page_title: Zimbabwe
section_title: Demographics
hierarchical_section_title: Zimbabwe / Demographics
caption_attribution_description: English: Zimbabwean crafter working on a decorative wall basket courtsy of the National Handicrafts Center Harare Zmbaber This is an image of Cultural Fashion or Adornment from Zimbabwe
context_page_description: Zimbabwe, officially the Republic of Zimbabwe, formerly Rhodesia, is a landlocked country located in Southern Africa, between the Zambezi and Limpopo Rivers, bordered by South Africa, Botswana, Zambia and Mozambique. The capital and largest city is Harare. The second largest city is Bulawayo. A country of roughly 14 million people, Zimbabwe has 16 official languages, with English, Shona, and Ndebele the most common.
  Since the 11th century, present-day Zimbabwe has been the site of several organised states and kingdoms like the most notably Rozvi and Mthwakazi kingdoms, as well as a major route for migration and trade. The British South Africa Company of Cecil Rhodes first demarcated the present territory during the 1890 where they first conquered Mashonaland which was a self Sovereign and later in 1893 they conquered Matabeleland after a fierce resistance by Matabele people through a war known as First Matabele War.
context_section_description: Zimbabwe's total population is 12.97 million. According to the United Nations World Health Organization, the life expectancy for men was 56 years and the life expectancy for women was 60 years of age (2012). In 2006 an association of doctors in Zimbabwe made calls for then-President Mugabe to make moves to assist the ailing health service.
  The HIV infection rate in Zimbabwe was estimated to be 14% for people aged 15–49 in 2009. UNESCO reported a decline in HIV prevalence among pregnant women from 26% in 2002 to 21% in 2004.
  Some 85% of Zimbabweans are Christian; 62% of the population attends religious services regularly. The largest Christian churches are Anglican, Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist and Methodist.
  As in other African countries, Christianity may be mixed with enduring traditional beliefs. Ancestral worship is the most practised non-Christian religion, involving spiritual intercession; the mbira dzavadzimu, which means "voice of the ancestors", an instrument related to many lamellophones ubiquitous throughout Africa, is central to many ceremonial proceedings. Mwari simply means "God the Creator" (musika vanhu in Shona). Around 1% of the population is Muslim.
caption: A Tonga woman pleating a basket
exif: {"Image Make": "SAMSUNG", "Image Model": "SAMSUNG ST30", "Image Orientation": "Horizontal (normal)", "Image Software": "F/W VER 3.3000", "Image DateTime": "2014:04:12 11:29:43", "Image YCbCrPositioning": "Co-sited", "Image Copyright": "COPYRIGHT,2011", "Image ExifOffset": "2256", "Image Padding": "[]", "EXIF ExposureTime": "1/125", "EXIF FNumber": "21/5", "EXIF ExposureProgram": "Program Normal", "EXIF ISOSpeedRatings": "80", "EXIF ExifVersion": "0221", "EXIF DateTimeOriginal": "2014:04:12 11:29:42", "EXIF DateTimeDigitized": "2014:04:12 11:29:42", "EXIF ComponentsConfiguration": "YCbCr", "EXIF CompressedBitsPerPixel": "169/100", "EXIF ShutterSpeedValue": "697/100", "EXIF ApertureValue": "207/50", "EXIF ExposureBiasValue": "0", "EXIF MaxApertureValue": "207/50", "EXIF MeteringMode": "Pattern", "EXIF LightSource": "Unknown", "EXIF Flash": "Flash did not fire, auto mode", "EXIF FocalLength": "32/5", "EXIF SubSecTimeOriginal": "00", "EXIF SubSecTimeDigitized": "00", "EXIF FlashPixVersion": "0100", "EXIF ColorSpace": "sRGB", "EXIF ExifImageWidth": "2592", "EXIF ExifImageLength": "1944", "EXIF RelatedSoundFile": "RelatedSound", "EXIF ExposureIndex": "1", "EXIF SensingMethod": "One-chip color area", "EXIF FileSource": "Digital Camera", "EXIF SceneType": "Directly Photographed", "EXIF ExposureMode": "Auto Exposure", "EXIF WhiteBalance": "Auto", "EXIF DigitalZoomRatio": "0", "EXIF FocalLengthIn35mmFilm": "45", "EXIF SceneCaptureType": "Standard", "EXIF Contrast": "Normal", "EXIF Saturation": "Normal", "EXIF Sharpness": "Normal", "EXIF Padding": "[]", "EXIF OffsetSchema": "4192"}