The conflict was most intense in 1983, when the army killed 1,500 Matabele. Tension abated following the Unity Accord of 1987 and the 1990 appointment of ZAPU leader Joshua Nkomo as vice president. As a legacy of colonial rule, whites remain generally far more affluent than blacks. This imbalance has been somewhat redressed by government policies to increase black education and white-collar employment. Families are large, and almost half the population is under 15.
Zimbabwean society is traditionally patriarchal.