Republic of Zimbabwe
Flag Coat of arms
Motto: "Unity, Freedom, Work"[1]
Anthem: Simudzai Mureza WeZimbabwe  (Shona) Kalibusiswe Ilizwe leZimbabwe  (Sindebele) "Blessed be the land of Zimbabwe"[2]
Location of Zimbabwe within the African Union
Capital (and largest city)		Harare 17°50′S 31°3′E / 17.833°S 31.05°E / -17.833; 31.05
Official language(s)		English, Shona, Sindebele
Demonym		Zimbabwean
Government		Semi-presidential republic
-	President	Robert Mugabe
-	Prime Minister	Morgan Tsvangirai
-	Vice President	Joice Mujuru John Nkomo
-	Deputy Prime Minister	Thokozani Khuphe Arthur Mutambara
Legislature		Parliament
-	Upper house	Senate
-	Lower house	House of Assembly
Independence		from the United Kingdom
-	Proclaimed	11 November 1965
-	Recognized	18 April 1980
Area
-	Total	390,757 km2 (60th) 150,871 sq mi
-	Water (%)	1
Population
-	2009 estimate	12,521,000[3] (68th)
-	Density	26/km2 (170th) 57/sq mi
GDP (PPP)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$6.127 billion[4]
-	Per capita	$487[4]
GDP (nominal)		2011 estimate
-	Total	$9.323 billion[4]
-	Per capita	$741[4]
Gini (2009)		50.1[5] (high)
HDI (2011)		0.376[6] (low) (173rd)
Currency		Various Currencies (South African Rand (R), Botswana Pula (P), British Pound (£), the United States Dollar ($) and Euro (€))[7] (ZWD)
Time zone		Central Africa Time (UTC+2)
-	Summer (DST)	Not observed (UTC+2)
Drives on the		left
ISO 3166 code		ZW
Internet TLD		.zw
Calling code		+263
^a The Zimbabwean Dollar is no longer in active use after it was officially suspended by the government due to hyperinflation. The United States Dollar, South African Rand, Botswana Pula, British Pound Sterling, and Euro are now used instead. The US Dollar has been adopted as the official currency for all government transactions with the new power-sharing regime.

Zimbabwe (/zɪmˈbɑːbweɪ/ zim-BAHB-way; officially the Republic of Zimbabwe) is a landlocked country of southern Africa. It shares a 125-mile (200-kilometre) border on the south with the Republic of South Africa and is bounded on the southwest and west by Botswana, on the north by Zambia, and on the northeast and east by Mozambique. The capital is Harare (formerly called Salisbury). Zimbabwe achieved majority rule and internationally recognised independence in April 1980 following a long period of colonial rule and a 15-year period of white-dominated minority rule, instituted after the minority regime’s so-called Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI) in 1965.

Zimbabwe has three official languages: English, Shona and Ndebele. Zimbabwe began as the British self-governing colony of Southern Rhodesia, created from land held by the British South Africa Company. President Robert Mugabe is the head of State and Commander in Chief of the armed forces. Morgan Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister. Mugabe has been in power since the country's internationally recognised independence in 1980.

Etymology[link]

Zimbabwe was formerly known as Southern Rhodesia (1923), Rhodesia (1965), and Zimbabwe Rhodesia (1979). The name Zimbabwe was introduced from ca. 1960 in the context of the potential name of the country once independent, and used by the African nationalist factions in the Rhodesian Bush War, the most major of which were the Zimbabwe African National Union (led by Robert Mugabe from 1975), and the Zimbabwe African People's Union, led by Joshua Nkomo from its founding in the early 1960s.

The name is based on a Shona name for a ruined ancient settlement whose remains are now a protected site. It is officially referred to as Great Zimbabwe, and was first recorded as Symbaoe in 1531 by Vicente Pegado, Captain of the Portuguese garrison of Sofala.

There are two theories on the origin of the word "Zimbabwe": Various sources hold that the word is derived from dzimba-dza-mabwe, translated from the Karanga dialect of Shona as "large houses of stone" (dzimba = plural of imba, "house"; mabwe = plural of bwe, "stone").^[8][9][10] The Karanga-speaking Shona people are found around Great Zimbabwe in the modern-day province of Masvingo. Archaeologist Peter Garlake claims that "Zimbabwe" is a contracted form of dzimba-hwe which means "venerated houses" in the Zezuru dialect of Shona, and is usually applied to chiefs' houses or graves.^[11]

Geography and environment[link]

Zimbabwe is a landlocked country in southern Africa, lying between latitudes 15° and 23°S, and longitudes 25° and 34°E. Most of the country is elevated in the central plateau (high veld) stretching from the southwest to the northwest at altitudes between 1,200 and 1,600m. The country's east is mountainous with Mt. Nyangani as the highest point at 2,592 m. About 20% of the country consists of the low veld under 900m. Victoria Falls, one of the world's biggest and most spectacular waterfalls, is located in the country's northwest as part of the Zambezi River. The country has a tropical climate with a rainy season usually from late October to March. The climate is moderated by the altitude.

Flora and fauna[link]

Elephant at water hole in Hwange National Park.

The country is mostly savanna, although the moist and mountainous east supports tropical evergreen and hardwood forests. Trees include teak and mahogany, knobthorn, msasa and baobab. Among the numerous flowers and shrubs are hibiscus, spider lily, leonotus, cassia, tree wisteria and dombeya.

Mammals include Hippopotamus, Rhinoceros, Baboon, Okapi, Giraffe, Kudu, Sable, Zebra, Warthog, Porcupine, Badger, Otter, Hare and many more. In all, there are around 350 species of mammals.

