TOTAL AREA: 390,580 sq km (150,621 sq mi); LAND AREA: 386,670 sq km (149,113 sq mi)
COMPARATIVE AREA: slightly larger than Montana
LAND BOUNDARIES: 3,066 km (1,905 mi) total; Botswana 813 km (505 mi), Mozambique 1,231 km (765 mi), South Africa 225 km (139 mi), Zambia 797 km (495 mi)
COASTLINE: none--landlocked
MARITIME CLAIMS: none--landlocked
DISPUTES: quadripoint with Botswana, Namibia, and Zambia is in disagreement
CLIMATE: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)
TERRAIN: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east
NATURAL RESOURCES: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin
LAND USE: 7% arable land; NEGL% permanent crops; 12% meadows and pastures; 62% forest and woodland; 19% other; includes NEGL% irrigated
ENVIRONMENT: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare; deforestation; soil erosion; air and water pollution; desertification
ETHNIC DIVISIONS: 98% African (71% Shona, 16% Ndebele, 11% other); 1% white, 1% mixed and Asian
RELIGION: 50% syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs), 25% Christian, 24% indigenous beliefs, a few Muslim
LANGUAGE: English (official); Shona and Ndebele
LITERACY: 45-55%
LABOR FORCE: 3,100,000; 74% agriculture, 16% transport and services, 10% mining, manufacturing, construction (1987)
ORGANIZED LABOR: 17% of wage and salary earners have union membership
.GOVERNMENT OF ZIMBABWE
LONG-FORM NAME: Republic of Zimbabwe
TYPE: presidential system with bicameral legislature
CAPITAL: Harare
ADMINISTRATIVE DIVISIONS: 8 provinces; Manicaland, Mashonaland Central, Mashonaland East, Mashonaland West, Matabeleland North, Matabeleland South, Midlands, Victoria (commonly called Masvingo)
INDEPENDENCE: 18 April 1980 (from UK; formerly Southern Rhodesia)
CONSTITUTION: 21 December 1979
LEGAL SYSTEM: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law
NATIONAL HOLIDAY: Independence Day, 18 April (1980)
BRANCHES: legislative authority resides in a Parliament consisting of a 100-member House of Assembly and a 40-member Senate; executive authority lies with a Cabinet led by the president; the High Court is the superior judicial authority
CHIEF OF STATE: Robert Gabriel MUGABE, Executive President (since December 1987)
SUFFRAGE: universal over age 18
ELECTIONS: last held July 1985; next in 1990
POLITICAL PARTIES AND LEADERS: Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), Robert Mugabe; Zimbabwe African People's Union (ZAPU), Joshua Nkomo; Zimbabwe African National Union-Sithole (ZANU-S), Ndabaningi Sithole; others have no seats in Parliament; ZANU and ZAPU agreed to merge in December 1987, making Zimbabwe a de facto one-party state; the new party is called ZANU-PF (Patriotic Front) and Mugabe is its leader
DIPLOMATIC REPRESENTATION: Counselor (Political Affairs), Head of Chancery, Charge d'Affaires ad interim Jonathan WUTAWUNASHE; Chancery at 2852 McGill Terrace NW, Washington DC 20008; telephone (202) 332-7100
U.S. FOREIGN SERVICE POST: Ambassador James Wilson RAWLINGS; Embassy at 172 Rhodes Avenue, Harare (mailing address is P. O. Box 3340, Harare); telephone
FLAG: Even equal horizontal bands of green, yellow, red, black, red, yellow, and green with a white equilateral triangle edged in black based on the hoist side; a yellow Zimbabwe bird is superimposed on a red five-pointed star in the center of the triangle
.ECONOMY OF ZIMBABWE
OVERVIEW: Agriculture employs about 75% of the labor force and supplies almost 40% of exports. The manufacturing sector produces a variety of goods and contributes about 25% to GDP. Mining accounts for about 5% of both GDP and employment, but supplies minerals and metals for about 40% of exports.
