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Background: The UK annexed Southern Rhodesia from the South Africa Company in 1923. A 1961 constitution was formulated that favored whites in power. In 1965 the government unilaterally declared its independence, but the UK did not recognize the act and demanded more complete voting rights for the black African majority in the country (then called Rhodesia). UN sanctions and a guerrilla uprising finally led to free elections in 1979 and independence (as Zimbabwe) in 1980. Robert MUGABE, the nation's first prime minister, has been the country's only ruler (as president since 1987) and has dominated the country's political system since independence.
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Common Name: Zimbabwe
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Local Official Name: Zimbabwe
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Abbreviated Name: Republic of Zimbabwe
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Official Name: Zimbabwe
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Official Script Name: Zimbabwe
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Local Common Name: Zimbabwe
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Former Name: Southern Rhodesia, Rhodesia
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Territory of: NA
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Head of State: Executive President Robert Gabriel MUGABE
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Government Type: parliamentary democracy
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Independence: 1980 April 18 (from UK)
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Constitution: 1979 December 21
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National Holiday: Independence Day, 18 April
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International Organization Participation: ACP, AfDB, C, CCC, ECA, FAO, G-15, G-77, IAEA, IBRD, ICAO, ICFTU, ICRM, IDA, IFAD, IFC, IFRCS, ILO, IMF, Interpol, IOC, IOM (observer), ISO, ITU, NAM, OAU, OPCW, PCA, SADC, UN, UNCTAD, UNESCO, UNIDO, UNMIK, UPU, WCL, WFTU, WHO, WIPO, WMO, WToO, WTrO
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Administrative Divisions: 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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Dependent Areas: NA
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Legal System: mixture of Roman-Dutch and English common law
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Suffrage: 18 years of age years
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Executive, Legislative and Judicial Branches: Executive Branch:
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 2006); 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%
Legislative Branch:
unicameral parliament, called 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 47.2%, MDC 45.6%, ZANU-Ndonga 0.7%, United Parties 0.7%; seats by party - ZANU-PF 63, MDC 56, ZANU-Ndonga 1
Judicial Branch:
Supreme Court; High Court
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Party Leaders: Movement for Democratic Change or MDC [Morgan TSVANGIRAI]; United Parties [Abel MUZOREWA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Ndonga or ZANU-Ndonga [leader NA]; Zimbabwe African National Union-Patriotic Front or ZANU-PF [Robert Gabriel MUGABE]; Zimbabwe African Peoples Union or ZAPU [Paul SIWELA]
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International Disputes: NA
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Illicit Drugs: transit point for African cannabis and South Asian heroin, mandrax, and methamphetamines destined for the South African and European markets
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Location of Zimbabwe: Southern Africa, between South Africa and Zambia
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Continent: Africa
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Land Area Total: 390,580 sq km
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Region: Southern African |
Land Area Land: 386,670 sq km
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Capitol City: Harare
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Land Area Water: 3,910 sq km
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Current:
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Latitude: 020 00 S
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Border Boundary Land: 3,066 km
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Longitude: 030 00 E
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Border Boundary Coastline: 0 km
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Arable Land: 8.00 %
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Pastures: 0.00 %
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Crops: 1.00 %
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Woodlands and Forests: 0.00
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Highest Elevation: 2,592 m
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Location: Inyangani
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Lowest Elevation: 162 m
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Location: junction of the Runde and Save rivers
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Largest City in Zimbabwe: Harare
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Harare Largest City Population: 1,686,000
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Threatened Species: 38
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Environmental Issues: deforestation; soil erosion; land degradation; air and water pollution; the black rhinoceros herd - once the largest concentration of the species in the world - has been significantly reduced by poaching; poor mining practices have led to toxic waste and heavy metal pollution
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Environmental Agreements: party to: Biodiversity, Climate Change, Desertification, Endangered Species, Law of the Sea, Ozone Layer Protection
signed, but not ratified: none of the selected agreements
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Irrigated Land: 1,170
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Bordering Countries: Botswana 813 km, Mozambique 1,231 km, South Africa 225 km, Zambia 797 km
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Natural Resources: coal, chromium ore, asbestos, gold, nickel, copper, iron ore, vanadium, lithium, tin, platinum group metals
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Geographical Terrain: mostly high plateau with higher central plateau (high veld); mountains in east
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Comparative Area of Zimbabwe: slightly larger than Montana
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Zimbabwe's Geography: landlocked; the Zambezi forms a natural riverine boundary with Zambia; in full flood (February-April) the massive Victoria Falls on the river forms the world's largest curtain of falling water
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Click Here for detailed information about the weather conditions in Zimbabwe.