Snakes and lizards abound. The largest lizard, the water monitor, is found in many rivers, as are several species of crocodile. More than 500 species of birds like the Ant-thrush, Barbet, Bee-eater, Bishop bird, Bulbul, Bush-warbler, Guineafowl, Emerald cuckoo, Grouse, Gray lourie, and Pheasant. Not forgetting the Insect kingdom.

Zimbabwe has quite an incredible biodiversity. However, it contains a large amount of the conventional tropical flora and the African fauna. Mostly blanketed with savanna grasslands, its mountains nevertheless consist of evergreen forests. The chief animals of the country are the Big Five, a few Primates and Antelope . A diverse variety of marine and avian fauna is also to be found amongst the 131 species of Fish; the tiger fish is a speciality. (For further reading, go to 'Zimbabwe Profile' under See Also near the bottom of this Page )

Environmental issues[link]

Large parts of Zimbabwe were once covered by forests, the African bush, with an abundant wildlife. Poverty, population growth and lack of fuel have led to extensive deforestation, which, along with poaching, has reduced the wildlife considerably. Deforestation and woodland degradation are a major concern^[12] and have led to erosion and land degradation which diminish the amount of fertile soil. Despite all this, Zimbabwe's climate, along with Malta's, has been ranked highly on the index for the best climate to live in by some prestigious organisations.

History[link]

Pre-colonial era (1000–1887)[link]

Towers of Great Zimbabwe.

Proto-Shona speaking societies first emerged in the middle Limpopo valley in the 9th century before moving on to the Zimbabwean highlands. The Zimbabwean plateau eventually became the center of subsequent Shona states, beginning in ca. the 10th century. Around the early 10th century, trade developed with Arab merchants on the Indian Ocean coast, helping to develop the Kingdom of Mapungubwe in the 11th century. This was the precursor to the more impressive Shona civilisations that would dominate the region during the 13th to 15th centuries, evidenced by ruins at Great Zimbabwe, near Masvingo, and other smaller sites. The main archaeological site is a unique dry stone architecture.

The Kingdom of Mapungubwe was the first in a series of sophisticated trade states developed in Zimbabwe by the time of the first European explorers from Portugal. They traded in gold, ivory and copper for cloth and glass.^[13]

From about 1300 until 1600, Mapungubwe was eclipsed by the Kingdom of Zimbabwe. This Shona state further refined and expanded upon Mapungubwe's stone architecture, which survives to this day at the ruins of the kingdom's capital of Great Zimbabwe. From c. 1450–1760, Zimbabwe gave way to the Kingdom of Mutapa. This Shona state ruled much of the area that is known as Zimbabwe today, and parts of central Mozambique. It is known by many names including the Mutapa Empire, also known as Mwene Mutapa or Monomotapa as well as "Munhumutapa," and was renowned for its gold trade routes with Arabs and the Portuguese. Portuguese settlers destroyed the trade and began a series of wars which left the empire in near collapse in the early 17th century.^[13]

As a direct response to the Portuguese presence in the interior, a new Shona state emerged called the Rozvi Empire. Relying on centuries of military, political and religious development, the Rozvi (which means "destroyers") removed the Portuguese from the Zimbabwe plateau by force of arms. The Rozvi continued the stone building traditions of the Zimbabwe and Mapungubwe kingdoms while adding guns to its arsenal and developing a professional army to protect its trade routes and conquests.

Around 1821, the Zulu general Mzilikazi (meaning the Great Road) of the Khumalo clan successfully rebelled from King Shaka and set up his own tribe, the Ndebele. The tribe fought its way northwards into the Transvaal leaving a trail of destruction in its wake and beginning an era of widespread killings and devastation known as the Mfecane. When the Boer settlers (descendants of Dutch and other Europeans) arrived in the Transvaal in 1836 during the Great Trek they attacked the Ndebele and drove the tribe even further northward. In 1837–38, the Rozvi Empire along with other Shona states were conquered by the Ndebele and forced to pay tribute and concentrate in the northeast of present-day Zimbabwe.

After losing the Transvaal in 1840, Mzilikazi and his tribe settled the southwest of present-day Zimbabwe in what became known as Matabeleland and established Bulawayo as their capital. Mzilikazi then organised his followers into a military system with regimental kraals, similar to those of Shaka, which became strong enough to repel the Boer attacks of 1847–51 and persuade the government of the South African Republic to sign a peace treaty with him in 1852. Mzilikazi died in 1868 and after a brief, violent power struggle was succeeded by his son, Lobengula.

Colonial era (1888–1965)[link]

Matabeleland in the 19th century.

In the 1880s, the British arrived with colonialist Cecil Rhodes's British South Africa Company.^[14] In 1888, Rhodes obtained a concession for mining rights from King Lobengula of the Ndebele peoples.^[15] He presented this concession to persuade the government of the United Kingdom to grant a royal charter to his British South Africa Company (BSAC) over Matabeleland, and its subject states such as Mashonaland.^[16]

Rhodes used this document in 1890 to justify sending the Pioneer Column, a group of white settlers protected by well-armed British South Africa Police (BSAP) through Matabeleland and into Shona territory to establish Fort Salisbury (now Harare). In 1893 and 1894, with the help of their new maxim guns, the BSAP would go on to defeat the Ndebele in the First Matabele War, a war which also resulted in the death of King Lobengula. Rhodes sought permission to negotiate similar concessions covering all territory between the Limpopo River and Lake Tanganyika, then known as "Zambesia".^[16]

In accordance with the terms of aforementioned concessions and treaties,^[16] Rhodes promoted the colonisation of the region's land, with British control over labour as well as precious metals and other mineral resources.^[17] In 1895 the BSAC adopted the name "Rhodesia" for the territory of Zambesia, in honour of Rhodes. In 1898 "Southern Rhodesia" became the official denotation for the region south of the Zambezi,^[18] which later became Zimbabwe. The region to the north was administered separately by the BSAC and later named Northern Rhodesia (now Zambia).

