Zimbabwe: Fact file
Updated October 2009
| Name | Republic of Zimbabwe |
| Area | 390 757 sq km |
| Capital | Harare |
| Major cities | Bulawayo, Chitungwiza, Mutare, Gweru, Kwekwe, Kadoma, Masvinga (Frame 2008, 1304) |
| Boundaries | Zambia, Mozambique, South Africa, Botswana (landlocked) |
| Population | 12.4 million, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Natural pop growth | 1.4%, 2005-15 (UNDP 2009) |
| Urbanisation | 29%, 1990 (UNDP 2009) |
| Life expectancy | Female 43.6 yrs, male 42.6 yrs, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| HIV/AIDS prevalence | 15-49 yrs: 15.6%; 2007 est (Zimbabwe National Monitoring and Evaluation Taskforce 2008, 4) |
| Adult literacy rate | Female 88.3%, male 94.1%, 2007 (UNDP 2009) |
| Health expenditure | 8.9% of government spending; 2006 (UNDP 2009) |
| Legal system | Roman-Dutch, customary Law (Saki & Chiware 2007) |
| Independence | 18 April 1980 (from UK) |
| GDP | US$0.641 billion, 2007 est (IMF 2008) |
| GDP per capita | US$55, 2007 est (IMF 2008) |
| GDP growth rate | -6.1%, 2007 est (IMF 2009) |
| Main exports | Gold, tobacco, iron alloys, platinum, cotton (Frame 2008, 1308) |
| Currency | 1 Zimbabwe Dollar (Z$) = 100 Cents |
| Unemployment | 94%, end 2008 est (Money Web 2009) |
| Inflation rate | 10 452.6%, 2007 (IMF 2009) |
| External debt ratio | 20.1% of GDP, 2007 (IMF 2009) |
| Roads | 61 630 km rural; 19 000 km State roads, 7 500 tarred (SADC 2007, 284) |
| Rail | 2 760 km (National railways of Zimbabwe Undated) |
| Airports | 17 paved; 3 international (Harare, Bulawayo, Kariba) (Avigation Networks Undated) |
| Ethnic groups | Shona 82%, Ndebele 14%, other 2%; Asian 1%; White 1% (Nations Encyclopedia 2007) |
| Languages | Official: English; Major: Shona, Sindebele, Manyika, Kalanga; 15 others (Ethnologue.com undated) |
| Religion | Christian 67.5% (Independent 40.3%, Protestant 15.0%, Roman Catholic 9.6%), African Traditional Religion 30.1%, Nonreligious 1.0%, others 1.3% (Religious Freedom 2001) |
References
AVIGATION NETWORKS UNDATED "Airports in Zimbabwe", [www] http://worldaerodata.com/countries/Zimbabwe.php [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2007).
ETHNOLOGUE.COM UNDATED "Languages of Zimbabwe" [www] http://www.ethnologue.com/show_country.asp?name=ZW [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
FRAME, I 2008 (ed) Africa South of the Sahara 2008, Routledge.
IMF 2008 World Economic Outlook Database, April 2008, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/weo/2008/01/weodata/index.aspx [opens new window] (accessed 21 Apr 2008).
IMF 2009 Regional Economic Outlook: Sub-Saharan Africa, 66, 70, 88, [www] http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/reo/2009/afr/eng/sreo0409.pdf, [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 18 May 2009).
MONEY WEB 2009 "Zimbabwe unemployment soars to 94%", 29 January, [www] http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page87?oid=262730&sn=Detail [opens new window] (accessed 19 May 2009).
NATIONAL RAILWAYS OF ZIMBABWE UNDATED "Corporate Information", [www] http://www.nrz.co.zw/about/corporateinfor.html [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
NATIONS ENCYCLOPEDIA 2007 "Zimbabwe: Ethnic groups", http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/Zimbabwe-ETHNIC-GROUPS.html [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
RELIGIOUS FREEDOM 2001 "Nation profile: Zimbabwe", [www] http://religiousfreedom.lib.virginia.edu/nationprofiles/Zimbabwe/rbodies.html [opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
SADC 2007 "Zimbabwe" IN Country Profiles, [www] http://www.sadcreview.com/pdfs07/zimbabwe2007_08.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 25 Apr 2008).
SAKI, O & CHIWARE, T 2007 "The Law in Zimbabwe" IN GlobaLex, Hauser School of Law Programme, [www] http://www.nyulawglobal.org/globalex/Zimbabwe.htm [opens new window] (accessed 25 April 2007).
UNDP 2009 "Zimbabwe", IN Human Development Report 2009, [www] http://hdrstats.undp.org/en/countries/data_sheets/cty_ds_ZWE.html [opens new window] (accessed 15 October 2009).
ZIMBABWE NATIONAL MONITORING AND EVALUATION TASKFORCE 2008 "United Nations General Assembly (UNGASS) Report on HIV and AIDS Follow-Up To The Declaration Of Commitment On HIV/AIDS: Zimbabwe Country Report", [www] http://data.unaids.org/pub/Report/2008/zimbabwe_2008_country_progress_report_en.pdf [PDF document, opens new window] (accessed 12 May 2009).