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General Climate: tropical; moderated by altitude; rainy season (November to March)
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Natural Hazards: recurring droughts; floods and severe storms are rare
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Economic Overview: The government of Zimbabwe faces a wide variety of difficult economic problems as it struggles to consolidate earlier moves to develop a market-oriented economy. Its involvement in the war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, for example, has already 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, and to 100% by yearend 2001. The economy is being steadily weakened by excessive government deficits, AIDS, and rampant inflation. The government's land reform program, characterized by chaos and violence, has derailed the commercial sector, the traditional source of exports and foreign exchange and the provider of 400,000 jobs. Distribution of income is extremely unequal.
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GDP: $28,000,000,000 USD
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Currency: Zimbabwean dollar
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GDP per Capita: $2,450 USD
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Currency Code: ZWD
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GDP Growth Rate: -6.50 %
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One $USD Equals: %fincurrencyequals% ZWD
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Currency Exchange Rate History: Zimbabwean dollars per US dollar - 54.9451 (December 2001), 54.9451 (2001), 43.2900 (2000), 38.3142 (1999), 21.4133 (1998), 11.8906 (1997)
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GDP of Agriculture: 11.00 %
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GDP of Industry: 14.00 %
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GDP of Services: 75.00 % |
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Inflation Rate: 100.00 % |
Population in Poverty: 60.00 %
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Unemployment Rate: 60.00 %
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Tourism: 2,103,000.00 visitors each year
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Consumption by lowest 10%: 1.80 %
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Budget Revenue in USD: $2,500,000,000 USD
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Consumption by upper 10%: 46.90 %
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Budget Expenditures in USD: $2,600,000,000 USD
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Electricity Production: 6,425,000,000 kWh
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Electricity Exports: 0 kWh
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Electricity Consumption: 10,475,000,000 kWh
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Electricity Imports: 4,500,000,000 kWh
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Electricity Production by Source:
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Fossil Fuel Electricity Production: 53.31%
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Nuclear Electricity Production: 0.00%
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Hydro Electricity Production: 46.69%
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Other Electricity Production: 0.00%
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Oil Production: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Production: 0 cu m
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Oil Consumption: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Consumption: 0 cu m
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Oil Exports: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Exports: 0 cu m
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Oil Imports: 0 barrels per day
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Natural Gas Imports: 0 cu m
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Proven Oil Reserves: 0 barrels
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Proven Natural Gas Reserves: 0 cu m
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External Debt: $5,000,000,000 USD |
Received in economic aid: $200,000,000 USD
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Donated in economic aid: $0 USD
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Agricultural Products: corn, cotton, tobacco, wheat, coffee, sugarcane, peanuts; cattle, sheep, goats, pigs
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Primary Industries: 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 Growth Rate: -10.00 %
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Import Amount in USD: $1,500,000,000 USD - machinery and transport equipment 34%, other manufactures 18%, chemicals 17%, fuels 11%
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Import Partners: South Africa 46.3%, UK 7.2%, Germany 2.5%, US 2.8%, Japan 2.5%
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Export Amount in USD: $2,100,000,000 USD - tobacco 30%, gold 11%, ferroalloys 9%, textile/clothing 3%
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Export Partners: South Africa 12.1%, UK 8.5%, Japan 7.7%, Germany 6.1%, China 5.4%
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GINI Index: 56.80%
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Labor Force Number of People: 5,500,000
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Labor Force by Occupations: agriculture 66%, services 24%, industry 10%
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Radio Broadcast Stations: 28 |
Number of People with Radios: 1,140,000 |
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Television Broadcast Stations: 16 |
Number of People with Televisions: 370,000 |
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Number of People with Mainline Telephones: 212,000 |
Number of People with Mobile Phones: 111,000 |