Shortly after the disastrous Jameson Raid on the South African Republic, the Ndebele were led by their spiritual leader Mlimo against the white colonials and thus began the Second Matabele War (1896–97). The Shona also staged unsuccessful revolts (known as Chimurenga) against encroachment upon their lands, by clients of BSAC and Cecil Rhodes in 1896 and 1897.^[19] Following the failed insurrections of 1896–97 the Ndebele and Shona groups became subject to Rhodes's administration thus precipitating European settlement en masse which led to land distribution disproportionately favouring Europeans, displacing the Shona, Ndebele, and other indigenous peoples.

Opening of the railway to Umtali in 1899

Southern Rhodesia became a self-governing British colony in October 1923, subsequent to a 1922 referendum. Rhodesians served on behalf of the United Kingdom during World War II, mainly in the East African Campaign against Axis forces in Italian East Africa. Proportional to (European-descended) population, Southern Rhodesia contributed more to both the First and Second World Wars than any other part of the Empire, including Britain itself.^[20]

In 1953, in the face of African opposition,^[21] Britain consolidated the two colonies of Rhodesia with Nyasaland in the ill-fated Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland which was dominated by Southern Rhodesia. Growing African nationalism and general dissent, particularly in Nyasaland, persuaded Britain to dissolve the Union in 1963, forming three colonies. As colonial rule was ending throughout the continent and as African-majority governments assumed control in neighbouring Northern Rhodesia (Zambia) and in Nyasaland (Malawi), the white-minority Rhodesian government led by Ian Smith's Rhodesian Front (RF) dropped the designation "Southern" in 1964 and issued a Unilateral Declaration of Independence (commonly abbreviated to "UDI") from the United Kingdom on 11 November 1965, effectively repudiating the recently adopted British policy of "no independence before majority rule". It was the first declaration of independence by a British colony since the American declaration of 1776, which was indeed claimed by the Rhodesian government to provide a precedent.^[20]

Independence and civil war (1965–1979)[link]

After UDI, the British government requested United Nations economic sanctions against Rhodesia as negotiations with the Smith administration in 1966 and 1968 ended in stalemate. In December 1966, the United Nations imposed the first mandatory economic sanctions on a state.^[22] These sanctions were expanded again in 1968.^[22]

The United Kingdom deemed the Rhodesian declaration an act of rebellion, but did not re-establish control by force. A civil war ensued between Joshua Nkomo's Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU) and Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU) using assistance from the governments of Zambia and Mozambique (the latter following its independence from Portugal in 1975).

Smith's declaration of a republic in 1970 was recognised only by South Africa,^[23][24] then governed by its apartheid administration.^[25][26] Over the years, the fighting against Ian Smith's government intensified. As a result, the Smith government opened negotiations with the leaders of ZAPU and ZANU.

In March 1978, with his regime near the brink of collapse, Smith signed an accord with three African leaders, led by Bishop Abel Muzorewa, who offered safeguards for white civilians. As a result of the Internal Settlement, elections were held in April 1979. The United African National Council (UANC) party won a majority in this election. On 1 June 1979, the leader of UANC, Abel Muzorewa, became the country's prime minister and the country's name was changed to Zimbabwe Rhodesia. The internal settlement left control of the country's police, security forces, civil service and judiciary in white hands. It assured whites of about one-third of the seats in parliament.^[27] On 12 June, the United States Senate voted to end economic sanctions against Zimbabwe Rhodesia.

Following the fifth Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM), held in Lusaka, Zambia from 1 to 7 August in 1979, the British government invited Muzorewa and the leaders of the Patriotic Front to participate in a constitutional conference at Lancaster House. The purpose of the conference was to discuss and reach an agreement on the terms of an independence constitution and that elections should be supervised under British authority to enable Rhodesia to proceed to legal independence and the parties to settle their differences by political means.^[28]

Lord Carrington, Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs of the United Kingdom, chaired the conference.^[28] The conference took place from 10 September to 15 December in 1979 with 47 plenary sessions. On 1 December 1979, delegations from the British and Rhodesian governments and the Patriotic Front signed the Lancaster House Agreement, ending the civil war.^[29]

Post-Independence (1980–1999)[link]

Britain's Lord Soames was appointed governor to oversee the disarming of revolutionary fighters, the holding of elections and the granting of independence to an uneasy coalition government with Joshua Nkomo, head of ZAPU. In the elections of February 1980, Robert Mugabe and his ZANU won a landslide victory.^[30]

There was opposition to a Shona win in Matabeleland. In November 1980 Enos Nkala made remarks at a rally in Bulawayo, in which he warned ZAPU that ZANU would deliver a few blows against them. This started the first Entumbane uprising, in which ZIPRA and ZANLA fought for two days.^[31]

In February 1981 there was a second uprising, which spread to Glenville and also to Connemara in the Midlands. ZIPRA troops in other parts of Matabeleland headed for Bulawayo to join the battle, and ex-Rhodesian units had to come in to stop the fighting. Over 300 people were killed.

