990 (next to be held March 1993); results—percent of vote by party NA; seats—(150 total, 120 elected) ZANU 116, ZUM 2, ZANU-S 1, to be determined 1
Communists: no Communist party
Member of: ACP, AfDB, CCC, Commonwealth, FAO, G-77, GATT, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, IDA, IFAD, IFC, ILO, IMF, INTERPOL, NAM, OAU, SADCC, UN, UNESCO, UPU, WFTU, WHO, WMO
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-designate Steven RHODES; Embassy at 172 Rhodes Avenue, Harare (mailing address is P. O. Box 3340, Harare); telephone [263](14) 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 a majority of the labor force and supplies almost 40% of exports. The agro-based manufacturing sector produces a variety of goods and contributes about 25% 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 resulted in not only an uneven growth rate, but one that did not equal the 3% annual increase in population.
GDP: $4.6 billion, per capita $470; real growth rate 5.3% (1988 est.)
Inflation rate (consumer prices): 7.4% (1988)
Unemployment rate: at least 20% (1988 est.)
Budget: revenues $2.4 billion; expenditures $3.0 billion, including capital expenditures of $290 million (FY90)
Exports: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities—agricultural 34% (tobacco 21%, other 13%), manufactures 19%, gold 11%, ferrochrome 11%, cotton 6%; partners—Europe 55% (EC 41%, Netherlands 6%, other 8%), Africa 22% (South Africa 12%, other 10%), US 6%
Imports: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988); 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.)
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 over 70% of population; 40% of land area divided into 6,000 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
Aid: US commitments, including Ex-Im (FY80-88), $359 million; Western (non-US) countries, ODA and OOF bilateral commitments (1970-87), $2.0 billion; OPEC bilateral aid (1979-89), $36 million; Communist countries (1970-88), $134 million
Currency: Zimbabwean dollar (plural—dollars); 1 Zimbabwean dollar (Z$) = 100 cents
Exchange rates: Zimbabwean dollars (Z$) per US$1—2.2873 (January 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: 506 total, 420 usable; 23 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 37 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, People's Militia
Military manpower: males 15-49, 2,173,448; 1,342,920 fit for military service
Defense expenditures: $446.7 million (FY89 est.)