GDP: $5.5 billion, per capita $540; real growth rate 6.0% (1988 est.)
INFLATION RATE (CONSUMER PRICES): 12.5% (1987)
UNEMPLOYMENT RATE: 20% (1986 est.)
BUDGET: revenues $2.2 billion; expenditures $2.8 billion, including capital expenditures of $260 million (FY88 est.)
EXPORTS: $1.6 billion (f.o.b., 1988); commodities-- agricultural 34% (tobacco 21%, other 13%), manufactures 19%, gold 11%, ferrochrome 11%, cotton 6%; partners-- Europe 55% (EC 41%, Netherlands 6%, other 8%), Africa 22% (South Africa 12%, other 10%), US 6%
IMPORTS: $1.1 billion (c.i.f., 1988); commodities-- machinery and transportation equipment 37%, other manufactures 22%, chemicals 16%, fuels 15%; partners-- EC 31%, Africa 29% (South Africa 21%, other 8%), US 8%, Japan 4%
RAILROADS: 3,394 km (2,107 mi) 1.067-meter gauge; 42 km double track; 355 km electrified
HIGHWAYS: 85,237 km (52,932 mi) total; 15,800 km paved, 39,090 km crushed stone, gravel, stabilized soil: 23,097 km improved earth; 7,250 km unimproved earth
INLAND WATERWAYS: Lake Kariba is a potential line of communication
PIPELINES: 8 km (5.0 mi) refined products
CIVIL AIR: 11 major transport aircraft
AIRPORTS: 517 total, 437 usable; 23 with permanent-surface runways; 2 with runways over 3,659 m; 3 with runways 2,440-3,659 m; 38 with runways 1,220-2,439 m
TELECOMMUNICATIONS: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; consists of radio relay links, open-wire lines, and radio communications stations; 247,000 telephones; stations--8 AM, 18 FM, 8 TV; 1 Atlantic Ocean INTELSAT station
.DEFENSE FORCES OF ZIMBABWE
BRANCHES: Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Police Support Unit, People's Militia
MILITARY MANPOWER: males 15-49, 2,048,201; 1,265,124 fit for military service
MILITARY BUDGET: $446.7 million, 12.7% of central government budget (FY89)
.TRAVEL IN ZIMBABWE
REQUIRED DOCUMENTS: Passport, onward/return ticket, and sufficient funds for stay required. Because of sporadic violence, check with the U.S. Consular offices before traveling in rural areas. Vaccination certificate not required unless arriving from an area infected with yellow fever.
HEALTH: Medical facilities are good in cities. Tapwater is potable in urban areas, but not in rural regions. Health requirements change; check latest information.
TOURIST OFFICE: Zimbabwe Tourist Development Corporation, Tourism House, P.O. Box 8052, Harare; Tel (4) 723-150. Zimbabwe Tourist Board, 1270 Avenue of the Americas, Ste 1905, New York, NY 10020; Tel 212-307-6565, 1-800-621-2381.
WEATHER AND CLOTHING: Light summer clothing appropriate Oct-May; fall or spring clothing the rest of the year.
TELEPHONE: When direct dialing to Zimbabwe from the U.S., dial 011 (international access code) + 263 [country code] + (city code) + local number.
TIME: 7 hours ahead of U.S. Eastern Standard Time, and 2 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
ELECTRIC CURRENT: 225V
NATIONAL HOLIDAYS: New Year's Day (Jan 1); Good Friday and Easter Monday (variable); Independence Day (Apr 18); Labor Day (May 1); Africa Day (May 25); Heroes' Days (August 11-12); Christmas Day (Dec 25); Boxing Day (Dec 26).
TOURIST ATTRACTIONS: Varied scenery and a pleasant climate. Popular attractions include Victoria Falls, the Eastern Highlands, and the Great Zimbabwe ruins near Masvingo. Hwange Park, home to thousands of elephants, is larger than Connecticut. The Zambezi River offers excellent sport fishing.
IMPORTANT!! All requirements/recommendations are subject to change. Be sure to check latest information.