These uprisings led to what has become known as Gukurahundi (Shona: "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains"^[32]) or the Matabeleland Massacres, which ran from 1982 until 1985. Mugabe used his North Korean trained Fifth Brigade to crush any resistance in Matabeleland. It has been estimated that at least 20,000 Matabele were murdered and tens of thousands of others were tortured in camps such as the Valagwe camp, where 2-3000 people could be detained for torture and interrogation at any one time.^[33] The violence ended after ZANU and ZAPU reached a unity agreement in 1988 that merged the two parties, creating ZANU-PF.^[34][35]

Elections in March 1990 resulted in another victory for Mugabe and his party, which won 117 of the 120 election seats. Election observers estimated voter turnout at only 54% and found the campaign neither free nor fair.^[36][37]

During the 1990s students, trade unionists and workers often demonstrated to express their discontent with the government. Students protested in 1990 against proposals for an increase in government control of universities and again in 1991 and 1992 when they clashed with police. Trade unionists and workers also criticised the government during this time. In 1992 police prevented trade unionists from holding anti-government demonstrations. In 1994 widespread industrial unrest weakened the economy. In 1996 civil servants, nurses, and junior doctors went on strike over salary issues.^[38][39] The general health of the civilian population also began to significantly flounder. By 1997 an estimated 25% of the population of Zimbabwe had been infected by HIV.^[40]

Economic difficulties and hyperinflation (1999–2008)[link]

Land issues, which the liberation movement had promised to solve, re-emerged as the main issue for the ruling party around 1997. Despite majority rule and the existence of a "willing-buyer-willing-seller" land reform programme since the 1980s, whites made up less than 1% of the population but held about 70% of the most arable land.^[41] Mugabe began to redistribute land to blacks in 2000 with a compulsory land redistribution.

Eventually a wide range of sanctions^[42][43][44] were imposed by the US government and European Union against the person of Mugabe, individuals, private companies, parastatals, and the government of Zimbabwe.

The legality and constitutionality of the process has regularly been challenged in the Zimbabwean High and Supreme Courts. The confiscation of the farmland was affected by continuous droughts and lack of inputs and finance led to a sharp decline in agricultural exports, which was traditionally the country's leading export producing sector.^[45] Mining and tourism have surpassed agriculture. As a result, Zimbabwe experienced a severe hard-currency shortage that led to hyperinflation and chronic shortages in imported fuel and consumer goods. In 2002, Zimbabwe was suspended from the Commonwealth of Nations on charges of human rights abuses during the land redistribution and of election tampering.^[46] In 2003, the Zimbabwe government terminated its Commonwealth membership.^[47]

Following elections in 2005, the government initiated "Operation Murambatsvina", an effort to crack down on illegal markets and homes that had seen slums emerge in towns and cities. This action has been widely condemned by opposition and international figures, who charge that it has left a substantial section of urban poor homeless.^[48] The Zimbabwe government has described the operation as an attempt to provide decent housing to the population although they have yet to deliver any new housing for the forcibly removed people.^[49]

A map showing the food insecurity in Zimbabwe in June 2008.

Zimbabwe's current economic and food crisis, described by some observers as the country's worst humanitarian crisis since independence, has been attributed in varying degrees to the government's price controls and land confiscations, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, and a drought affecting the entire region.^[50]

Life expectancy at birth for males in Zimbabwe has dramatically declined since 1990 from 60 to 42 years, among the lowest in the world. The amount of time a Zimbabwean citizen is expected to live healthily from birth is 39 years.^[51] Concurrently, the infant mortality rate has climbed from 53 to 81 deaths per 1,000 live births in the same period. As of 2009^[update], 1.2 million Zimbabweans live with HIV.^[52]

On 29 March 2008, Zimbabwe held a presidential election along with a parliamentary election. The three major candidates were Robert Mugabe of the Zimbabwe African National Union - Patriotic Front (ZANU-PF), Morgan Tsvangirai of the Movement for Democratic Change – Tsvangirai (MDC-T), and Simba Makoni, an independent. The results of this election were withheld for two weeks, following which it was generally acknowledged that the MDC had achieved a majority of one seat in lower house of parliament. Mugabe retained control because after the "recount" which was done behind close doors without independent monitors Tsvangirai no longer had the margin required by Zimbabwean law^{[citation needed]}. Hence, the doctored election results that would otherwise put Mugabe out of power, failed the opposition^{[weasel words]}.

In late 2008, problems in Zimbabwe reached crisis proportions in the areas of living standards, public health (with a major cholera outbreak in December) and various public considerations.^[53] Mining of diamonds at Marange in Chiadzwa became the subject of international attention as the World Diamond Council called for a clampdown on smuggling^[54] and illegal miners were reported killed by the military.^[55]

2008–present[link]

In September 2008, a power-sharing agreement was reached between Mugabe and Tsvangirai, in which Mugabe remained president and Tsvangirai became prime minister. Due to ministerial differences between their respective political parties, the agreement was not fully implemented until 13 February 2009, two days after the swearing in of Tsvangirai as Prime Minister of Zimbabwe.

In November 2010, the IMF described the Zimbabwean economy as "completing its second year of buoyant economic growth after a decade of economic decline", mentioning "strengthening policies" and "favorable shocks" as main reasons for the economic growth.^[56]

In December 2010 President Mugabe threatened to further expropriate privately owned companies unless "western sanctions" were lifted. He said: "Why should we continue having companies and organisations that are supported by Britain and America without hitting back? Time has come for us to [take] revenge. We can read the riot act and say this is 51 percent we are taking and if the sanctions persist we are taking over 100 percent."^[57]

Journalist Nicholas D. Kristof reported that life continues to be considerably worse for the majority of the nation than under the Rhodesian Front government, this despite improvements since the beginning of the power-sharing government.^[58] However more recent studies, such as a 2011 survey by Freedom House, suggest that living conditions have improved on a wide front since the power-sharing agreement.^[59] The United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs states in its 2012–2013 planning document that the "humanitarian situation has improved in Zimbabwe since 2009, but conditions remain precarious for many people".^[60]

Since May 2012, the European Union initiated a new commercial partnership agreement with Madagascar, Mauritius, Seychelles and Zimbabwe. The agreement engages the EU to remove import taxes and quota on products coming from Zimbabwe and the other countries mentioned above. In return, Zimbabwe and the other countries remove import taxes and quota on products coming from the EU.^[61] The purpose of this agreement for Europe is to compete against the United States' AGOA.