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Internet Service Providers: 6 |
Internet Users: 30,000 |
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Internet Country Code: .zw |
Newspapers: 19 |
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Two Letter Country Code: ZW |
Weights and Measures: |
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Phone Country Code: +263 |
Electricity Voltage: Volts |
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Telephone Systems: general assessment: system was once one of the best in Africa, but now suffers from poor maintenance; more than 100,000 outstanding requests for connection despite an equally large number of installed but unused main lines
domestic: consists of microwave radio relay links, open-wire lines, radiotelephone communication stations, fixed wireless local loop installations, and a substantial mobile cellular network; Internet connection is available in Harare and planned for all major towns and for some of the smaller ones
international: satellite earth stations - 2 Intelsat; two international digital gateway exchanges (in Harare and Gweru)
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Highways: 8,692 km |
Railways: 3,077 km
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Gas And Oil Pipelines: 212 km |
Waterways: 0 km
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Airports: 17 |
Heliports: 0
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Motor Vehicles: 51 per 1,000 people |
CO2 Emissions: 18,203,000 Metric Tons of CO2 per year |
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Per capita CO2 emissions: 1.60 Metric Tons of CO2 per year |
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Merchant Marines: NA
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Ports and Harbors: Binga, Kariba
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Population: 11,376,676 people type - nationality |
Birth Rate: 24.59 births per 1,000 people |
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Population Density: 33.00 people per sq km |
Death Rate: 24.06 deaths per 1,000 people |
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Population Growth: 0.05% per year |
Fertility Rate per Women: 3.21 babies born per woman |
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Population Male 0-14: 2,178,073 |
Population Female 0-14: 2,128,287 |
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Population Male 15-64: 3,376,850 |
Population Female 15-64: 3,268,315 |
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Population Male 65+: 213,286 |
Population Female 65+: 211,865 |
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Population 0-14: 37.90% |
Literacy Rate: 85.00% |
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Population 15-64: 58.40% |
Literacy rate of Males: 90.00% |
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Population 65+: 3.70% |
Literacy rate of Females: 80.00% |
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Population that is Male: 51.50
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Population that is Female: 48.50% |
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Life expectancy at birth in years: 36.50 years |
Infant mortality rate - baby deaths per 1000 births: 62.97 Babies die per 1,000 births |
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Life expectancy at birth for Males: 37.87 years |
Life expectancy at birth for Females: 35.10 years |
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Rate of AIDS/HIV infection: 25.06%
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Number of people living with AIDS or HIV: 1,500,000
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Number of people who died of AIDS: 160,000 |
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Disease Risk:
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Diseases:
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Net Migration Rate per 1,000 people: 0.00
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Nationality: ZIMBABWEAN
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Ethnic Groups: African 98% (Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%), mixed and Asian 1%, white less than 1%
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Primary Language: English
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Other Languages: English (official), Shona, Sindebele (the language of the Ndebele, sometimes called Ndebele), numerous but minor tribal dialects
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Primary Religion: syncretic
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Other Religions: syncretic (part Christian, part indigenous beliefs) 50%, Christian 25%, indigenous beliefs 24%, Muslim and other 1%
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Branches: Zimbabwe National Army, Air Force of Zimbabwe, Zimbabwe Republic Police (includes Police Support Unit, Paramilitary Police)
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Manpower Fit to Serve: NA years
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Manpower Available: 3,057,381 People
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Manpower Fit to Serve: 1,898,383 People
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Amount of Manpower Available each Year: 0 People per year
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Expenditures: $350,600,000 USD per year
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Expenditures as a Percentage of GDP: 3.80
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Note: Phrasebase uses a variety of sources when compiling the facts and information presented above. This information is continually updated throughout the year.
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Zimbabwe Spa and Resort Directory
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Zimbabwe City Information Game Earn Real Money
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