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NAVIGATION
Republic of Zimbabwe
former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia
GOVERNMENT
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Country name:
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conventional long form: Republic of Zimbabwe
conventional short form: Zimbabwe former: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia |
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Government type:
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parliamentary democracy |
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Capital:
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Harare |
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Administrative divisions:
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8 provinces and 2 cities* with provincial status; Bulawayo*, Harare*, Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Masvingo, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands |
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Independence:
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18 April 1980 (from UK) |
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National holiday:
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Independence Day, 18 April (1980) |
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Constitution:
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21 December 1979 |
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Legal system:
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mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law |
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Suffrage:
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18 years of age; universal |
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Executive branch:
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chief of state: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE (since 31 December 1987); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999); 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); Co-Vice Presidents Simon Vengai MUZENDA (since 31 December 1987) and Joseph MSIKA (since 23 December 1999); note - the president is both the chief of state and head of government 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; election last held 9-11 March 2002 (next to be held NA 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% |
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Legislative branch:
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unicameral House of Assembly (150 seats - 120 elected by popular vote for five-year terms, 12 nominated by the president, 10 occupied by traditional chiefs chosen by their peers, and 8 occupied by provincial governors appointed by the president)
elections: last held 24-25 June 2000 (next to be held NA 2005) election results: percent of vote by party - ZANU-PF 48.6%, MDC 47.0%, other 4.4%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 62, MDC 57, ZANU-Ndonga 1 |
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Judicial branch:
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Supreme Court; High Court |
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Political parties and leaders:
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Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; National Alliance for Good Governance or NAGG [Shakespeare MAYA]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; 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] |
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Political pressure groups and leaders:
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National Constitutional Assembly or NCA [Lovemore MADHUKU]; Crisis in Zimbabwe Coalition [Brian KAGORO] |
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International organization participation:
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ACP, AfDB, C, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICCt (signatory), ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM, ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WCO, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO |
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Diplomatic representation in the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Simbi Veke MUBAKO
FAX: [1] (202) 483-9326 telephone: [1] (202) 332-7100 chancery: 1608 New Hampshire Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20009 |
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Diplomatic representation from the US:
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chief of mission: Ambassador Joseph G. SULLIVAN
embassy: 172 Herbert Chitepo Avenue, Harare mailing address: P. O. Box 3340, Harare telephone: [263] (4) 250-593 and 250-594 FAX: [263] (4) 796488 |
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Flag description:
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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 is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle |
ECONOMY
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Economy - overview:
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The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles with an unsustainable fiscal deficit, an overvalued exchange rate, soaring inflation, and bare shelves. Its 1998-2002 involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy. Badly needed support from the IMF has been suspended because of the country's failure to meet budgetary goals. Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998 to 59% in 1999, to 60% in 2000, to over 100% by yearend 2001, to 228% in early 2003. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has nearly destroyed the commercial farming sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs. |
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GDP:
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purchasing power parity - $27 billion (2002 est.) |
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GDP - real growth rate:
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-12.1% (2002 est.) |
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GDP - per capita:
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purchasing power parity - $2,400 (2002 est.) |
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GDP - composition by sector:
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agriculture: 18%
industry: 24% services: 58% (2001) |
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Population below poverty line:
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70% (2002 est.) |
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Household income or consumption by percentage share:
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lowest 10%: 1.97%
highest 10%: 40.42% (1995) |
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Distribution of family income - Gini index:
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50.1 (1995) |
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Inflation rate (consumer prices):
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134.5% (2002 est.) |
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Labor force:
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5.8 million (2000 est.) |
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Labor force - by occupation:
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agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10% (1996) |
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Unemployment rate:
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70% (2002 est.) |
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Budget:
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revenues: $2.5 billion
expenditures: $2.6 billion, including capital expenditures of $NA (2000) |
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Industries:
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mining (coal, gold, copper, nickel, tin, clay, numerous metallic and nonmetallic ores), steel, wood products, cement, chemicals, fertilizer, clothing and footwear, foodstuffs, beverages |
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Industrial production growth rate:
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-3.1% (2002 est.) |
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Electricity - production:
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6.735 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - production by source:
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fossil fuel: 47%
hydro: 53% other: 0% (2001) nuclear: 0% |
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Electricity - consumption:
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9.813 billion kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - exports:
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0 kWh (2001) |
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Electricity - imports:
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3.55 billion kWh (2001) |
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Oil - production:
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0 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - consumption:
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23,000 bbl/day (2001 est.) |
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Oil - exports:
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NA (2001) |
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Oil - imports:
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NA (2001) |
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Agriculture - products:
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corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs |
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Exports:
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$1.57 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
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Exports - commodities:
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tobacco, gold, ferroalloys, textiles/clothing |
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Exports - partners:
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EU 44%, South Africa 15%, Japan 7.3%, US 6% (2001) |
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Imports:
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$1.739 billion f.o.b. (2001 est.) |
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Imports - commodities:
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machinery and transport equipment, other manufactures, chemicals, fuels |
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Imports - partners:
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South Africa 43.7%, EU 11%, US 2% (2001 est.) |
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Debt - external:
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$3.9 billion (2002 est.) |
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Economic aid - recipient:
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$178 million (2000 est.) |
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Currency:
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Zimbabwean dollar (ZWD) |
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Currency code:
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ZWD |
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Exchange rates:
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Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 55 (2002), 55.0521 (2001), 44.4179 (2000), 38.3012 (1999), 23.6791 (1998) |
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Fiscal year:
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1 January - 31 December |