Administrative divisions[link]

Administrative divisions of Zimbabwe

Zimbabwe has a centralised government and is divided into eight provinces and two cities with provincial status, for administrative purposes. Each province has a provincial capital from where official business is usually carried out.^[62]

The names of most of the provinces were generated from the Mashonaland and Matabeleland divide at the time of colonisation: Mashonaland was the territory occupied first by the British South Africa Company Pioneer Column and Matabeleland the territory conquered during the First Matabele War. This corresponds roughly to the precolonial territory of the Shona people and the Matabele people, although there are significant ethnic minorities in most provinces. Each province is headed by a Provincial Governor, appointed by the President.^[63] The provincial government is run by a Provincial Administrator, appointed by the Public Service Commission. Other government functions at provincial level are carried out by provincial offices of national government departments.^[64]

The provinces are subdivided into 59 districts and 1,200 wards (sometimes referred to as municipalities). Each district is headed by a District Administrator, appointed by the Public Service Commission. There is also a Rural District Council, which appoints a Chief Executive Officer. The Rural District Council is composed of elected ward councillors, the District Administrator and one representative of the chiefs (traditional leaders appointed under customary law) in the district. Other government functions at district level are carried out by district offices of national government departments.^[65]

At the ward level there is a Ward Development Committee, comprising the elected ward councillor, the kraalheads (traditional leaders subordinate to chiefs) and representatives of Village Development Committees. Wards are subdivided into villages, each of which has an elected Village Development Committee and a Headman (traditional leader subordinate to the kraalhead).^[66]

Government and politics[link]

Robert Mugabe heading to the opening of Parliament.

Zimbabwe is a semi-presidential republic, which has a parliamentary system of government. Under the constitutional changes in 2005, an upper chamber, the Senate, was reinstated.^[67] The House of Assembly is the lower chamber of Parliament.

President Robert Mugabe's Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front (commonly abbreviated ZANU-PF) has been the dominant political party in Zimbabwe since independence.^[68] In 1987 then-prime minister Mugabe revised the constitution, abolishing the ceremonial presidency and the prime ministerial posts to form an executive president, a Presidential system. His ZANU party has won every election since independence, in 1990 election the second-placed party, Edgar Tekere's Zimbabwe Unity Movement, winning only 20% of the vote.^[69] During the 1995 parliamentary elections most opposition parties, including the ZUM, boycotted the voting, resulting in a near-sweep by the ruling party.^[70] When the opposition returned to the polls in 2000, they won 57 seats, only five fewer than ZANU.^[70]

Presidential elections were again held in 2002 amid allegations of vote-rigging, intimidation and fraud.^[71] The 2005 Zimbabwe parliamentary elections were held on 31 March and multiple claims of vote rigging, election fraud and intimidation were made by the MDC and Jonathan Moyo, calling for investigations into 32 of the 120 constituencies.^[72] Jonathan Moyo participated in the elections despite the allegations and won a seat as an independent member of Parliament.

General elections were again held in Zimbabwe on 30 March 2008.^[73] The official results required a runoff between Mugabe and Morgan Tsvangirai, the opposition leader; the MDC challenged these results,^{[citation needed]} claiming widespread election fraud by the Mugabe government. The run-off was scheduled for 27 June 2008. On 22 June, citing the continuing unfairness of the process and refusing to participate in a "violent, illegitimate sham of an election process", Tsvangirai pulled out of the presidential run-off, the ZEC held the run-off and President Mugabe received a landslide majority.^[74]

The MDC-T led by Morgan Tsvangirai is now the majority in the Lower chamber of Parliament. The MDC split into two factions. One faction (MDC-M), now led by Arthur Mutambara contested the elections to the Senate, while the other, led by Morgan Tsvangirai, opposed to contesting the elections, stating that participation in a rigged election is tantamount to endorsing Mugabe's claim that past elections were free and fair. The opposition parties have resumed participation in national and local elections as recently as 2006. The two MDC camps had their congresses in 2006 with Morgan Tsvangirai being elected to lead MDC-T, which has become more popular than the other group.^[75]

Robert Mugabe with Chinese leader Hu Jintao.

Mutambara, a robotics professor and former NASA robotics specialist has replaced Welshman Ncube who was the interim leader of MDC-M after the split. Morgan Tsvangirai did not participate in the Senate elections, while the Mutambara faction participated and won five seats in the senate. The Mutambara formation has been weakened by defections from MPs and individuals who are disillusioned by their manifesto. As of 2008, the Movement for Democratic Change has become the most popular, with crowds as large as 20,000 attending their rallies as compared to between 500–5,000 for the other formation.^[75]

On 28 April 2008, Tsvangirai and Mutambara announced at a joint news conference in Johannesburg that the two MDC formations were cooperating, enabling the MDC to have a clear parliamentary majority.^[76][77] Tsvangirai said that Mugabe could not remain President without a parliamentary majority.^[77] On the same day, Silaigwana announced that the recounts for the final five constituencies had been completed, that the results were being collated and that they would be published on 29 April.^[78]

In mid-September 2008, after protracted negotiations overseen by the leaders of South Africa and Mozambique, Mugabe and Tsvangirai signed a power-sharing deal which would see Mugabe retain control over the army. Donor nations have adopted a 'wait-and-see' attitude, wanting to see real change being brought about by this merger before committing themselves to funding rebuilding efforts, which are estimated to take at least five years. On 11 February 2009 Tsvangirai was sworn in as Prime Minister by President Mugabe.

In November, 2008, the government of Zimbabwe spent $7.3 million donated by the Global Fund to Fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria. A representative of the organisation declined to speculate on how the money was spent, except that it was not for the intended purpose, and the government has failed to honour requests to return the money.^[79]

Human rights[link]

Protesters against the Mugabe administration abroad; protests are "discouraged" by Zimbabwean police in Zimbabwe.^[80]

There are widespread reports of systematic and escalating violations of human rights in Zimbabwe under the Mugabe administration and his party, the ZANU-PF.

