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