According to human rights organisations such as Amnesty International^[81] and Human Rights Watch^[82] the government of Zimbabwe violates the rights to shelter, food, freedom of movement and residence, freedom of assembly and the protection of the law. There have been alleged assaults on the media, the political opposition, civil society activists, and human rights defenders.

Opposition gatherings are frequently the subject of brutal attacks by the police force, such as the crackdown on a 11 March 2007 Movement for Democratic Change (MDC) rally and several others during the 2008 election campaign.^[83] In the attacks of 2007, party leader Morgan Tsvangirai and 49 other opposition activists were arrested and severely beaten by the police. After his release, Morgan Tsvangirai told the BBC that he suffered head injuries and blows to the arms, knees and back, and that he lost a significant amount of blood.^[84]

Police action was strongly condemned by the UN Secretary-General, Ban Ki-moon, the European Union and the United States.^[84] While noting that the activists had suffered injuries, but not mentioning the cause of them,^[85] the Zimbabwean government-controlled daily newspaper The Herald claimed the police had intervened after demonstrators "ran amok looting shops, destroying property, mugging civilians, and assaulting police officers and innocent members of the public". The newspaper also argued that the opposition had been "willfully violating the ban on political rallies".^[85]

There are also abuses of media rights and access. The Zimbabwean government suppresses freedom of the press and freedom of speech.^[81] It has also been repeatedly accused of using the public broadcaster, the Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, as a propaganda tool.^[86] Newspapers critical of the government, such as the Daily News, closed after bombs exploded at their offices and the government refused to renew their license.^[87][88] BBC News, Sky News, and CNN were banned from filming or reporting from Zimbabwe. In 2009 reporting restrictions on the BBC and CNN were lifted.^[89] Sky News continue to report on happenings within Zimbabwe from neighbouring countries like South Africa.^[90][91]

Armed forces[link]

Flag of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces

The existence of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces (ZDF) is enshrined in the Constitution of Zimbabwe, Chapter X, 96 (1), which states that,

The ZDF was set up by the integration of three belligerent forces – the Zimbabwe African National Liberation Army (ZANLA), the Zimbabwe People's Revolutionary Army (ZIPRA), and the Rhodesian Security Forces (RSF) – after the Rhodesian Bush War and Zimbabwean independence in 1980. The integration period saw the formation of The Zimbabwe National Army (ZNA) and Air Force of Zimbabwe (AFZ) as separate entities under the command of Rtd General Solomon Mujuru and Air Marshal Norman Walsh who retired in 1982, and was replaced by Air Marshal Azim Daudpota who handed over command to the late Rtd Air Chief Marshal Josiah Tungamirai in 1985.

Although integration took place in the ZNA, there was no integration in the Air Force of Zimbabwe. Ex ZIPRA and ex ZANLA members who joined the Air Force particularly between 1980 and early 1982 did so as individuals. Consequently, many did not make the so-called "grade" and were dismissed from the Force unlike their colleagues in the ZNA who were protected by the integration directive. Before Norman Walsh left the Air Force, military aircraft were destroyed through sabotage at Thornhill Air Base in Gweru, in an operation believed to have been conducted by South African special forces.^{[citation needed]} A number of white officers were arrested and tortured and that led to an exodus of white commissioned officers from the AFZ.^{[citation needed]}

The government responded by transferring Major General Josiah Tungamirai from the ZNA to the AFZ, becoming an Air Vice Marshal, who later deputised Air Marshal Daudpota, seconded from the Pakistan Air Force. The integration commanders handed over the Zimbabwean flags to then Lieutenant General Vitalis Zvinavashe, who later became the first Commander Defence Forces (1993), and Air Marshal Perrance Shiri in 1992, and subsequently in the ZNA to then Lieutenant General Constantine Chiwenga in 1993.

The approval of the Defence Amendment Bill saw the setting up of a single command for the Defence Forces in 1995. The late General Vitalis Zvinavashe became the first commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces, with the commanders of both the Army and the Air Force falling under his command. Following his retirement in December 2003, General Constantine Chiwenga, was promoted and appointed Commander of the Zimbabwe Defence Forces. Lieutenant General P. V. Sibanda replaced him as Commander of the Army.^[92]

The ZNA currently has an active duty strength of 30,000. The Air Force has about 5,139 men assigned.^[93] The Zimbabwe Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police) is also part of the defence force of Zimbabwe and numbers 25,000.^[94]

In 1999, the Government of Zimbabwe sent a sizeable military force into the Democratic Republic of Congo to support the government of President Laurent Kabila during the Second Congo War. Those forces were largely withdrawn in 2002.

Zimbabwe National Army[link]

Flag of the Army of Zimbabwe

The Zimbabwe National Army or ZNA was created in 1980 from elements of the Rhodesian Army, integrated to a greater or lesser extent with combatants from the ZANLA and ZIPRA guerrilla movements (the armed wings of, respectively, ZANU and ZAPU).

Following majority rule in early 1980, British Army trainers oversaw the integration of guerrilla fighters into a battalion structure overlaid on the existing Rhodesian armed forces. For the first year, a system was followed where the top-performing candidate became battalion commander. If he or she was from ZANLA, then his or her second-in-command was the top-performing ZIPRA candidate, and vice versa.^[95] This ensured a balance between the two movements in the command structure. From early 1981, this system was abandoned in favour of political appointments, and ZANLA and ZANU fighters consequently quickly formed the majority of battalion commanders in the ZNA.

The ZNA was originally formed into four brigades, composed of a total of 28 battalions. The brigade support units were composed almost entirely of specialists of the former Rhodesian Army, while unintegrated battalions of the Rhodesian African Rifles were assigned to the 1st, 3rd and 4th Brigades. The Fifth Brigade was formed in 1981 and disbanded in 1988 after allegations of brutality and murder during the brigade's occupation of Matabeleland in what has become known as Gukurahundi (Shona: "the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains").^[32][96] The Brigade had been reformed by 2006, with its commander, Brigadier-General John Mupande praising its "rich history".^[97]

Economy[link]

This article's factual accuracy may be compromised due to out-of-date information. Please help improve the article by updating it. There may be additional information on the talk page. (January 2010)

Zimbabwean exports in 2006

Crop production in Zimbabwe has considerably fallen in recent years

Mineral exports, agriculture, and tourism are the main foreign currency earners of Zimbabwe.^[98] The mining sector remains very lucrative, with some of the world's largest platinum reserves being mined by Anglo-American and Impala Platinum.^[99] The Marange diamond fields, discovered in 2006, are considered the biggest diamond find in over a century.^[100] They have the potential to improve the fiscal situation of the country considerably, but almost all revenues from the field have disappeared in to the pockets of army officers and ZANU-PF politicians.^[101] Zimbabwe is the biggest trading partner of South Africa on the continent.^[102]

Zimbabwe maintained positive economic growth throughout the 1980s (5.0% GDP growth per year) and 1990s (4.3% GDP growth per year). The economy declined from 2000: 5% decline in 2000, 8% in 2001, 12% in 2002 and 18% in 2003.^[103] The government of Zimbabwe faces a variety of economic problems after having abandoned earlier efforts to develop a market-oriented economy. Problems include a shortage of foreign exchange, soaring inflation, and supply shortages. Zimbabwe's involvement from 1998 to 2002 in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo drained hundreds of millions of dollars from the economy.^[104]

The downward spiral of the economy has been attributed mainly to mismanagement and corruption by the government and the eviction of more than 4,000 white farmers in the controversial land redistribution of 2000.^{[105][106][107][108]} Zimbabwe was previously an exporter of maize but has become a net importer.^[99] Tobacco exports and other exports of crops have also declined sharply. The fate of the white farmers was publicised in a documentary film Mugabe and the White African.

Tourism was an important industry for the country, but has been failing in recent years. The Zimbabwe Conservation Task Force released a report in June 2007, estimating 60% of Zimbabwe's wildlife has died since 2000 due to poaching and deforestation. The report warns that the loss of life combined with widespread deforestation is potentially disastrous for the tourist industry.^[109]

In November 2010, the IMF described the Zimbabwean economy as "completing its second year of buoyant economic growth".^[110][111]

Hyperinflation 2003–2009[link]

Inflation rose from an annual rate of 32% in 1998, to an official estimated high of 11,200,000% in August 2008 according to the country's Central Statistical Office.^[112] This represented a state of hyperinflation, and the central bank introduced a new 100 billion dollar note.^[113] As of November 2008, unofficial figures put Zimbabwe's annual inflation rate at 516 quintillion percent, with prices doubling every 1.3 days. Zimbabwe's inflation crisis was in 2009 the second worst inflation spike in history, behind the hyperinflationary crisis of Hungary in 1946, in which prices doubled every 15.6 hours.^[114] By 2005, the purchasing power of the average Zimbabwean had dropped to the same levels in real terms as 1953.^[115] Local residents have largely resorted to buying essentials from neighbouring Botswana, South Africa, and Zambia.

In 2005, the government, led by central bank governor Gideon Gono, started making overtures that white farmers could come back. There were 400 to 500 still left in the country, but much of the land that had been confiscated was no longer productive.^[116] In January 2007, the government even let some white farmers sign long term leases.^[117] But, the government reversed course again and started demanding that all remaining white farmers leave the country or face jail.^[118][119]

In August 2006, a revalued Zimbabwean dollar was introduced, equal to 1000 of the prior Zimbabwean dollars. The exchange rate fell from 24 old Zimbabwean dollars per U.S. dollar (USD) in 1998 to 250,000 prior or 250 new Zimbabwean dollars per USD at the official rate,^[120] and an estimated 120,000,000 old or 120,000 revalued Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar on the parallel market,^[121] in June 2007.

In January 2009, Zimbabwe introduced a new Z$100 trillion banknote.^[122] On 29 January, in an effort to counteract his country's runaway inflation, acting Finance Minister Patrick Chinamasa announced that Zimbabweans will be permitted to use other, more stable currencies (e.g. Sterling, Euro, South African Rand, and the United States Dollar) to do business, alongside the Zimbabwe dollar.^[123]

On 2 February 2009, the RBZ announced that a further 12 zeros were to be taken off the currency, with 1,000,000,000,000 (third) Zimbabwe dollars being exchanged for 1 new (fourth) dollar. New banknotes were introduced with a face value of Z$1, Z$5, Z$10, Z$20, Z$50, Z$100 and Z$500.The banknotes of the fourth dollar were to circulate alongside the third dollar, which remained legal tender until 30 June 2009.^[124]

Economic recovery[link]

Since the formation of the Unity Government in 2009, the Zimbabwean economy has been on the rebound. GDP grew by more than 5% in the year 2009 and 2011. Growth is forecast to reach 8% in 2010, buoyed by high mineral prices and the improving agriculture sector. Zimbabwe produced 119 million kg of tobacco in the 2009/10 season, double the previous year’s output.^[125] Zimplats, the nation's largest platinum company, has proceeded with US$500 million in expansions, and is also continuing a separate US$2 billion project, despite threats by Mugabe to nationalise the company.^[126] The pan-African investment bank IMARA released a favourable report in February 2011 on investment prospects in Zimbabwe, citing an improved revenue base and higher tax receipts.^[127]

Government view and international sanctions[link]

Mugabe points to foreign governments and alleged "sabotage" as the cause of the fall of the Zimbabwean economy, as well as the country's 80% formal unemployment rate.^[128] Critics of Mugabe's administration, including the majority of the international community, blame Mugabe's controversial programme which sought to seize land from white commercial farmers.^{[citation needed]} Mugabe has repeatedly blamed sanctions imposed on Zimbabwe by the European Union and the United States for the state of the Zimbabwean economy. According to the United States, these sanctions target only seven specific businesses owned or controlled by government officials and not ordinary citizens.^[129] During a meeting of the Southern African Development Community in 2007, a call was issued for the sanctions to be removed.^[130]

Taxes and tariffs are high for private enterprises, while state enterprises are strongly subsidised. State regulation is costly to companies; starting or closing a business is slow and costly.^[131] Government spending was predicted to reach 67% of GDP in 2007.^[132] It used to be partly financed by printing money, which led to hyperinflation. The labour market is highly regulated; hiring a worker is cumbersome, firing a worker is difficult, and unemployment has risen to 80% (2005).^[131]

Since 1 January 2002, the government of Zimbabwe has had its lines of credit at international financial institutions frozen, through U.S. legislation called the Zimbabwe Democracy and Economic Recovery Act of 2001 (ZDERA). Section 4C instructs the Secretary of the Treasury to direct directors at international financial institutions to veto the extension of loans and credit to the Zimbabwean government.

SEC. 4. SUPPORT FOR DEMOCRATIC TRANSITION AND ECONOMIC RECOVERY.

(c) MULTILATERAL FINANCING RESTRICTION- Until the President makes the certification described in subsection (d), and except as may be required to meet basic human needs or for good governance, the Secretary of the Treasury shall instruct the United States executive director to each international financial institution to oppose and vote against--

(1) any extension by the respective institution of any loan, credit, or guarantee to the Government of Zimbabwe; or (2) any cancellation or reduction of indebtedness owed by the Government of Zimbabwe to the United States or any international financial institution.

^[133]

In an effort to combat inflation and foster economic growth the Zimbabwean Dollar was suspended indefinitely on 12 April 2009.^[134] Zimbabwe now allows trade in the United States Dollar and various other currencies such as the South African rand, euro, Sterling, and Botswana pula.

Demographics[link]

A n'anga (or faith healer) of the majority (70%) Shona people

Zimbabwe's total population is 12 million.^[135] According to the United Nations World Health Organisation, the life expectancy for men was 37 years and the life expectancy for women was 34 years of age, the lowest in the world in 2006.^[136] An association of doctors in Zimbabwe has made calls for President Mugabe to make moves to assist the ailing health service.^[137] The HIV infection rate in Zimbabwe was estimated to be 14% for people aged 15–49 in 2009.^[138] UNESCO reported a decline in HIV prevalence among pregnant women from 26% in 2002 to 21% in 2004.^[139]

Some 85% of Zimbabweans are Christian; 62% of the population attends religious services regularly.^[140] The largest Christian churches are Anglican, Roman Catholic, Seventh-day Adventist^[141] and Methodist. As in other African countries, Christianity may be mixed with enduring traditional beliefs. Besides Christianity, ancestral worship is the most practised non-Christian religion, involving spiritual intercession; the Mbira Dza Vadzimu, 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.^[142]

Bantu-speaking ethnic groups make up 98% of the population. The majority people, the Shona, comprise 70%. The Ndebele are the second most populous with 20% of the population.^[143][144] The Ndebele descended from Zulu migrations in the 19th century and the other tribes with which they intermarried. Up to one million Ndebele may have left the country over the last five years, mainly for South Africa. Other Bantu ethnic groups make up the third largest with 2 to 5%. These are Venda, Tonga, Shangaan, Kalanga, Sotho, Ndau and Nambya.^[144]

White Zimbabweans make up less than 1% of the population.

Minority ethnic groups include white Zimbabweans, who make up less than 1% of the total population. White Zimbabweans are mostly of British origin, but there are also Afrikaner, Greek, Portuguese, French and Dutch communities. The white population dropped from a peak of around 278,000 or 4.3% of the population in 1975^[145] to possibly 120,000 in 1999 and was estimated to be no more than 50,000 in 2002, and possibly much less.^[146] Most emigration has been to the United Kingdom (Between 200,000 and 500,000 Britons are of Zimbabwean origin), South Africa, Botswana, Zambia, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Mixed-race citizens form 0.5% of the population and various Asian ethnic groups, mostly of Indian and Chinese origin, are also 0.5%.^[147]

Largest cities[link]

v t e Largest cities or towns of Zimbabwe http://www.geonames.org/ZW/largest-cities-in-zimbabwe.html
	Rank	City name	Province	Pop.
Harare Bulawayo	1	Harare	Harare	1 542 813
	2	Bulawayo	Bulawayo	699 385
	3	Chitungwiza	Harare	340 360
	4	Mutare	Manicaland	184 205
	5	Gweru	Midlands	146 073
	6	Epworth	Harare	123 250
	7	Kwekwe	Midlands	99 149
	8	Kadoma	Mashonaland West	79 174
	9	Masvingo	Masvingo	76 290
	10	Chinhoyi	Mashonaland West	61 739

Language[link]

Shona, Ndebele and English are the principal languages of Zimbabwe. Despite English being the official language, less than 2.5%, mainly the white and Coloured (mixed race) minorities, consider it their native language. The rest of the population speak Bantu languages such as Shona (70%), Ndebele (20%) and the other minority languages of Venda, Tsonga, Shangaan, Kalanga, Sotho, Ndau and Nambya.^[148] Shona has a rich oral tradition, which was incorporated into the first Shona novel, Feso by Solomon Mutswairo, published in 1956.^[149] English is spoken primarily in the cities, but less so in rural areas. Radio and television news is now broadcast in Shona, Ndebele and English.